卯う波なみ

noun

rising sea waves in early summer (late May to early June)

A seasonal word (kigo) used in haiku and traditional poetry to evoke early summer. Refers to the characteristic swell of the sea during the transition from spring to summer, around the time of the Rabbit (卯) month in the old lunar calendar.

• 卯う波なみが立たつ磯いそ辺べを歩あるいた。

  I walked along the shore where the early-summer waves were rising.

• 俳はい句くで卯う波なみは初しょ夏かの季き語ごとして詠よまれる。

  In haiku, 'unami' is used as a seasonal word for early summer.