Yesterday began 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 Solar Term: Shōkan
Yesterday, Jan 5th, began Shōkan (小寒), the 23 solar term (節気, sekki), which means Small Cold.
This is the beginning of midwinter. Winter is still growing colder and colder from this point. Traditionally people start sending winter greeting cards around this time.
You may notice that this is the 23rd solar term instead of the first. That is because the New Years was at the beginning of spring on the old calendar. The date to celebrate that holiday may have changed, but many traditional things still follow the old dates, including the 24 sekki.
Shōkan lasts until Jan 20th.
The Current Microseason: Dropwort Grows
Yesterday, Jan 5th, also began 芹乃栄, the 67 microseason (候, kō) which is read Seri Sunawachi Sakau and means Dropwort Grows. This is the first microseason of Shōkan, which is itself the fifth solar term of winter.
Seri evidently has a few different names in English. I choose Dropwort, but it is also called water celery, Chinese celery, Japanese parsley, and Java waterdropwort. I guess it’s not common enough outside Asia for a single name to have won out.
Anyway, this is the time that dropwort starts to grow. It has long been a popular plant, both as a seasonal gift and as one of the seven important spring herbs. More on this after the break.
Seasonal Activity: Seven-herb Porridge
Called nanakusa-gayu (七草粥), this is traditionally eaten on Jan 7th. It is good luck, is said to banish evil, and is easy on the stomach, helping it recover after all that New Years feasting.
The seven-herbs vary from region to region, but most commonly they are dropwort (seri, セリ), shepherd’s purse (nazuna, ナズナ), turnip (kabu, 蕪), chickweed (kohakobe, 小蘩蔞), cudweed (hahakogusa, 母子草), radish (daikon, 大根), and nipplewort (koonitabirako, 小鬼田平子).
Here is a haiku for this microseason:
hatsu suzume hane o hirogete ori ni keri
wings open and
coming down
In Japan after New Years day, it is a never-ending series of firsts: first dream, first sunrise, first shrine visit, etc. It’s a fun custom and helps us enjoy the beginning of the year. Seeing a sparrow at or near the start of the year is said to be especially auspicious. So much so that it is a kigo (season word) for New Years.
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 Jan 10th. See you then for the next forecast!