2005-05-21

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:

  1. 蚕起食桑 (Kaiko Okotte Kuwa o Kurau), "Silkworms get up and start eating mulberry"
  2. 紅花栄 (Kouka Sakau), "Safflowers flourish"
  3. 麦秋至 (Bakushuu Itaru), "Wheat harvest arrives"
Meanwhile, in China:
  1. 苦菜秀, "苦菜 excels [at blooming]" (苦菜 is variously identified as "Korean lettuce", "rabbit milkweed", etc.
  2. 靡草死, "靡草 [withers and] dies" (靡草 apparently refers to something like shepherd's purse)
  3. 小暑至, "A little heat arrives"

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