Moon Viewing (Otsukimi)

Moon viewing is the practice of gazing at the moon and enjoying its sacred beauty. In particular, it refers to the viewing of the autumn moon on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the old lunar calendar (which falls between mid-September and early October by today’s calendar).

During the Heian period (794–1185), aristocrats would gather together in the evenings to admire the moon, recite poetry, and play instruments.

They would admire the reflection of the moon on the surface of ponds or on the surface of their cups of rice wine. The elegance of these aristocratic traditions are evident in the Kokinshu poetry anthology.

Japanese have always presented offerings for ritual viewings of the moon. With the moon itself as the object of worship, they would give thanks for a bountiful harvest and make offerings of their crops. The miscanthus grass served as a yorishiro—an earthly presence in which a divine spirit of the moon might temporarily reside.

The fifteenth night (of the eighth lunar month) is known as jugoya (fifteenth night), or alternatively as imo meigetsu (potato moon). This is because the moon was compared to a taro potato (satoimo), which is a round, white tuber with vigorously growing stalks. Sometimes these potatoes are offered instead of or alongside dango cakes during moon viewings. In the Kansai region, around Osaka and Kyoto, it was traditional to offer to the moon the first taro potatoes harvested that year. This tradition continues into the present day.