Shosho (処暑): End of Heat
The heat passes its peak and begins to ease.
| Year | Date and time (Japan Standard Time) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Aug 23, 2025 (Sat) 5:34 |
| 2026 | Aug 23, 2026 (Sun) 11:19 |
| 2027 | Aug 23, 2027 (Mon) 17:14 |
Times are found from the sun's apparent longitude (Japan Standard Time).
What Shosho means
Shosho is a chūki (中気, “middle”) term and falls in the middle of the Monkey month. In the old lunisolar calendar, the month containing Shosho was the 7th month.
Customs and seasonal food around Shosho
Typhoon season, and the 210th day after Risshun, feared by farmers. In season: grapes and sardines.
The 72 kō of Shosho
Each solar term is divided again into three periods of about five days, the 72 kō (七十二候, “microseasons”). The names here follow the 1874 Ryakuhon-reki almanac. The first person to adapt the Chinese names to Japan's own climate was the astronomer Shibukawa Harumi, in the Jōkyō calendar of 1685.
| Kō | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 綿柎開 | Cotton bolls open |
| 2nd | 天地始粛 | Heat starts to die down |
| 3rd | 禾乃登 | Rice ripens |
1st kō: Cotton bolls open (綿柎開)
The calyxes holding the cotton begin to open. This kō replaced the Senmyō calendar's “hawks make offerings of birds”. When the bolls burst, soft white fiber peeks out. Shosho is when the heat eases, but it is also peak typhoon season.
2nd kō: Heat starts to die down (天地始粛)
The heat of heaven and earth finally begins to settle, a name shared with the Senmyō calendar. Mornings and evenings feel cooler. The 210th day after Risshun falls around now, traditionally a time to prepare for typhoons.
3rd kō: Rice ripens (禾乃登)
Rice and other grains begin to ripen, a name shared with the Senmyō calendar. The paddies turn gold, and wind-calming festivals were held to protect the harvest; Toyama's Owara Kaze-no-Bon is said to come from this tradition. Grapes and pears appear.