The seasonal phrase for around five days from today is this, “fruits of the Japanese plum ripen to be yellowish”. The phrase reminded me of my late mother who detested sour flavor but was really good at making beautiful red-colored umeboshi, pickled Japanese plums.
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今日から５日間ほどの間の七十二候の名称がこれです。梅の実が熟して黄色っぽくなるということらしいです。自分は酸っぱい味が大嫌いだったのに、実に美しい赤い色の梅干しを漬けるのが得意だった母を思い出します。
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The seasonal phrase for this time of the year is this. It literally means “decayed grass becomes fireflies”, which is “fireflies appear from the decayed grass”.
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この時期の七十二候の名称です。枯れたる草 蛍と為る。枯れた草から蛍が生じるということらしいです。
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This is the seasonal phrase for this time of the year. “Montes come into the world.” I don’t care much for this kind of insects. However, I guess this must be the most representative example for this season.
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この時期の七十二候の名称がこれです。「蟷螂生」私はあまり好きではありません。でもこの季節を象徴するものの代表なのでしょう。
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This is my favorite phrase out of the seventy-two subdivided seasonal phrases. The phrase “Scarlet flower” looks, sounds and feels beautiful. This kind of flowers are actually orange, though.
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七十二候の名称の中でもこれが一番好きです。実際にはお花はオレンジ色ですが、紅い花という語はとても美しいです。
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I had been very much looking forward to seeing the moon yesterday evening. For, it was not ordinary full moon but was accompanied by eclipse and “super moon”. However, unfortunately, thick clouds blocked the moon.
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昨日の満月は、月蝕とスーパームーンも重なるということでとても楽しみにしていましたが、厚い雲に遮られて見えませんでした。
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After the eclipse/
Full moon of the rainy season/
Looks a little languid/
Calligraphy and translation by Chio
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The seasonal phrase for this time of year is this, “蚕起食桑”. Literally it means “silkworms get up and eat mulberry leaves”. In other words, silkworms begin eating mulberry leaves actively. It is easy to guess that sericulture is a major industry, for both the farm folks and those who want to enjoy luxury with rolls of silk cloth.
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今の季節の七十二候は、「蚕起食桑」。文字通りだと、蚕が起きあがって桑の葉を食べる、つまり、蚕が盛んに桑の葉を食べ始めるということのようです。養蚕は重要な産業だと容易に分かります。農家の人たちにとっても、絹の反物で贅沢しようとする人たちにとっても。
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The seasonal phrase for this time of the year is this, 竹笋生, which means bamboo shoots grow. You don’t necessarily go to a bamboo forest to find bamboo shoots. You can find them in the backyards of houses or near the plow-fields in rural areas at times. I remember digging out bamboo shoots and eating them at relative’s houses when I was a child. Uncared bamboo shoots never tasted good, though.
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この時期の七十二候の名称は、『竹笋生』つまり竹の子が生えてくる、のようです。筍は竹林でなくても、田舎の家の裏庭や畑の端の方でも生えていて、子どもの頃には親戚の家などで、掘り出して食べた思い出があります。放ったらかしの筍なんか美味しくはありませんでしたが。
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According to Ms. Ishii Yukari, an astrologist, the arrangement of the stars at present implies “pure auspiciousness”. I found the phrase very delightful.
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西洋占星術の石井ゆかりさんによると、今の星の配置は純粋な吉祥を示しているそうです。とても嬉しい言葉だと思いました。
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The seasonal phrase for this time of the year is this, “earthworms crawl out of the ground”. I don’t really care for this kind of chore, but now I am thinking of taking care of my garden trees and flowers.
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この時期の七十二候の名称は、「蚯蚓出」。ミミズが地上に這い出るという意味だそうで、あまり気が向かないのですが、ちょっと庭木や花壇の手入れでもしようかしらと考えています。
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This is the first seasonal phrase for the month of May. The sentence is: Frogs begin croaking in plow-land, which imply summer season begins and farm activities also start in earnest.
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5月最初の七十二候の名称です。田畑で蛙が鳴き始める。つまり、夏が始まり、農作業も本格的に始まるということでしょうか。
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