How "haru ichiban" became mainstream

If you are in Japan in spring, one weather related term you will hear often at this time of year is “haru ichiban” 春一番. It literally means "first spring", but it refers to the first strong southerly wind of the year, blowing between Risshun (current solar term) and the spring equinox.

It’s a warm wind that signals the approach of spring and the Japan Meteorological Agency announces it each year. Some say that the expression originally came from fishermen in Nagasaki. Allegedly, further to a tragic accident on February 13, 1859, when strong winds overturned fishing boats and caused 53 deaths, the term became common nationwide.

However, it is widely believed that the first reference to "haru ichiban" in the mass media as on this date, February 15th, in 1963, when the Asahi Shimbun used the term in a news article. Ever since, the term has become a standard, widely used, weather term.