Microseason: Safflowers Flourish

I have been away on holidays and fell behind on sharing information for each of the microseasons in Japan. I had actually been writing posts while in Europe, but I lost Internet Connection in the last eight days of my trip and took the opportunity to take a complete break. However, I would like to write the micro seasons in order, so I am backtracking a little to get up to date. 

The micro season Safflowers Flourish 紅花栄 Benibana sakae is the second micro season of the eight solar term known as "Shoman" or "Approaching Fullness". It was on from May 26th to 30th in 2026 - the dates can shift slightly from year to year. "Safflowers Flourish" is also sometimes called "Safflowers Bloom" in English.

As the name suggests, in this micro season Safflowers, which are called 'Benibana' in Japanese, flourish. There is an area famous for safflowers in my Prefecture (Saitama), but they actually don't 'flourish' until mid-June here.  I took the photo in this post on the 20th of June. 

Elsewhere in nature, the rice paddies turn a vivid, almost neon green. The fireflies begin their brief, magical season, mulberry leaves reach peak tenderness and the hydrangea being to color. Unfortunately, the heat dial is also turned up!  The seasonal winds change to southerly winds. The air thickens and the first true feeling of rainy season approaches.