passing autumn shower; patchy fall rain
A brief, intermittent shower typical of autumn, often moving in patches. Literary and somewhat poetic; in everyday speech, 秋の通り雨 or にわか雨 are more common.
After the passing autumn shower, a rainbow appeared in the sky.
In the mountain village, patchy autumn showers come and go many times a day.
Literary kanji spelling; 叢 means 'cluster' or 'thicket', evoking patchy rain. Rare in modern use.
Variant kanji spelling using 群 'group', also rare.
Ateji spelling using 村 'village'; not used in modern Japanese.
Compound of 叢 (むら, 'cluster, patch') and 時雨 (しぐれ, 'autumn/winter drizzle'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word poetically describes rain that falls in scattered patches.