72 Microseasons! Japan’s Ancient Calendar Year Will Definitely Intrigue You

While many countries worldwide measure the year in just four seasons and sometimes only two, ancient Japan used to have 72 seasons within a year. Interesting, right? Well, with each season lasting only for five days, the country was believed to have 24 large divisions known as Sekki, inspired by the Chinese. This may come across as a little confusing, but the Japanese believed that these 72 microseasons are measured to express the passing of the calendar year as a poetic journey. These microseasons were also measured with the intent to draw everyone’s attention towards the subtle shifts in the natural world.

Interestingly, unlike the simple names like summer or winter, these 72 microseasons instead have been named in words that translate into mellifluous phrases such as, “Dew glistens white on grass,” “First peach blossoms,” or “Bush warblers start singing in the mountains.”

While the names were taken from Chinese sources, the Edo period’s first official astronomer, Shibukawa Shunkai, in 1685, renamed them as per the Japanese climate. Notably, China’s 24 seasons help mitigate the darker months. Japan took it one step further by dividing them into 72 microseasons.

Just like the Chinese calendar, Japan’s microseasons start with a slow pace in February and bloom into what is referred to as spring. Their microseasons also have a warmth and activity peak in the summer, which smoothly transitions into the chilled winds of the winter seasons. According to the 72 micro seasons, November is the month of frost falls, maple leaves and ivy turn yellow, which gradually leads to entering Ritt and then Shsetsu. Ritt and Shsetsu marks the beginning of microseasons, where land starts to freeze, and rainbows hide. The season also witnessed the north wind blowing the leaves from the trees.

These Japanese microseasons started from around February 4 to February 6, and were divided into sub-groups which were named Grain rains, pure and clear, insects awaken, rainwater, beginning of spring, beginning of summer, summer solstice, grains and breads, and lesser ripening, among others.