Micro-Season: “The Frost Stops the Rice Grows” (2023)

We have entered the micro-season of “The Frost Stops the Rice Grows .” This is the second micro-season of the mini-season of Grain Rain. All the micro-seasons within Grain Rain are:

• The First Reeds Grow (Apr 20 – Apr 24)
• The Frost Stops the Rice Grows (Apr 25 – Apr 29)
• The Tree Peony Flowers (Apr 30 – May 04)

The micro-seasons were established in 1685 by Japanese astronomer Shibukawa Shunkai. While they are specific to Japan, they can be useful to people all over the world. No matter where you live, you can use these seasons as a starting point for your own exploration of the natural world.

To celebrate this season we will learn about how to prepare a paddy for seedlings and then read seasonal haiku by Basho, Issa, Buson, and Reichhold.

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A Bit About Rice

When we use the term “rice” we are talking about the seed of a grass species from the genus Oryza in the Poaceae family.  Oryza sativa, which is more commonly known as Asian Rice, is the primary domesticated species of rice. Oryza glaberrima, or African rice, is the second most commonly grown species.  The term “Wild Rice” is sometimes used for grasses from the genera Zizania and Porteresia, or it may be used for primitive versions of Oryza sativa.⁽¹⁾

Rice was first domesticated for human use in China along the Yangtze River around 8000 BCE.⁽²⁾ It is suspected that rice traveled west with traders and travelers in the 15th or 16th century.  

Before Planting Rice

Before planting any rice seedlings, a farmer must prepare the rice field or paddy. Preparing the paddy takes multiple steps and it starts with primary tillage.

Primary Tillage

The first step in preparing a rice paddy is plowing the field.  The purpose of this step is to break up the soil and make it suitable for sowing seeds.

Secondary Tillage

After the initial plowing is done, a secondary process known as harrowing is performed. Harrowing breaks up the soil clods, cuts up the weeds, and mixes in new organic matter to support rice growth.  Harrowing should be completed three times.

• The first harrowing is at 14 days before transplanting or sowing rice.
• The second harrowing is completed 7 days before transplanting or sowing rice.
• The third harrowing is at 1‐2 days before transplanting or sowing rice.

Leveling 

Leveling the paddy is completed after the third harrowing. The field is leveled so that water can flow evenly throughout the field.  Farmers may level a field by pulling a wooden plank across the field or by sight.  During the leveling process, farmers may also construct canals for proper drainage and irrigation. It is said that “proper leveling of the field solves more than 50% of the problems in rice production.”⁽⁴⁾

After the tillage and the leveling, the rice seedlings can be planted. 

Flooding

Flooding of the paddy can happen during or after the seedlings are planted. Since rice is a semi-aquatic plant, the seedlings need to be wet in order to grow.  It is recommended that you flood your paddy with about two inches of water above the soil level and then monitor the paddy drainage so the water doesn’t drain too quickly. ⁽²⁾

It will take about six months for rice to go from seedling to harvest. 

What about the Frost?

In this season, we also notice that we have reached the end of the frost.  Frost occurs when the temperatures on outside surfaces drop below the dew point.  This allows water vapor that is suspended in the air to turn into liquid.  Then, as the temperature continues to drop below the freezing point, the water will freeze into ice crystals. These ice crystals are called frost.  When the temperatures get this low, the water that is also found in the plant tissues may freeze and can damage the plant tissue or even kill the plant.

To prevent potential frost damage to crops, farmers have developed systems to identify the last frost dates for their region. These dates are calculated by examining historical weather data to predict future weather patterns. However, it’s essential to remember that these are just estimates.  The Farmers’ Almanac estimates that there is a 30% chance that the freeze dates will fall outside the predicted dates.   

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Seasonal Haiku

According to the World Kigo Database, there are a few late spring “frost” references including “last frost”, “parting frost”, “end of frost”, and “damage of frost”.  This last kigo references what happens when a farmer plants a little bit too early. 

In The Five Hundred Essential Japanese Season Words as selected by Kenkichi Yamamoto, we also find “tilling a paddy”, “tilling a field”, and “sowing, planting seed” as related kigo. In Jane Reichhold’s  A Dictionary of Haiku we find the kigo of “planting” and “plowing” that also fit nicely with this season. 

With all this in mind, let’s read some haiku.

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Basho

Beginning of poetry – 
the rice-planting songs
of the Interior. 
(translated by Haruo Shirane) 

This is one of my favorite haiku. I first came across a version of this haiku in Basho’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches as translated by Nobuyuki Yuasa.  In that book, the haiku is translated as:

The first poetic venture
I came across–
The rice-planting songs
Of the far north

Another verse found in Basho’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches that fits this season is:

The busy hands
Of rice-planting girls
Reminiscent somehow
Of the old dyeing technique

Here is another translation of this haiku

The way they pick up seedlings
Reminiscent of the old art -
Designing with shinobu dye. 
(translated by Takafumi Saito & William R. Nelson)

Issa

mountain village--
every day, day after day
the last frost
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

rainy day--
alone and diligent
planting rice
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

Buson

Scattered petals 
lie on rice-seedling waters; 
bright is the starlit sky. 
(translated by H. G. Henderson) 

Jane Reichhold

such a spring day
dad spades his garden
wherever he is

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A Haiku Invitation

This week’s haiku invitation is to write a haiku or senryu that references spring planting or spring gardening

Share your haiku in the comments below, or post on your own page and link back to this post. I can’t wait to read what you write!  

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Resources:

1. “Rice”; Wikipedia
2. “How to Grow Rice: A Guide to Growing Rice”; MasterClass.com
3. “Cultivation Practices: Main Field Preparation”; TNAU 
4. “How to Prepare the Rice Field”; PinoyRice.com
5. “Frost”: National Geographic’s Resource Library
6. “Frost Dates”: The Almanac

 Basho’s haiku was retrieved from Matsuo Bashō’s haiku poems in romanized Japanese with English translations and  Basho’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel sketches translated by Nobuyuki Yuasa.  Buson’s haiku was retrieved from “Haiku of Yosa Buson Organized by Rōmaji, in alphabetical order; translated into English, French, Spanish” Terebess Asia Online (TAO). Issa’s haiku was retrieved from David G. Lanoue’s HaikuGuy.com.  Jane Reichhold’s Haiku retrieved from A Dictionary of Haiku