霞 【かすみ】 kasumi, (spring) mist [frequently translated as 'haze']
朝霞 【あさがすみ】 asagasumi, morning mist
夕霞 【ゆうがすみ】 yūgasumi, evening mist
遠霞 【とおがすみ】 tōgasumi, distant mist
This refers to being unable to see things in the distance because they are obscured by a somewhat cloudy atmosphere. This is not a meteorologist’s technical term, but indicates mist made up of fine droplets of water floating in the air. The phenomenon is common in autumn, with ‘fog’ (霧【きり】 kiri) being the established autumn kidai; ‘mist’ (霞【かすみ】 kasumi), is the term for spring. It seems that water vapor rising in warm air, making all of nature look blurred and calm, permeates things with the tranquillity of spring.
In addition to ‘morning mist’, ‘evening mist’, and ‘distant mist’, poets use such phrases as ‘the grass is misty’ (草霞む【くさかすむ】 kusa kasumu) and ‘the bell is mist-muffled’ (鐘霞む【かねかすむ】 kane kasumu). However, when the same phenomenon occurs at night, it is called ‘misty’ (朧【おぼろ】 oboro).
霧 【きり】 kiri, autumn mist / fog
狭霧 【さぎり】 sagiri, thin fog / thin autumn mist
霧襖 【きりふすま】 kirifusuma（きりぶすま）, wall of fog/mist [literally 'fog fusuma', sliding door of fog]
From Bashō:
kirishigure / fuji o minu hi zo / omoshiroki
in the misty rain
Mount Fuji is veiled all day —
how intriguing!
Matsuo Bashō (1644-1694) was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Bashō was recognized for his works in the collaborative haikai no renga form; today, he is recognized as a master of brief and clear haiku. His poetry is internationally renowned, and within Japan many of his poems are reproduced on monuments and traditional sites. For more information on Japanese texts visit the Japanese Text Initiative from the University of Virginia Library