Kigo: Season Words
📋 What it is
A kigo is a word that signals the season — cherry blossom (spring), snow (winter).
🗣️ Coach says
Traditional haiku hides the season in a single word: "blossom" whispers spring, "firefly" hums summer. This "kigo" grounds the poem in a time of year without ever naming it directly. Clever and efficient.
🧠 Memory hook
A kigo names the season sideways: "snow" = winter, "blossom" = spring. Show the season, don't state it.
😂 Giggle
Why did the cinquain grow line by line?
Because it builds from one word up to five and back down!
😲 Whoa!
Japanese poets keep whole dictionaries of kigo — thousands of season-words sorted by exactly when they appear.
✅ Quick check: Which word is a kigo for winter — "snowflake" or "sunshine"?
Say your answer out loud first — then reveal.
"Snowflake" — it signals winter.
A kigo evokes a season; snowflakes belong to winter.
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
List one season-word for each season (like "pumpkin" for autumn).