The kanji 皐 primarily refers to the fifth month of the lunar calendar, or specifically, the beginning of that month. It can also relate to the concept of spring, and lush growth, often associated with rice cultivation.

・On-yomi (音読み): コウ (kō) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): さつき (satsuki)

⚫︎ 皐月 (satsuki) Translation: May (in the old lunar calendar). ⚫︎ 皐月晴れ (satsukibare) Translation: Fine weather in May. ⚫︎ 五月皐 (gogatsu) Translation: May (in the modern Gregorian calendar, using the kanji for the fifth month).

The kanji 皐 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, keisei moji). It combines two components: ・The semantic component (meaning component) is derived from "白" (shira, meaning white). ・The phonetic component (sound component) is derived from "告" (koku, meaning to tell, to announce), which is also used for the sound of the kanji. The origin of the kanji likely symbolizes the clear, white appearance of rice paddies in the early part of the lunar month of May, coinciding with the beginning of rice cultivation. It can be seen as representing the announcement of the planting season.