Tōji (冬至): Winter Solstice
The shortest day of the year. From here yang begins to return, which is called ichiyō raifuku, “the return of the first yang”. People take yuzu baths and eat kabocha squash.
| Year | Date and time (Japan Standard Time) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Dec 22, 2025 (Mon) 0:03 |
| 2026 | Dec 22, 2026 (Tue) 5:50 |
| 2027 | Dec 22, 2027 (Wed) 11:42 |
Times are found from the sun's apparent longitude (Japan Standard Time).
What Tōji means
Tōji is a chūki (中気, “middle”) term and falls in the middle of the Rat month. In the old lunisolar calendar, the month containing Tōji was the 11th month.
Customs and seasonal food around Tōji
People bathe in yuzu citrus and eat kabocha squash to stay healthy. In season: yuzu and kabocha.
The 72 kō of Tōji
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 | 乃東生 | Self-heal sprouts |
| 2nd | 麋角解 | Deer shed their antlers |
| 3rd | 雪下出麦 | Barley sprouts under the snow |
1st kō: Self-heal sprouts (乃東生)
Self-heal begins to sprout, the pair of “self-heal withers” at the summer solstice, a kō found only in Japan. On the winter solstice, the shortest day, people take yuzu baths and eat kabocha squash for good health.
2nd kō: Deer shed their antlers (麋角解)
Great deer shed their antlers, a name shared with the Senmyō calendar. Antlers grow back every spring. Year-end cleaning and preparations are under way; on New Year's Eve people eat soba noodles and listen to the temple bells.
3rd kō: Barley sprouts under the snow (雪下出麦)
Barley sprouts beneath the snow, a kō found only in Japan. Wheat and barley sown in autumn wait for spring under the snow. “Treading the barley” in winter helps it grow strong. New Year events such as the first shrine visit continue.