In Japanese, the month is known as jūgatsu (Japanese: 十月) or traditionally kannazuki (Japanese: 神無月).
The character 無, which normally means "absent" or "not exist", was used in 神無月 only as an ateji for a possessive particle, giving the sense "month of the gods". However, by false etymology, 神無月 was interpreted to mean "month of no gods", which gave rise to the belief that all the deities in Japan leave their local shrines to assemble at Izumo-taisha during this month. Thus, in Izumo, the month is instead called kamiarizuki (Japanese: 神在月; "month when the gods are present").
Another traditional Korean name for the month is sangdal (Korean:상달;Hanja:上月). In Korea, it is traditionally regarded as the most sacred month of the year.
Observances
The Hanyi Festival is held on the 1st day of the 10th month.
Tōkan'ya[ja] (Japanese: 十日夜), a harvest celebration in eastern Japan, is held on the 10th day of the 10th month.
At Izumo-taisha, the deities are ceremonially welcomed on the evening of the 10th day of the 10th month, and the Kamiari rites run from the 11th to the 17th day.
Below is a list of the start and end dates of Shíyuè in the Gregorian calendar. Because the 1-hour difference between China and Japan/Korea occasionally affects the date on which a new moon occurs, the dates below can differ from those of the Japanese and Korean calendars.
