Summer Solstice

夏至 "June is for juncos"

Jul 03, 2022

The summer solstice is maximum “yang.”

Just as their names implies, the 24 solar points (24 節季) of the traditional Japanese calendar are derived by the movement of the sun across the sky. So, the summer solstice point, called 夏至 (geshi), occurs when the solar ecliptic longitude reaches 90°(and declination reaches 23°26’19”). Most of my traditional Japanese calendars do not speak in terms of declination—but in terms of ecliptic longitudes 黄経 and yin-yang fluctuations.

While the calculation of the 24 seasons is based on the sun, their names are expressive of the seasonal phenomena traditionally associated with that time of year.

But it should be kept in mind that these were expressive of the seasonal phenomena happening at that particular time of year around the Yellow River Basin area in China— and so didn’t necessarily hold perfectly true for other places where the calendar was in use-- for example, in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. When compared to northern China, Japan has a much more temperate climate, and therefore many gaps can be felt between the 24 sekki and what is in fact happening at any certain time in Japan. And this gap is even more dramatic in a tropical place like Vietnam which, while never sees frost much less snow, still celebrates festivals occurring during the “Time of Lesser Snow.”

As is well-known these days thanks to the Japanese microseasons app, the 24 sekki are further divided into the 72 kō (72候 ). Originally the word “kō” in Japanese meant “to go out to meet someone,” and in time came to signify “looking forward to” or “expecting something.” Perhaps this says something about the way the ancient Japanese saw the turning of the seasons-- as something to anticipate, like the cherry blossoms of spring. (Or like Christmas was when we were kids).

While the 24 sekki have not been altered since their creation around the middle of the Warring States period in China (481-221BCE), the Japanese developed a few of their own terms for the 72 kō micro-seasons—though this wouldn’t happen until 1685, over 800 years after the Taien-reki Tang Dynasty calendar was first introduced in Japan!

Probably not surprisingly, the Japanese tended toward plants and insects over the many bird names of the ancient Chinese calendar. Most of the changes related to this predilection.

While I also loved being attuned to flowers and insects in Japan, now back in California, I find myself more and more becoming tuned in to the birds. And for me, this time of year will always be about bird nests and babies. Ever since the juncos started making nests in our pots of geraniums, June has become for me “the glorious time of juncos.”

June is for juncos.

This year, the junco parents made a beautiful nest in our geranium pot again—but for whatever reason no eggs. So, I was so happy to see my mom had junco babies in her geranium pot— as well as her usual mourning dove nest in the eaves of her verandah. Also this year, at the Ventura Settling Ponds, we saw the smallest, most adorable pie-billed grebe babes, riding around on their mothers back.