NAMES OF THE MONTHS IN HEIAN JAPAN

The following are literal translations of the names of the months used during the Heian Period (794 - 1185) in Japan

1) Sprouting Month
2) Clothes-lining Month
3) Ever-growing Month
4) U no hana Month (the u no hana was a pretty white shrub)
5) Rice Sprouting Month
6) Watery Month
7) Poem-composing Month
8) Leaf Month (i.e. the month when leaves turn)
9) Long Month (i.e. the month with long nights)
10) Gods-absent Month
11) Frost Month
12) End of the year

(From The Pillow Book of Sei Shonogon

Penguin Edition, trans. by Ivan Morris)