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Japan’s 72 Microseasons (2015)

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Re: Japan’s 72 Microseasons (2015)

#41

Post by yamazakiwi »

resolutebat wrote: post #31
athenot wrote: post #2

This is a very perceptive way to watch time pass when watching nature—and definitely useful when life revolved around things growing in the groud. I wonder how much drift there is on the dates given, or if local climate yields highly predicatable weather patterns. For example here in the South-East US, the "last frost" date can vary from mid February to late April but our weather patterns are higly variable.

To me the entire calendar seems at least a month too "fast". For example: August 8–12 涼風至 Suzukaze itaru Cool winds blow When early August anywhere in mainland Japan more closely resembles Satan's armpit, with extreme heat and humidity and a distinct lack of cool breezes.

Yeah, I've seen snow in Tokyo but you go farther south and snow becomes very rare. So imagine mainland would vary a lot too.

Re: Japan’s 72 Microseasons (2015)

#42

Post by pezezin »

canvascritic wrote: post #5

I first learned about the microseasons during my second year in Japan when I was wandering thru Tokyo one day in February, and had an experience that introduced me to the bush warblers singing microseason. I was looking for this bookshop owned by an older woman named yumi, who supposedly had a collection of ancient poems and stories, many of which encompassed the lore of the 72 kō (I never did end up finding it, sadl…

> It is pretty beautiful how such small, centuries-old traditions seem to abound in Japan, where the condition of the west seems to be a state of persistent impermanence.

Orientalism at its finest...

First of all, "the west" is not a single monolithic block, but dozens of countries, each one with its own peculiarities.

Second, Western countries also have plenty of traditions, in the case of Europe going back centuries or even millennia. The thing is that the environment you grew up in doesn't seem fancy to you, it is just normal life.

Third, some Japanese people care about traditions, some do not, same as Western people. Heck, to me it seems like Japan lives in a state of permanent consumerism, always catching the latest popular anime or idol group.

Re: Japan’s 72 Microseasons (2015)

#43

Post by bobthepanda »

kevinmchugh wrote: post #30
ajuc wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It is pretty beautiful how such small, centuries-old traditions seem to abound in Japan, where the condition of the west seems to be a state of persistent impermanence. You own traditions often seem trivial and normal compared to foreign ones. Especially so anglosaxon ones because of all the popculture and merchandise. But they are just as bizzare and ingrained in culture when you look at them from a different POV.…

> baby gender reveal parties This is an extraordinarily recent phenomenon. There's probably no one who will read this thread who's gender was revealed at one of those parties. The oldest people who had their gender revealed at a party will be able to get their driver's license next year. A lot of people think they're strange!

I think the most interesting thing is that the person credited with the first one regrets having it: https://theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/jun/29/jenna-karvu...

Re: Japan’s 72 Microseasons (2015)

#44

Post by jshprentz »

It is interesting to compare the Japanese micro seasons with the 12 month names in the French Republican calendar [1]. The French month names derived from Latin or Greek words, translated here to English.

Autumn: Vendémiaire (vintage), Brumaire (winter cold), and Frimaire (frost)

Winter: Nivôse (snowy), Pluviôse (rainy), and Ventôse (windy)

Spring: Germinal (germination), Floréal (flower), and Prairial (meadow)

Summer: Messidor (harvest), Thermidor (summer heat), and Fructidor (fruit)

In Britain, a contemporary wit mocked the Republican Calendar by calling the months: Wheezy, Sneezy, and Freezy; Slippy, Drippy, and Nippy; Showery, Flowery, and Bowery; Hoppy, Croppy, and Poppy.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Republican_calendar

Re: Japan’s 72 Microseasons (2015)

#46

Post by palidanx »

Funny this got posted, because I just read about the 72 seasons in Nancy Singleton Hachisu's new vegetarian cookbook.

https://www.amazon.com/Japan-Vegetarian-Nancy-Singleton-Hach...

Oddly enough the more I think about it, Vancouver, Canada has seem parallels to Japan in terms of some of the produce (matsutake mushrooms and burdock root).

Re: Japan’s 72 Microseasons (2015)

#47

Post by kirubakaran »

bobthepanda wrote: post #43
kevinmchugh wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> baby gender reveal parties This is an extraordinarily recent phenomenon. There's probably no one who will read this thread who's gender was revealed at one of those parties. The oldest people who had their gender revealed at a party will be able to get their driver's license next year. A lot of people think they're strange!

I think the most interesting thing is that the person credited with the first one regrets having it: https://theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/jun/29/jenna-karvu...

Not to mention the deaths https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_reveal_party#Incidents_...

Re: Japan’s 72 Microseasons (2015)

#48

Post by glandium »

resolutebat wrote: post #31
athenot wrote: post #2

This is a very perceptive way to watch time pass when watching nature—and definitely useful when life revolved around things growing in the groud. I wonder how much drift there is on the dates given, or if local climate yields highly predicatable weather patterns. For example here in the South-East US, the "last frost" date can vary from mid February to late April but our weather patterns are higly variable.

To me the entire calendar seems at least a month too "fast". For example: August 8–12 涼風至 Suzukaze itaru Cool winds blow When early August anywhere in mainland Japan more closely resembles Satan's armpit, with extreme heat and humidity and a distinct lack of cool breezes.

It is worth noting that the day after December 2, 1872 was January 1, 1873. That's when Japan switched to the Julian Calendar. August 8 before that was... in September.

Re: Japan’s 72 Microseasons (2015)

#49

Post by raincole »

civilitty wrote: post #39
jerf wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It may not have exactly this, but it probably has more than you realize. The rush of the 20th and 21st century has crowded out a lot of stuff. The western world has a rich poetry and literature tradition. Given how severed we are from all of it nowadays you may well find you still get that foreign culture frisson from digging into it.

The Japanese version looks quite a bit more grounded in naturalism than the Chinese version, or at least TFA's translation does (i.e. August 28–September 1 天地始粛 vs 天地始肅 [1]). "Heat starts to die down" is not exactly precise but better than "Heaven and Earth begin to Withdraw" and "Cotton flowers bloom" is definitely a lot better than "Eagles worship the Birds". I'm not the GP but I definitely want a calendar made up…

Chinese and Japanese's version are the same (in this case). Just different translation.

Actually, neither "Heat starts to die down" nor "Heaven and Earth begin to Withdraw" is a good interpretation of 天地始肅.

"Heaven and Earth begin to Withdraw" is a very literal translation. In this case, 天地 = everything = everthing growing from the ground, so 天地始肅 means plants are no longer sprouting.

"Heat starts to die down" is not a translation. Just a convenient English paraphrase.

Re: Japan’s 72 Microseasons (2015)

#50

Post by lukas099 »

Anyone can get to know their own locality on this intimate level. I've been spending more time in my yard, and it's really incredible seeing the waves of new plants and animals arising and dissipating over the months. Yesterday I was watching the birch tree behind my back porch losing its leaves (much earlier than most of the trees around). The lawn has large colonies of plants that I didn't see a single specimen of last year. Different insects, mammals, invertebrates, and fungi all show up too.
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