English equivalent of komorebi (木漏れ日) — "sunshine filtering through leaves"

Question

Is there an English equivalent of komorebi (木漏れ日), which means the sunshine filtering through the leaves of a tree (or trees)?

It is made up of three kanji and the hiragana particle れ. The first kanji 木 means ‘tree’ (or ‘trees‘), the second one 漏 refers to ‘escape’ and the last one 日 is ‘light‘ or ‘sun‘.

Komorebi can also be seen as a light curtain which is more visible after the rain because of the reflecting light from the water vapor:

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It is also mentioned as the interplay between the light and the leaves which is observed especially on the ground. Additionally, there is a rare phenomenon when the light of the crescent sun during a partial solar eclipse is dappled on the ground in crescent shapes (which is circular normally):

_{^{Source: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/125678645821705633/}}

Sunray and sunbeam come to mind but they are too general. Of course, the word is the result of Japanese culture and aesthetics influenced by the nature. But there might be a colloquial usage or scientific term regarding the phenomena related to komorebi.

Answer 1

Though not exactly the same, crepuscular rays (also known as god rays) come close to what you are asking for.

a streak of light that seems to radiate from the sun shortly before or after sunset when sunlight shines through a break in the clouds or a notch in the horizon line and illuminates atmospheric haze or dust particles

It's often used as a special effect in games.

Wikipedia includes a list of alternative names, some of which are more idiomatic than the latin derived crepuscular:

• Backstays of the sun – a nautical term, from the fact that backstays that brace the mast of a sailing ship converge in a similar way
• Cloud breaks
• Jacob's Ladder
• Ropes of Maui – (originally. taura a Maui) from the Maori tale of Maui Potiki restraining the sun with ropes to make the days longer
• Shafts of light
• Sun drawing water – from the ancient Greek belief that sunbeams drew water into the sky (an early description of evaporation)
• Sunbeams
• Sunburst
• Volumetric lighting (used by the computer graphics industry)
• God rays (used by the computer graphics industry)
• Fingers of God

(Some links and references in the article.)

As you mention, a singular shaft of light, whether separated from the rest of the sunlight by clouds, annulus (man-made or natural) or through the canopy of a forest is more properly called a sunbeam (Merriam-Webster).

a ray of sunlight

As Andrew Leach mentions and fully explains in his answer, there is precedent for calling this a sheaf or sheafs (or sheaves).

6.
a. Physics and Math. A bundle of rays, lines, etc. all passing through a given point.

But this has two drawbacks with regards to your question.

1. It is a fairly technical definition and not commonly understood in every day English.
2. You would still have to specify what makes up the sheaf; it cannot be used as a single word in the sense you want.

Incorrect

Walking through the forest, I was awestruck by the beauty of a sheaf.

Correct

Walking through the forest, I was awestruck by a beautiful sheaf of sunlight.

There does not appear to be an exact word for sunlight filtered specifically through foliage.

Answer 2

There is a phrase dappled sunlight (or dappled light) that refers to the phenomenon.

Dappled means

marked with small spots or patches contrasting with the background

There are a number of images referred to as dappled sunlight here

Answer 3

Is there a specific, single word in English that means precisely that?

No.

Answer 4

“Sunshine filtering through leaves” is perfectly good English, and seems to be the only exact English equivalent for the phrase you quote.

Answer 5

Are creative solutions allowed?

Treelight

Given the numerous times I've come across 木漏れ日 in Japanese, I also have often wondered if there isn't a word/phrase in English, existing or inventive, that could capture the aesthetics of the word (the natural imagery from komorebi is just so strong).

Treelight is what I've currently settled on as a usable evocative equivalent for your first sense of komorebi. Tree is explicit, as is 木, and the word mimics sunlight, so there's an indirect association with sun.

And I am hardly the first to have felt a want for such an expression and arrived at such a word! The following are taken from Google Books:

I love putting words together like "wheels of rainlight," "treelight."

Together you continued along the path—but already, already in the lacework of treelight you saw your error.

The dew-dappled treelight glowed down upon him.

The trees with treelight made him think of the need for magic ...

The sky is a gap in the river where the treelight clears ...

... her arms are glossed & speckled oval by treelight ...

... camouflage helmets dappling into treelight ...

... at the pied treelight that tickles the miracle of her skin ...

I think it works quite nicely:

森の奥深く、木漏れ日が彩る

Treelight dapples with color, the forest deep.

Answer 6

There is no single word, but the conjunction of "shafts" and "light" and "trees" is the usual evocative usage. I cannot imagine anyone understanding the use of "sheaf" in this context.

Answer 7

Perhaps the best English equivalent is in the famous Welsh poet, Dylan Thomas' "Fern Hill", with the verse 'Down the rivers of the windfall light'.

Answer 8

A shivelight is a sliver or splinter of light

Answer 9

You can use "light shining/gleaming through the trees" if you want the term to sound more natural.

Answer 10

There is a name for the rays of light falling from the sky, especially with water vapors in the air. The scientific term for those rays of light is called the Tyndall Effect (http://chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/Physical_Chemistry/Physical_Properties_of_Matter/Solutions_and_Mixtures/Colloid/Tyndall_Effect)