And here is your daily almanac for Saturday the twenty-eighth of October 2023.

On this day in 1837, Tokugawa Yoshinobu was born, the 15th and last shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan.

By the time he rose to power, the shogunate was facing multiple internal and external pressures. Japan had long isolated itself from the outside world, but by the mid-19th century, Western powers were knocking on its doors, seeking trade and influence.

Yoshinobu attempted to reform the shogunate, aiming to modernize the military and government structures, much to the chagrin of many who still cherished the old ways. Despite his efforts, his reign saw the end of the shogunate's 250-year rule. The Meiji Restoration followed, a major turning point in Japanese history, marking the beginning of Japan's transformation into a modern, industrial nation.

Although Yoshinobu did make some attempt to maintain some political influence for himself and the Tokugawa clan, when this proved unsuccessful he quietly retired and avoided the public eye for the rest of his life.

He died on 22 Nov 1913.

Today is butsumetsu, the most unlucky day of the rokuyō, the Buddhist horoscope. Read more about the rokuyō here

On the old calendar, today would have been the fourteenth day of the ninth month. It is Kosame tokidoki Furu, or Occasional Light Rain (霎時施), the second microseason of Sōkō.

As Autumn deepens and moves towards its end, we are met with light rains that come and go. These rains give a sense of peace, however when they come in the evening they chase away the insects that have been singing all season; the resulting stillness gives a feeling of loneliness.

Here's a haiku from Shiki, who was around at the same time that Yoshinobu was in retirement.

身の上や御鬮を引けば秋の風
Mi-no-ue ya mikuji o hikeba aki no kaze

such is life
drawing my fortune
the autumn wind blows

The fortune he is talking of drawing is omikuji which is fairly common to draw when you visit a shrine or some temples, most commonly during the first shrine visit of the year at the start of the year but available at any time. The omikuji usually has a number of different luck levels, ranging from great luck to bad luck with many levels in between.

On one occasion, Shiki and his friend visited a temple, where Shiki decided to draw an omikuji. He was shocked to get the worst fortune. Bad luck with a number of other bad fortunes written on the slip of paper. Shiki was already showing signs of the TB that would kill him several years later, so his friend believed that he took his bad fortune as a confirmation that his life was cursed. This haiku reflects his sad resignation to his fate.

I think this haiku also works well to sum up Yoshinobu's fate.

That's all for today. Good luck out there—be mindful of that butsumetsu luck. Be well, do good work, and stay in touch.

❦

David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku.