Japan in August
Solar terms this month: Start of Autumn, Heat Subsides.
Events and customs
- Martial ArtsEssential rajio taisoラジオ体操the national radio exercise routine
- Annual EventsEssential obonお盆the summer festival for returning ancestors
- Annual EventsEssential yatai夏祭りの屋台festival food stalls
- Annual EventsEssential hanabi taikai花火大会the summer fireworks festival
- Annual EventsEssential matsuri no yatai祭りの屋台the food and game stalls at a festival
- Annual EventsEssential bon odori盆踊りthe summer circle dance
- Food & DrinkEssential kakigoriかき氷shaved ice
- Modern JapanEssential taifu台風the typhoons that reach Japan each year
- Seasons & NatureEssential mosho猛暑日extreme summer heat in Japan
- School LifeEssential natsuyasumi no shukudai夏休みの宿題the summer holiday homework, including the free research project
- ShintoEssential mikoshi神輿the portable shrine carried through the streets at a festival
- Martial ArtsStandard high school baseball and Koshien高校野球と甲子園the national high school baseball tournament
- ClothingStandard jinbei and samue甚平と作務衣easy Japanese clothes you can actually wear
- CraftsStandard sensu扇子folding fan
- CraftsStandard furin風鈴wind chimes
- Annual EventsStandard kisei rush帰省ラッシュthe mass return to the hometown
- Annual EventsStandard yama no hi山の日Mountain Day, August 11th, Japan's newest public holiday
- Annual EventsStandard shoryo uma精霊馬the cucumber horse and eggplant cow made for Obon
- Annual EventsStandard toro nagashi灯籠流しfloating lanterns for the dead
- FolkloreStandard kappa河童river spirits with a dish on the head
- FolkloreStandard kaidan怪談Japanese ghost stories
- FolkloreStandard hiding your belly button from thunder雷様とおへそthe saying that the thunder god will steal your belly button if you leave it uncovered
- Food & DrinkStandard somenそうめんvery thin cold noodles
- Food & DrinkStandard mugicha麦茶cold barley tea
- Home & LivingStandard katori senko蚊取り線香mosquito coil
- Home & LivingStandard uchimizu打ち水sprinkling water on the ground to cool the air
- Modern JapanStandard air conditioningエアコンと節電cooling a Japanese summer, and saving power
- Seasons & NatureStandard kingyo金魚goldfish, and the summer festival game of scooping them
- Seasons & NatureStandard cicada song蝉の声the sound of a Japanese summer
- Seasons & NatureStandard senjo kosuitai線状降水帯the linear rainband that causes Japan's worst flash flooding
- Seasons & NatureStandard asagao朝顔the morning glory
- Pop CultureStandard koshien cheering甲子園の応援the organized brass-band and stand cheering that fills the stadium during the national high school baseball tournament
- School LifeStandard bukatsu no intai部活の引退leaving your school club after the last tournament
- School LifeStandard bukatsu training camp部活の合宿the multi-day training camp a school club holds, often in summer
- School LifeStandard rinkan-gakko林間学校a short class trip to the mountains or coast built around group living and outdoor activities
- HistoryAdvanced Hiroshima and Nagasaki広島と長崎the atomic bombings and how they are remembered
- HistoryAdvanced the Pacific War太平洋戦争Japan in the Second World War
- Home & LivingAdvanced amido網戸the sliding screen door
- Pop CultureAdvanced doujinshi同人誌とコミケself-published fan comics and Comiket