September has been started today. We expect summer's heat will be milder day by day. In my country Japan, besides counting each month by number, we have original different names. Although we mostly call September as what's known as "Ninth month (9月, Kugatsu)" in Japan, Nagatsuki or 長月 is one of peculiar names for September. Each Chinese character means long (長), and noon or month (月). What is etymology?

According to encyclopedia on Yahoo, whose site is found at http://100.yahoo.co.jp/detail/%E9%95%B7%E6%9C%88/ , one theory says that 長月 (long and moon) was abbreviated from 夜長月 (Yonagatsuki, night, long and month). Since middle ages, people have thought that the ninth month on the Chinese lunar calender was regarded as time or a month night finally became long enough after summer short nights. 

It also appears for me that autumn nights have become quieter and therefore longer. Bell-ringing crickets (鈴虫) give me calm feeling at night. I hope I relish the season as peacefully as early people.
 

  Images : Children and other Japanese people believe that rabbits are pounding "mochi (sticky rice cakes)" on the moon because of the patterns on the moon surface. We associate the moon with adorable rabbits.