Visiting Japan in Autumn Momijigari
Momijigari or going to see the autumn leaves is one of the popular leisure activities specific to
autumn in Japan. People go out to view the beautiful fall foliage, which is bright red or yellow
during this season. There are two readings for the word "fall foliage" one is "momiji" which
means "maple leaves", and the other is "koyo", which refers to the leaves turning red during the
autumn. We will introduce the features of "momijigari", which is the joy of Japanese people in
the autumn.
Although it is said that the Japanese started to enjoy viewing the autumn leaves as a leisure
activity during the Edo period, the culture of appreciating the fall foliage existed even in the
age of the "Man'yoshu", the earliest collection of Japanese poetry, compiled in the second half
of the 8th century. There are various theories regarding the origin of the word. The word
"karu"(which stands at the base of "gari") was originally used to refer to "hunting" beasts such
as wild boars and birds. Later, it began to be used for picking up plants, fruit and mushrooms in
the mountains. When the nobility started to enjoy viewing the fall foliage instead of going to
hunt, people began to call this activity "momijigari".