The starting point of the Spring season was on 3/19 in the States, parallell to the starting point of 3/20 in Japan. As the veil of winter is lifted, we should be greeted with warmer weather and the revigorated growth of nature. It’s a gradual process, one that has different phases.
There are some interesting practices of old in Japan for interpreting changes in nature. Recently, I learned of a method called “Nanajūnikō” (七十二候), or “72 Pentads” in English. Derived from ancient China ideaology, it is a climatological way of interpreting the seasonal behavior through a 5-day period started during the early Edo period. In essence, each season undertakes numerous changes, which affects nature and those creatures living within it at certain times during its duration.
The following 15 days represent shunbun (春分), the Spring equinox. Each 5 days are described by a unique phrase, which will be interpreted in English, followed by a short description.
雀始巣 (すずめはじめてすくう)
ENGLISH: suzume hajimete sukū (sparrow begins to make its nest)
PERIOD: 3/20 ~ 3/24
DESC: At the start of Spring, sparrows make their presence in particular areas, as they build their nests to lay their eggs. In the past, sparrows were common to see around villages, towns, and fields, thus making a natural indicator that Spring had arrived.
桜始開 (さくらはじめてひらく)
ENGLISH: sakura hajimete hiraku (cherry blossoms start to spread their leaves)
PERIOD: 3/25 ~ 3/29
DESC: Within these next 5 days, cherry blossoms should begin to bloom country-wide. Of course, this is dependent on the conditions of each area and the type of cherry blossoms that grow there.
隅田川水神の森真崎). Here, we see cherry blossoms upclose within the grove by the large Sumida river. By Utagawa Hiroshige.
雷乃発声 (かみなりすなわちこえをはっす)
ENGLISH: sudden roar of thunder
PERIOD: 3/29 ~ 4/3
DESC: There will be this short period where the weather will grow turbulent with precipitation, accompanied by thunder & lightning. It is not limited to rain, as snow and hail may come depending on the area and weather conditions.
While this method is tried & true for many generations, make no mistake that it is dated, for these interpretation on seasonal behavior may not always hold up today. On top of that, modernization and global warming have had an impact on climate changes. Still, it is interesting to study old practices like this and compare the environment around us, both in and outside of Japan. Planning to cover more, if not all, of the 72 Pentads in a future post or project.