Tsukimi

Tsukimi
Offerings for the September 13 Moon: Tsukimi dango (left), susuki grass (middle) and chestnuts (right)
Official name	Tsukimi (月見)
Observed by	Japanese
Type	Cultural, religious (Buddhist)
Significance	Celebrates the harvest
Observances	Burn incense at temples and consume mochi
Begins	15th day of the 8th lunar month
Ends	18th day of the 8th lunar month
Date	14–16 September
2017 date	4–6 October
Frequency	Annual
Related to	Mid-Autumn Festival (in China and Vietnam) Chuseok (in Korea) Uposatha of Ashvini/Krittika (similar festivals that generally occur on the same day in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia)

Tsukimi (月見^?) or Otsukimi (お月見^?), literally moon-viewing, also known as Jugoya (十五夜^?), refers to Japanese festivals honoring the autumn moon, a version of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The celebration of the full moon typically takes place on the 15th day of the eighth month of the traditional Japanese calendar; the waxing moon is celebrated on the 13th day of the ninth month. These days normally fall in September and October of the modern solar calendar.

The tradition dates to the Heian era, and is now so popular in Japan that some people repeat the activities for several evenings following the appearance of the full moon during the eighth lunisolar month.

Tsukimi traditions include displaying decorations made from Japanese pampas grass (susuki) and eating rice dumplings called Tsukimi dango in order to celebrate the beauty of the moon. Seasonal produce are also displayed as offerings to the moon. Sweet potatoes are offered to the full moon, while beans or chestnuts are offered to the waxing moon the following month. The alternate names of the celebrations, Imomeigetsu　(literally "potato harvest moon") and Mamemeigetsu ("bean harvest moon") or Kurimeigetsu ("chestnut harvest moon") are derived from these offerings.