It's a new microseason! If this is your first time joining us, scroll down past the forecast to read about what exactly a microseason is. For the rest of you, let’s jump in!
The Current Microseason: Bears begin hibernating
Two days ago, Dec 12, began 熊蟄穴, the 62nd microseason (候, kō) which is read kuma ana ni komoru and means Bears begin hibernating. This is the second microseason of Taisetsu, which is itself the third solar term of winter.
My almanac says that some of the female bears give birth now and raise their cubs during the winter. Other animals are also preparing for their hibernation. Humans also slow down and start their own brand of hibernation, staying in doors more and more.
Seasonal Fish: Sea Cucumber
Sea cucumbers (海鼠, namako), also translated as sea slugs, may not be much to look at, but they are rather tasty, especially as a side to saké. They are also used in Chinese medicine as a restorative topic.
Here is a haiku for this microseason:
oni mo iya bosatsu mo iya to namako kana
nor a buddha—
a sea slug
—Issa
In a sense, both buddhas and devils are striving for something. A sea slug, however, is just being, following its own nature, heedless of where that might or might not lead. Issa may be poking at some Buddhists of the sect he followed (Pure Land Buddhism, Jōdo Shinshū, 浄土真宗) here who taught not to strive or desire, but also seemed to be striving towards the pure land with a strong desire. Better to be a sea slug!
The kigo here is sea slug, which is a kigo for winter.
Will move this info to another post one of these days, but for now, briefly:
- Each month has two seasons, called solar terms (節気, sekki), giving us a total of 24 seasons. This gives the system its name, the 24 Sekki (二十四節気). I usually refer to this entire system as The Japanese Almanac. It is more than a little similar to the American Farmer’s Almanac.
- Each of these 24 seasons is further subdivided three more times, giving us a grand total of 72 seasons, or microseasons (候, kō).
- Each microseason is about 5 days. With time periods so short, they can get pretty specific about what in nature we might expect to be happening around now.
- The system was originally from China, but it was reformatted during the Edo Era (1603–1868) to fit better with Japan’s climate. I find it also fits fairly well with much of the Midwest in the Eastern half of the US. But if you live in a different area, your milage may vary.
- The entire system is based on the equinoxes and solstices, so it is fluid and the exact dates will vary by a day or two from year to year. Luckily there are a great many Japanese sources that do the astrological computations for us and tell us exactly when each one starts and ends every year.
The next microseason starts on Dec 17. See you then for the next forecast!