The core idea: the terms follow the sun
Picture the sun's yearly journey as a circle and cut it into 24 equal slices of 15 degrees. Each cut is a sekki, and nijūshi sekki (二十四節気) is literally the twenty-four seasonal nodes. The system came from ancient China with the calendar more than a thousand years ago. Each term begins when the sun reaches its point, so dates can shift by a day.
Four terms anchor everything: the two solstices and the two equinoxes. Halfway between each pair falls a start, a term beginning with 立, so spring runs from risshun to rikka with shunbun at its centre. The seasons are symmetrical around the sun, which is tidy, and also why every start sounds too early.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 今日は立春です。 | Kyō wa risshun desu. | Today is risshun, the start of spring. |
| 明日は冬至ですね。 | Ashita wa tōji desu ne. | Tomorrow's the winter solstice, isn't it? |
| 二十四節気のひとつです。 | Nijūshi sekki no hitotsu desu. | It's one of the 24 solar terms. |
| カレンダーに書いてある小さい字は何ですか。 | Karendā ni kaite aru chiisai ji wa nan desu ka. | What are the small words printed on the calendar? |
The eight anchors and what their kanji say
Three kanji do most of the work. 立 (ritsu, to stand or rise) marks a start: risshun is literally spring stands up. 至 (shi, to reach) marks an extreme: geshi is summer at its peak, the longest day, and tōji is winter's, the shortest. 分 (bun, to divide) marks an equinox: shunbun is spring divided, with day and night roughly equal. Ritsu shortens to ris-, rik- or rit- before the next syllable, as in other compounds.
Shunbun no hi and shūbun no hi are national holidays whose dates follow the astronomical equinox, and tōji has its own customs.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 今日は一年で一番昼が長い日です。 | Kyō wa ichinen de ichiban hiru ga nagai hi desu. | Today is the longest day of the year. |
| 春分の日は祝日です。 | Shunbun no hi wa shukujitsu desu. | The spring equinox is a public holiday. |
| 冬至にはゆず湯に入ります。 | Tōji ni wa yuzuyu ni hairimasu. | On the winter solstice we take a yuzu bath. |
| 冬至にかぼちゃを食べる習慣があります。 | Tōji ni kabocha o taberu shūkan ga arimasu. | There's a custom of eating pumpkin on the winter solstice. |
Why the terms feel a month early
Land and sea warm slowly and cool slowly, so the coldest weeks come about a month after the shortest day and the hottest a month after the longest. The terms follow the sun, so they run a month ahead of the weather: risshun lands at the bottom of the cold, and risshū, the start of autumn, arrives in the fiercest heat of early August.
Japanese has a ready phrase for the gap: koyomi no ue de wa, literally on top of the calendar, meaning according to the calendar. You will hear it every February and August. History adds a layer: in the old lunisolar calendar New Year fell near risshun, which is why January New Year cards still say shinshun, new spring.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 暦の上では春ですが、まだ寒い日が続いています。 | Koyomi no ue de wa haru desu ga, mada samui hi ga tsuzuite imasu. | It's spring according to the calendar, but the cold days continue. |
| 立秋とはいえ、まだまだ暑いですね。 | Risshū to wa ie, mada mada atsui desu ne. | It may be the start of autumn, but it's still very hot. |
| 暑さ寒さも彼岸まで、と言いますね。 | Atsusa samusa mo higan made, to iimasu ne. | They do say heat and cold only last until the equinox week. |
| お彼岸にお墓参りに行きます。 | Ohigan ni ohakamairi ni ikimasu. | We visit the family grave during the equinox week. |
All 24 terms at a glance
The full cycle from risshun, the traditional first term. Dates are approximate and can move by a day.
| Term | Reading | Literally | Around |
|---|---|---|---|
| 立春 | risshun | Spring stands up | 3 or 4 February |
| 雨水 | usui | Rain water: snow turns to rain | 18 or 19 February |
| 啓蟄 | keichitsu | Hibernating insects open up | 5 or 6 March |
| 春分 | shunbun | Spring divides | 20 or 21 March |
| 清明 | seimei | Pure and bright | 4 or 5 April |
| 穀雨 | kokuu | Grain rain | 19 or 20 April |
| 立夏 | rikka | Summer stands up | 5 May |
| 小満 | shōman | Small fullness: plants fill out | 20 or 21 May |
| 芒種 | bōshu | Awned seeds: time to sow grain | 5 or 6 June |
| 夏至 | geshi | Summer reaches its peak | 21 June |
| 小暑 | shōsho | Small heat | 6 or 7 July |
| 大暑 | taisho | Great heat | 22 or 23 July |
| 立秋 | risshū | Autumn stands up | 7 or 8 August |
| 処暑 | shosho | Heat settles | 22 or 23 August |
| 白露 | hakuro | White dew | 7 or 8 September |
| 秋分 | shūbun | Autumn divides | 22 or 23 September |
| 寒露 | kanro | Cold dew | 8 October |
| 霜降 | sōkō | Frost descends | 23 or 24 October |
| 立冬 | rittō | Winter stands up | 7 or 8 November |
| 小雪 | shōsetsu | Small snow | 22 November |
| 大雪 | taisetsu | Great snow | 7 December |
| 冬至 | tōji | Winter reaches its peak | 21 or 22 December |
| 小寒 | shōkan | Small cold | 5 or 6 January |
| 大寒 | daikan | Great cold | 20 January |
Names that sound alike
Small and great pairs, and readings that differ from everyday words, cause most confusion. The kanji themselves, such as 暑 and 寒, are covered in our guide to weather and season kanji; here the problem is sound.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 小暑と処暑は、どう違うんですか。 | Shōsho to shosho wa, dō chigaun desu ka. | What's the difference between shōsho and shosho? |
| 春分と節分を間違えてしまいました。 | Shunbun to setsubun o machigaete shimaimashita. | I mixed up shunbun and setsubun. |
| 今夜は節分なので、豆まきをします。 | Kon'ya wa setsubun na node, mamemaki o shimasu. | It's setsubun tonight, so we'll throw beans. |
| Word | Reading | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| 小暑 | shōsho | Small heat, early July; long ō in the first syllable |
| 処暑 | shosho | Heat settles, late August; both vowels short |
| 大雪 | taisetsu | The solar term in early December |
| 大雪（天気） | ōyuki | Heavy snow in a forecast, any time of winter |
| 小雪 | shōsetsu | The solar term in late November |
| 小雪（天気） | koyuki | Light snow in a forecast |
| 節分 | setsubun | The day before risshun, early February |
| 春分 | shunbun | The spring equinox, around 20 March |
Context usually rescues the snow words, since nobody announces heavy snow as a date. Shōsho and shosho differ only in vowel length, so let the month tell you which one you heard.
Spoken reality: how forecasters use the terms
Morning television forecasts often open with the term of the day and its traditional meaning. The formula is fixed enough to learn whole: kyō wa nijūshi sekki no hitotsu, then the term, then koro to sarete imasu, is said to be the time when. Haru ichiban only counts if it blows between risshun and shunbun, and kan no iri, entering the cold, is the day of shōkan.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 今日は二十四節気のひとつ、啓蟄です。 | Kyō wa nijūshi sekki no hitotsu, keichitsu desu. | Today is keichitsu, one of the 24 solar terms. |
| 冬ごもりをしていた虫が、土の中から出てくる頃とされています。 | Fuyugomori o shite ita mushi ga, tsuchi no naka kara dete kuru koro to sarete imasu. | It is said to be when insects that wintered underground come out. |
| 今日から寒の入りです。 | Kyō kara kan no iri desu. | From today we enter the coldest season. |
| 関東地方で春一番が吹きました。 | Kantō chihō de haru ichiban ga fukimashita. | The first strong spring wind has blown in the Kanto region. |
| 今日は大寒。一年でもっとも寒い頃です。 | Kyō wa daikan. Ichinen de mottomo samui koro desu. | Today is daikan, the coldest time of the year. |
| 明日は立冬、暦の上では冬の始まりです。 | Ashita wa rittō, koyomi no ue de wa fuyu no hajimari desu. | Tomorrow is rittō, the start of winter by the calendar. |
Beyond the basics: letters and seasonal cards
Formal letters open with a seasonal phrase, and the most formal pattern names a term plus no kō, the season of: risshun no kō, in the season of risshun. Most guides say to use it from that term until the next begins. Our seasonal greetings guide covers everyday openers; no kō is the formal end of the same habit.
The terms also decide when greetings change. Summer cards, shochū mimai, become zansho mimai, lingering-heat greetings, from risshū, although August is the hottest month. Winter cards, kanchū mimai, go out after the New Year period and before risshun.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 立春の候、皆様いかがお過ごしでしょうか。 | Risshun no kō, minasama ikaga osugoshi deshō ka. | In this season of risshun, how are you all keeping? |
| 暑中お見舞い申し上げます。 | Shochū omimai mōshiagemasu. | Wishing you well in the summer heat. |
| 残暑お見舞い申し上げます。 | Zansho omimai mōshiagemasu. | Wishing you well in the lingering summer heat. |
| 寒中お見舞い申し上げます。 | Kanchū omimai mōshiagemasu. | Wishing you well in the depth of winter. |
Beyond the basics: setsubun, higan and the 72 micro-seasons
Japan added its own markers, the zassetsu (雑節), literally miscellaneous nodes, to suit local farming and weather. Most are counted from the solar terms, so they move with them.
- Setsubun (節分): the day before risshun, traditionally the last night of the old year, marked with bean throwing.
- Higan (彼岸): seven days centred on each equinox, a time for visiting family graves.
- Hachijūhachiya (八十八夜): the 88th night from risshun, around 2 May, linked with the first tea picking.
- Doyō (土用): about 18 days before each start; the summer one brings eel on doyō no ushi no hi.
- Nihyaku tōka (二百十日): the 210th day from risshun, around 1 September, a traditional typhoon warning.
Each solar term is also split into three, giving the 72 micro-seasons, shichijūni-kō (七十二候), with names such as the first cherry blossoms opening. They appear on some calendars and in seasonal columns.
Common mistakes with the solar terms
Taking risshun as the start of warm weather. The cause is the English idea of a first day of spring. In Japan it marks the turn of the light, so pair it with koyomi no ue de wa while it is still cold.
Treating the dates as fixed. They are astronomical and can shift by a day, as setsubun did in 2021 and 2025. Check the current calendar before printing a date.
Sending shochū mimai in mid-August. It feels like the height of summer, but the card changed to zansho mimai at risshū, and the old wording reads as late.
Saying ōyuki for the term 大雪, or shosho for 小暑. The cause is reading by everyday vocabulary or ignoring vowel length. Learn the term readings as a set.
Expecting every name to match Japan's weather. Terms such as bōshu describe grain farming in ancient China. Treat the list as a calendar of the sun with old labels.