Micro-Season: “Earth and Sky Begin to Cool”

August 28 to September 01 is the micro-season of “Earth and Sky Begin to Cool”.  This is the second micro-season of the season of Limit of Heat.  All the micro-seasons of Limit of Heat are:

• The Cotton Lint Opens (Aug 23-Aug 27)
• Earth and Sky Begin to Cool (Aug 28- Sep 1)
• The Rice Ripens (Sep 2 – Sep 6)

These seasons were established in 1685 by Japanese astronomer Shibukawa Shunkai. While they are specific to Japan, you can use them as a starting point to explore your local environment.

To celebrate this season, we will learn about the conditions that contribute to the changing seasons, Nihyaku-toka, and then read haiku by Basho, Issa, and Buson.

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During this season, people in the Northern Hemisphere may be noticing shorter days, longer nights, and falling temperatures. All of these changes are due to the way the Earth moves around the Sun.

The Earth takes 365 days, 5 hours, 59 minutes, and 16 seconds to complete its annual orbit around the Sun.⁽¹⁾ As it orbits, the Earth also rotates on its axis, which is tilted at a 23.5-degree angle. This tilt causes different regions of the Earth to receive varying amounts of the Sun’s rays throughout the year.

During the summer seasons, parts of the Earth are tilted toward the Sun, leading to warmer conditions. In the winter seasons, the same regions are tilted away from the Sun, resulting in cooler temperatures. Check out the illustration below for a visual of how this happens.

In the 72-season calendar, Autumn begins on August 07.  August 07 is halfway between the Summer Solstice (June 21, 2023) and the Autumn Equinox (September 23, 2023). 

This is different from Autumn’s start in the astronomical calendar, which coincides with the Autumn Equinox (September 23).  The meteorological calendar is slightly different still. The meteorological calendar places the start of Autumn on September 01. 

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Nihyaku-toka

The season of “Earth and Sky Begin to Cool” also includes Nihyaku-toka.   Nihyaku-toka literally translates to “210 days” and it marks 210 days after the start of spring. Nihyaku-toka usually falls on September 01. Nihyaku-toka also coincides with the start of typhoon season.  This is especially concerning for farmers because the heavy rain and strong winds can wipe out a year’s crop before they are harvested. 

The story behind Nihyaku-toka is that an astronomer named Shibukawa Harumi woke up on a sunny September morning and wanted to go fishing.  He went down to the dock to hire a boatman to take him out for the day.   When he got down to the dock the boatman warned him that today was the 210th day from Risshun. (Risshun is the start of spring in the traditional Japanese calendar.)  The boatman then explained that the old legends state that the weather always turns stormy on this day.⁽³⁾ 

Shibukawa Harumi decided to go out anyway but soon found out the boatman was correct.  The skies turned gray and a storm developed.  When Shibukawa Harumi returned to land he marked this day on his calendar. Then, over the next few years, he noticed that the days around Nihyaku-toka always became dark and stormy.  Shibukawa Harumi thus declared that Nihyaku-toka was an “unlucky” time of year.⁽³⁾

Nihyaku-toka and Disaster Prevention Day

In 1960, the Japanese government designated September 01 as “Disaster Prevention Day.’ This declaration was partially brought on by the Great Kanto Earthquake that struck Tokyo, Yokohama, and surrounding regions on September 1, 1923. This earthquake measured 7.9 on the Richter scale, destroyed many homes and buildings, and claimed the lives of 140,000 people.⁽⁴⁾

Since 1960, local governments have used this day to organize emergency drills. “Some of these drills consist of ducking under desks to escape falling objects and evacuating from buildings.”⁽⁴⁾

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Seasonal Haiku

 In The Five Hundred Essential Japanese Season Words as selected by Kenkichi Yamamoto, there are many terms that reflect the seasonal changes.  Some of these terms are “new coolness”, “long night”, “autumn air”,  “chilly”, “a little cold”, “morning cold” and “night chill”.   All these terms are listed in the  “Season” section of the saijiki. 

“Windstorm” and “Autumn rain” are other relevant kigo that are found in the “Heavens” sections. 

In A Dictionary of Haiku, Jane Reichhold lists “cold night”, “shorter days”, and “beginning of autumn” as relevant seasonal words.  Reichhold also lists “hurricane” as a potential kigo.  These terms are listed in the “Celestial” category of her saijiki.

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

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Basho

Bright red,
the sun shining without mercy – 
wind of the autumn. 
(translated by Haruo Shirane)

as autumn draws near
our hearts feel closer
to this small tearoom 
(translated by Jane Reichhold)

autumn wind
through the opening of a door - 
a piercing cry 
(translated by Makoto Ueda)

Issa

just like darkness
it sneaks in...
autumn cold
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

harvest moon night
on the mountain, like any other...
autumn rain
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

autumn rain--
for a lonely pine
day's end
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

Buson

Moonflowers
tremble in the autumn wind —
a purifying river
(translated by Allan Persinger)

Passing through the gate
I also become a wanderer —
autumn darkens
(translated by Allan Persinger)

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Haiku Invitation

This week’s haiku invitation is to write a haiku or senryu that references the shifting weather and the arrival of autumn.

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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Let’s Spread the Joy of Haiku!

Buy a haiku book for the Woodbury Community Library (Woodbury, VT) and help them spread the joy of haiku! Follow this link to see the wish list and how you can help.

Thank you for your support!

You can also support our work by donating at “Buy Me a Coffee” or shopping at our bookstore.

Resources

1. “Revolve”; NASA.gov
2. Boeckmann. Catherine. “2023 Seasons Dates: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter”. Almanac.com
3. “Nihyaku-Toka”; Web_Japan_Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
4. “Disaster Prevention Day”; Web_Japan_Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan

Issa’s haiku were retrieved from HaikuGuy.com by David G. Lanoue.  Basho’s haiku was retrieved from Matsuo Bashō’s haiku poems in romanized Japanese with English translations. Buson’s haiku was retrieved from Foxfire: The Selected Poems of Yosa Buson.