72 Seasons: Japanese Calendar

In old Japan, a year was not four seasons — it was seventy-two. Every five days or so, the world turns a page: "East wind melts the ice." "Mist starts to linger." "Silkworms wake and eat mulberry." These are the shichijūniko, Japan's 72 micro-seasons — a calendar written not in numbers but in the small movements of wind, birds, plants and light. Above them sit the 24 sekki, the solar terms that mark the deeper rhythm of the year: Risshun, the first spring; Geshi, the summer solstice; Tōji, the longest night. Shichijūniko brings this calendar to your pocket — and to your home screen. TODAY'S SEASON - The current micro-season with its poetic name, reading and meaning - The current solar term (sekki) and where you are inside it - Exact dates for each season, computed astronomically from the sun's position - A countdown to the next turning of the season HOME SCREEN WIDGET - See today's…