culture

In ancient Japan, people were highly attuned to even subtle changes in nature. Key moments were the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, when day and night are the same length, and the summer and winter solstices, the longest day and night, respectively. The old calendar, based on the sun’s position and anchored around these four days, was divided into 24 solar terms and included events such as Major Heat, Grain Buds, and Cold Dew. Each solar term was then further divided into three microseasons, breaking the calendar down into a total of 72 Microseasons. Each microseason spanned about four to six day and expressed the delicate transitions of the seasons with