神無月

Japanese

Kanji in this term
神	無	月

Etymology

神 (かみ, kami), "god" + 無 (な, na), meaningless 当て字 (ateji) + 月 (つき, tsuki), "month"

In the folk etymology, Japanese gods were said to assemble at the Grand shrine of Izumo (出雲大社, Izumo Taisha) in the tenth month of the lunar calendar, leaving no gods in the rest of Japan.

Noun

神無月 (hiragana かんなづき, かみなづき, かむなづき, romaji kan'nazuki, kaminazuki, kamunazuki)

1. (archaic) the tenth month of the lunar calendar
2. (poetic) October

Alternative forms

• 神有月, 神在月

  Note: the above two forms are used only in Izumo Province (出雲国).