East wind melts the ice

I wrote in a post yesterday, "Things I didn't do early on: follow the solar terms", that one of my goals for 2026 is learn more about the micro seasons of Japan. There are 72 of them. And right now we are in the first of the three micro-seasons, of "Risshun", which is the first solar term of the year. 

The first micro-season of the first term of the year is tōfū kaitō 東風解凍 , which literally means "east wind melting the ice". This micro-season is on from February 4th to 8th, and these will be the dates until 2028. In 2029 it will be on from February 3rd to 7th. The micro seasons are an important marker for agriculture. And east wind melts ice marks the start of the agriculture year. It is the starting point for several seasonal counts too, including the well‑known Hachijūhachi‑ya (88th night) and Nihyakutōka (210th day), both tied to agricultural rhythms.

But the microseasons are not just useful for agriculture. I find them fascinating because they are eerily accurate, broadly speaking. Take today for example, February 5th, and sure enough, the weather reports on the television are reporting warmer air and melting ice today! However, we are expecting another cold front on Saturday 7th and 8th. But overall, the micro-seasons act as a great guideline for what type of weather and seasonal occurrences to expect.