The second seasonal phrase for March is “First peach blossoms smile”. Smile or laugh 笑here is bloom; the expression “flower smiles” means “flower blossoms”. Now, that is definitely my favorite depiction.
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3月二つ目の七十二候の名称は、「桃始笑」。「笑」はこの場合「咲」で、「花が咲く」ことを「花が笑う」という私の大好きな表現です。
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Today marks Jingzhe, the season when wintering insects come out of hibernation. I searched a poem from ancient China by this keyword and found this interesting one. It is only a passage of the whole poem that expresses “wondering in fields inadvertently to find myself at your door”, which I think a poor excuse.
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今日は啓蟄なので、これをキーワードにして古い漢詩を探したら、この面白いのが見つかりました。これは全体の中の一節ですが、「何の気なしに歩いていて、気づいたら君の家の戸口にいた」ということらしいですが、下手な言い訳だと思います。
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This is the first seasonal phrase for March, which means “as the weather gets warmer, vegetation begins to bud”. The last Chinese character means “to move”. I feel this is the most suitable character for the phenomenon.
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三月の初めの七十二候の名称で、暖かくなるにつれて、草木が芽吹き出すという意味だそうです。「動」という字がぴったりだなと思います。
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The seasonal phrase for the middle of February is this, “fish jumps out of ice cracks”. I think it is a pleasurable image that reminds people of the spring season. I am not sure if something like this actually happens, though.
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2月中頃の七十二候の名称がこの「魚上氷」です。割れた氷の間から魚が飛び出る・・・春という季節の嬉しさを思わせる愉快なイメージだと思います。実際にそんなことが起こるかどうか分かりませんが。
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Today marks the first day of the year according to the lunar calendar.
“Riding upon the wind, riding upon the wave.”
How far can we go?
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今日は旧暦の元日です。
「風に乗って 波に乗って」
どこまで行ける？
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I learned it meant “east wind or spring wind begins to melt ice”. This is the first seasonal phrase for the month of February.
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東風解凍。春風が氷を溶かし始める、という意味らしいです。2月初めの七十二候の名称です。
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It is windy and very cold today. However, according to the old calendar, spring already began yesterday, and a little hint of the spring season seems to be in the air. When something is leaving, I wonder if wishing to deterrent it is an innate tendency of human nature.
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今日は風が強くて寒いですが、立春も過ぎて春が近づいている感じがします。過ぎ去って行こうとするものを何故か留めておきたいというのが人間の性なのでしょうか。
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To trap winter/
In a transparent glass case/
Translation and calligraphy by Chio
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Today marks the beginning of spring, according to the old calendar, so this is “first day of spring; very lucky”, a kind of motto for this day. I have heard because all four characters are bilaterally symmetric, the phrase looks the same when seeing both from the front and the back, and so it creates ultimate happiness.
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立春のためのモットーのようなものですが、４字ともが左右対称なので、表から見ても裏から見ても同じで、それで縁起がいいのだと聞いたことがあります。
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Today is referred to as the coldest day in winter. It has been a really cold winter. However, the sunlight is becoming brighter and brighter.
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今日が大寒に当たるようです。この冬は本当に寒いです。けれども、日差しは明るくなってきました。
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Large drops of stars/
Remembering/
It is the coldest season/
Translation and calligraphy by Chio
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This is the seasonal phrase for mid-January, which means male Japanese pheasants begin singing. However, again, I don’t think I have seen pheasants in my life, so I have no idea what their voices are. As I have no clear pictures of them, I tried two versions. I wonder if they live nearby, in Tadasunomori forest for instance.
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1月半ばの七十二候の名称で、雄の雉が鳴き始めるという意味らしいですが、残念ながら、またも、雉を見たことがありませんし、どういう声で鳴くのかも分かりません。それでイメージも湧きませんし、二通り書いてみました。雉は近くに生息しているのでしょうか、例えば糺の森などに。
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