Season word · kaki · October · late autumn

Persimmon 柿

Persimmons ripen orange in October as the leaves begin to turn, and hang on bare branches after the leaves have fallen — the last colour in a garden before winter. Peeled fruit dries in strings under farmhouse eaves into hoshigaki. Shiki's best-known haiku is about biting into one as a temple bell rings.

Where to meet it

Farmhouse eaves and temple gardens across the country, October to November.