Today begins 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 (節気, sekki) is Usui (雨水), the 2nd solar term, which means Rain Water. We are one third in! It started Feb 19th. We covered it last time so go read there if you want more info.
Usui lasts until March 5th.
Today, Feb 24th, begins 霞始靆, the 5th microseason (候, kō) which is read kasumi hajimete tanabiku and means Mist and Haze rolls in. This is the second microseason of Usui, which is itself the second solar term of spring.
It is continuing to grow warmer. One consequence of the changing temperatures is that the air is filled with water drops, making mist. In Japan the mountains, which were so clear in winter, are now hidden behind this mist.
The beginning of spring is always very changeable; it can feel warm one day and cold the next. Last time I talked about haru ichiban, and how this brings warm are but then things turn colder as the cold air rushes back. This cycle of warm and cold is referred to as sankan, shion (三寒四温), or “three cold, four warm”. This phenomenon will last all spring, gradually becoming warm more often than cold.
Actually, this is another one of those things that Japan took from China (and Korea). As the Japan Wikipedia points out, it describes the weather over there better than in Japan, where things are a bit less definite. Even so, as an idiom for back and forth between hot and cold, it works well.
Here is a haiku for this microseason:
Shiki was perhaps being a little dramatic here, but the mist can come in pretty strong at night sometimes, especially (I’m told) in his hometown Matsuyama, in Shikoku. Before electric lights, one might imagine that the mist would have an even stronger effect than it does today.
Will move this info to another post one of these days, but for now, briefly:
The next microseason starts on Feb 29. See you then for the next forecast!
