A little heat arrives
Rikka has ended and 小満 (Shouman) has begun. Apparently originally referred to as 盈満 (Eiman, "waxing full"), it literally means something like "waxing (満) a little (小)" now, I think, because this is the time of year when things do.
The three subseasons in Japan are:
- 蚕起食桑 (Kaiko Okotte Kuwa o Kurau), "Silkworms get up and start eating mulberry"
- 紅花栄 (Kouka Sakau), "Safflowers flourish"
- 麦秋至 (Bakushuu Itaru), "Wheat harvest arrives"
- 苦菜秀, "苦菜 excels [at blooming]" (苦菜 is variously identified as "Korean lettuce", "rabbit milkweed", etc.
- 靡草死, "靡草 [withers and] dies" (靡草 apparently refers to something like shepherd's purse)
- 小暑至, "A little heat arrives"