Shōsho (小暑): Minor Heat
The heat starts in earnest. The period from this day to the day before Risshū is usually counted as “midsummer” for sending summer greeting cards (some say the summer doyō period instead).
| Year | Date and time (Japan Standard Time) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Jul 7, 2025 (Mon) 5:05 |
| 2026 | Jul 7, 2026 (Tue) 10:57 |
| 2027 | Jul 7, 2027 (Wed) 16:37 |
Times are found from the sun's apparent longitude (Japan Standard Time).
What Shōsho means
Shōsho is a setsu (節, “joint”) term: in the eto calendar the Goat month begins on this day. In Four Pillars and Nine Star Ki, the month's eto and star change at Shōsho.
Customs and seasonal food around Shōsho
Around Tanabata, the star festival. Summer greeting cards (shochū mimai) are usually sent from Shōsho. In season: eel and edamame.
The 72 kō of Shōsho
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 | 温風至 | Warm winds blow |
| 2nd | 蓮始開 | Lotuses start to bloom |
| 3rd | 鷹乃学習 | Young hawks learn to fly |
1st kō: Warm winds blow (温風至)
Hot summer winds begin to blow, a name shared with the Senmyō calendar. The end of the rainy season approaches and the real heat begins. Tanabata on 7 July, when people hang wishes on bamboo, falls around now.
2nd kō: Lotuses start to bloom (蓮始開)
Lotuses begin to open. The Senmyō calendar had “crickets live in the walls” here. Lotus flowers open early in the morning and often close by midday, so go early to see them. Closely tied to Buddhism, they are used for Obon decorations.
3rd kō: Young hawks learn to fly (鷹乃学習)
Hawks born in spring learn to fly and hunt, a name shared with the Senmyō calendar. The rainy season ends and the sun grows stronger. As the summer doyō approaches, people eat eel and other nourishing food to prepare for the heat.