is a traditional name for the tenth month in the traditional Japanese calendar

Japanese calendar

On January 1, 1873, Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar. Before 1873, the Chinese style lunisolar calendar had been in use since 7th century. Japanese eras are still in use.-System:...

.

The name can be translated literally as "the month when there are no gods". In Shinto

Shinto

or Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...

 tradition it was said that the eight million gods of Japan left their shrines and congregated annually at Izumo Taisha

Izumo Taisha

is one of the most ancient and important Shinto shrines in Japan. No record gives the date of establishment. Located in Izumo, Shimane Prefecture, it is home to two major festivals. It is dedicated to the god Ōkuninushi , famous as the Shinto deity of marriage.A style of architecture,...

. There the month was known as , "the month when the gods are present".

Until 1873 the tenth month of the lunar calendar largely overlapped with the modern month of November. However, after the adoption of the Gregorian calendar

Gregorian calendar

The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...

in Japan in that year October became generally accepted as the "godless month".