24 solar terms, number 11 [Shosho]
The rainy season is over and the heat is really starting to set in.
In normal years, this often coincides with the end of the rainy season, when cicadas start chirping and the sunlight becomes even stronger.
It feels like summer has finally arrived, but Xiaoshu is actually late summer.
According to the calendar, it is the end of summer.
The hottest period of the year is from Xiaoshu to the next month, Taisho.
Now, let me introduce some of the main events that take place around the time of "Shosho."
● Tanabata Festival (Bamboo Festival)
●Summer greetings
Around the time of Xiaoshu, the previous solar term was the summer solstice, and prayers and ceremonies for the seasonal turning point (the two solstices and two equinoxes) and for "purifications to get through the summer" have been completed, and we are now entering the full second half of summer.
After these customs are completed, the period of "Shosho" and "Daisho" is called "Shochu" and it is around this time that "summer greetings" are sent.
Tanabata Festival (Bamboo Festival)
Tanabata is a special day when the stars Orihime and Hikoboshi are allowed to meet once a year by crossing the Milky Way. Various Tanabata events are held around the country, such as the Tanabata Festival at Kitano Tenmangu Shrine in Kyoto and Tanabata Kemari at Kotohira Shrine in Kagawa.
Tanabata began as an event to pray for the improvement of women's weaving and needlework skills. During the Nara period in Japan, it became an imperial court event and remains to this day.
Tanabata bamboo is used as decoration for the Tanabata festival. It was common to decorate it as a sign pointing to the gods in the sky, and to write poems on strips of paper and hang them up, but in modern times it is more common to write wishes and tie them up. It is said that bamboo came to be used because it was believed to have the power to ward off evil spirits.
Summer greetings
Summer greetings are written to convey seasonal greetings and express concern for the recipient's health, and serve the same purpose as New Year's cards.
It is said that the custom of sending summer greeting cards originated in the Edo period. It originated from the custom of returning home to bring offerings to the spirits of one's ancestors during Obon, and from there the form of "summer greeting cards" took hold. Later, as the postal system developed, the content was simplified, and the custom changed to sending only greeting cards, and by the Taisho period it had taken on the form of the modern "summer greeting cards."
Although midsummer gifts and summer greetings are sent at the same time, there are differences in the background and meaning behind their creation.
◆What is the difference between midsummer gifts and summer greetings?
● Midyear gifts
Ochugen originates from the Chinese calendar, and in China, the 15th day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar is called "Chugen." Chugen was considered a day to atone for sins, and people would make offerings to the gods to pray. After it was introduced to Japan, the custom changed to giving gifts to express gratitude to people who have helped you on a daily basis.
Today's Ochugen gifts are intended to convey gratitude for the first half of the year and to pray for good health in the second half of the year, and have become an established custom of giving gifts to people who have helped you on a daily basis, such as parents, relatives, matchmakers, teachers, and business partners.
●Summer greetings
As mentioned earlier, summer greetings are seasonal greeting cards, just like New Year's cards, and their origin lies in the customs of Obon.
Obon customs have been simplified and people now just give gifts and letters to people who have helped them.
◆When should you send midsummer gifts and summer greetings?
Currently, the time to give Ochugen is from early July to around July 15th, but this period varies depending on the region.
In every region, it is said that summer greetings should be sent from the beginning of the first month of summer until around the beginning of autumn.
Also, be aware that during the periods of Shosho and Taisho in July, summer greetings are sent, but once Risshu arrives in early August, they become "late summer greetings."
The 72 seasonal phases around the time of Xiaoshu are expressed as follows:
First Season (Warm Wind Arrives)
The sunlight shining through the clouds becomes stronger and stronger.
The hot wind in the phrase "atsukaze itaru" (warm wind arrives) is a hot wind blowing from the south, so it might be better to call it a "hot wind." Also, such southerly winds that blow at the end of the rainy season are called "shirahae" (white southerly wind), and those that blow under the black rain clouds at the beginning of the rainy season are called "kurohae" (black southerly wind).
Next Season: Lotus Begins to Bloom
When the lotus flowers begin to bloom.
Lotus flowers begin to bloom at dawn and close at noon. Also, they are short-lived flowers, lasting only about four days from when they open until they fall off, so we recommend getting up early and taking a morning walk to enjoy them.
Last sign of the era: "The hawk learns"
This is the time when the chicks that hatched in May and June prepare to leave the nest.
This is the period when a hawk learns how to fly and catch prey so that it can stand on its own, and grows into a fully-fledged hawk.
Falconry is a hunting technique that has ancient origins and is described in the "Nihon Shoki" (Chronicles of Japan), and is said to have been introduced to Japan around the 4th century. It also came to be seen as a sport for feudal lords during the Warring States period, and a culture of its own was formed, with unique costumes for falconry being used. Tokugawa Ieyasu in particular is said to have made falconry his hobby, and it became one of the shogunate's annual events. It is thought that it was not just entertainment, but also a way to inspect the people's conditions and to foster friendships for fighting together in battle. One of the pleasures of falconry was cooking birds and small animals caught during falconry in a hotpot and eating them together.
Thus, hawks, which have become closely linked to human life, serve as a sign to tell us the seasons, as they are known as one of the 73 seasonal phases.