seventy-two micro-seasons

Is it time #2

Thinking about the passage of the year in different ways.

In ancient times the Japanese divided their year into twenty-four periods [sekki] based on classical Chinese sources. The natural world comes to life in the even more vividly named seventy-two subdivisions of the traditional Japanese calendar.

- nippon.com/en/features/h00124

Using this calendar of seventy-two micro seasons I dug into my archive to represent each micro season (ko) with a photo taken in London during the alloted five day period.

This traditional calendar differs from the western, Gregorian year. It relies on a lunisolar calendar that emphasises the centrality of either a solstice or equinox in the middle of each season:

1. Spring: 4 February – 5 May
2. Summer: 6 May – 7 August
3. Autumn: 8 August – 6 November
4. Winter: 7 November – 3 February

One season contains six sekki, each sekki comprises three ko of five days apiece.

Additional annotations below from tankatuesday.com/24-seasons/

There's a 'Japanese calendar' wiki here.