Micro Seasons in Japan

Late last night, (or actually around 2:30 am!) I read this post that refreshed some of what I had known while also learning some new things about silk and sericulture in Japan. Titled, “Heavenly Bugs Awaken“, Yoda san explains the kanji for the word kaiko (silkworm)-“heavenly” atop “bug”. Her post is a lovely reminder of why we visit the sericulture farms in May on the Silk Study Tour to Japan.

O kaiko sama. This is the honorific way of addressing silkworms in Japan to acknowledge their service to us and their useful contribution to society.

It is now the season for rearing the first okaiko of the year. Ton Cara is busy arranging workshops visiting Nobue’s sericulture farm. Another new contact in the Yamanashi area is raising a monumental amount of silkworms-Ashizawa Sericulture. If I understood their recent tweet, they currently have 450,000 silkworms! By comparison, Nobue raises 40,000 about three times a year. Last year I participated in the moving of the 40,000 silkworms to the upstairs cocooning room and placing them in frames. It is a momentous task. I wonder how 450,000 are raised!!? I’m trying to wrap my mind around this number!
If you have never looked at the calendar of 72 micro seasons in Japan, It’s a fascinating rabbit hole to enjoy. The Kyoto Journal is one place to start. Nippon.com provides a listing of each of the microseasons here. Based on Nature, it’s a reminder to pay attention to the natural happenings surrounding us daily and to notice the changing seasons.

In ancient times the Japanese divided their year into 24 periods based on classical Chinese sources. The natural world comes to life in the even more vividly named 72 subdivisions of the traditional Japanese calendar.

Nature is our guide, even though we seem to be ignoring her wishes and needs these days.

I’ve meant (as usual) to do this post after the recent workshop at the Japanese American National Museum but, well, you know, things…
Got the flu and it was not a fun one as did Phil. His voice is still recovering. It’s really debilitating as a singer. We have been concerned about our dog Bella who is 14 now and seems to be nearing the end of her times here with us. She has a vet appointment tomorrow so hoping she can remain comfortable a while longer. She’s with us always.

I attended a protest for the first time in a very long time. This time it wasn’t at city hall. Over 100 neighbors showed up with handmade signs outside the flight school area of the airport protesting incessant aviation noise and leaded fuel use. When is the last time you attended a protest and held a sign? The way things seem to be going lately, I think more of this is in our future. When local electeds are ignoring residents, it’s time.

So now for the JANM workshop. It was another great weekend with many familiar faces and new ones too! We had a special focus on yanagi shibori and several participants tried it out. Some brought their ongoing shibori projects to dye and shared them with us. I love knowing that many of my workshop participants over the years have continued practicing and studying shibori -traveling and taking workshops with others. Several people from the silk study tours over the years have gone back to Japan on their own and taken workshops in indigo, weaving, shibori and more. I love planting these seeds and watching them grow. It’s so rewarding to see experienced participants share and teach the newer workshop participants. We always learn from teaching others.

George Takei was at JANM for a book signing during the workshop

Phil stood in line for quite a while to get a book signed for Dean

George Takei was just 5 when he was sent to the concentration camp

My grandson loves cats-haha. wonder how that happened.
he just turned 5.

inspired by Winnie! boshi on crisp vintage silk kasuri

moon circles

murakumo or cloudy shibori

Early next week I will be scheduling upcoming workshops for the next several months. Also, the 2025 Silk Study Tour to Japan will begin taking reservations beginning June 15th. I will send out notifications and preliminary information then. There is a lot to think about!!