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How to translate in English the Japanese word "Komorebi"?

JayB

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24 Oct 2017
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Hello all! :D
I was wondering how "Komorebi" could be translated in English. I have read somewhere it is "the sunshine filtering through the leaves of a tree". But I was wondering if this is right and - if yes - is it the only meaning this word has?

And - above all - what is the meaning that "Komorebi" has for you? :D
I'd also be curious to know how to write it in Japanese.

Thank you all for your answers!
J
 
Seems to be correct. You can easily look it up in a dictionary, where you'll also see that this is indeed the only meaning of the word: komorebi - Jisho.org

The Japanese writing is 木漏れ日.
木 - tree
漏 - leak
日 - day, sun
 
I believe the quality of light in this sense is known as crepuscular rays: Crepuscular rays - Wikipedia

I was in Yosemite valley this weekend and thanks to some prescribed burns nearby, the air was heavy with particulate matter, which makes the sunbeams very voluminous!

20171021_152509.jpg

The term 木漏れ日 specifically evokes more of an image of light leaking through the trees overhead, such as when going on a walk through the forest.
 
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Thank you lanthas and nice gaijin!
So it is not the sunshine after rain or storm, as I read somewhere (I don't remember where)? Do you know if there is a word to mean this?
May I also ask how is it pronounced?
 
The Japanese wikipaedia page enumerates the terms 薄明光線, 光芒, 天使の梯子, 天使の階段, ヤコブの梯子 or レンブラント光線, but these are all not so commonly used. I would say 雲間から差す光 for the phenomenon.
 
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