Microseason: Spring Winds Melt Ice
SPRING
FIRST OF SPRING
SPRING WINDS MELT ICE
3 - 7 February
It’s the dawn of a new year. “Spring Winds Melt Ice” marks the beginning of Spring. It’s the first microseason of the year, and the first of the trio of microseasons within the subseason Risshun, or First of Spring. Risshun isn’t just about a date in the calendar, it’s a symbolic transition that connects seasonal changes, spiritual beliefs, and cultural traditions.
Risshun typically falls around the 3rd or 4th February whilst the weather is still cold. But believe it or not, we have emerged from the depths of Winter and lightly brushing the slightest notions of Spring. During the microseason, we notice that the sun rises a bit earlier and earlier each day, and we lend our awareness to the gentle, eastward breeze that has begun to blow and tenderly melting away the thick ice. These winds signal the weakening of the cold, and it has long been welcomed as a harbinger of spring. Rather than a physical experience, it’s closer to a feeling. The name of these east winds morphs depending on the exact time and place:
Ume-kochi when plum blossoms begin to bloom
Sakura-kochi when cherry blossoms begin to bloom
Hibari-kochi when skylarks begin to sing
Sawara-kochi when mackerel begin their seasonal migration
Asa-kochi at dawn
The concept of Risshun was introduced to Japan from China as part of the microseasonal calendar. And over hundred of years, Japan slowly developed its own unique customs and interpretations of Risshun, blending it with native animistic traditions.
One significant adaptation is how Risshun became closely linked to the Lunar New Year in Japan. Until Japan adopted the Georgian calendar in 1873, Risshun was New Years Day. And even though New Years is now celebrated on 1st January, phrases like “New Spring” are used in seasonal greetings and New Year's cards.
Today, while Setsubun, the equivalent of the New Years Eve of yesteryear, is still celebrated with gusto, perhaps now more than ever before, Risshun tends to be observed a bit less. Or at least it’s done much more quietly, each their own. For farmers for example, Risshun marks the beginning of preparations for planting season, including nursing seedlings. Farmers have always observed changes in the wind, the movement of the birds, budding of flowers, and other natural signs during Risshun to forecast crop conditions of the upcoming year.
In Shinto practices, Risshun marks a time for renewal, where prayers for health, prosperity, and protection are often offered at shrines. Depending on the region, there are some rituals like eating grilled sardines or placing holly leaves with sardine heads at the home entrance to ward off evil spirits.
Transitioning from the microseasonal calendar to the Georgian calendar made diplomatic relations, trade, and administration more efficient. And because the mircoseasonal calendar has differences every year as it is in tune with nature and not economy, moving over to the static Georgian calendar standardized the fiscal year, making tax collection and government planning easier. Many people, especially in rural areas, relied on nature-based timing, but to execute centralized government and global economics, a fixed solar calendar became more practical.
Photo credit: Momoko Nakamura