Momiji (紅葉) are the red leaves of autumn. The word means both the Japanese maple and the bright colour its leaves turn. Every autumn, people travel to temples, gardens and mountains to look at them. It is the autumn twin of cherry-blossom viewing in spring.
Hunting for red leaves
An outing to see autumn leaves is called momiji-gari, "hunting for red leaves." Nobody picks anything. The only thing being hunted is the best view. The custom goes back to the Heian court, where nobles held parties under the maples and wrote poems about them. Today the news follows the colour as it moves south and down the mountains. It starts in Hokkaidō in late September. It reaches Tokyo and Kyoto in late November or early December. Famous spots include Nikkō, the temples of Kyoto and the gorges of the Japanese Alps. At night, many temples light up their maples, and the red leaves glow against the dark.
Leaves you can eat
The Japanese maple has small leaves with five or seven points, like an open hand. People compare a baby's tiny hands to momiji leaves. In Minoh, near Osaka, maple leaves are fried in sweet batter and sold as a snack, momiji tempura. On Miyajima, near Hiroshima, the local sweet is momiji manjū, a little cake shaped like a maple leaf. Red leaves also fill traditional design. They appear on kimono, sweets and sake labels. Drawn floating on a stream, they simply mean autumn.
Words & idioms to take away
Idioms & proverbs to carry away
-
紅葉狩り (momiji-gari): "hunting for red leaves," an outing to view autumn colours.
-
紅葉 (kōyō or momiji): the same two kanji with two readings. Kōyō means autumn colours in general. Momiji means the red maple and its leaves.