Week 04: Major Cold

January 22 – January 28 is the fourth week of 2024 in the Gregorian calendar.  During this week, we are in the Solar Term of Major Cold (Jan 20 – Feb 03). The micro-seasons for this week are “The Giant Butterbur Flowers” (Jan. 21 – Jan 24) and “The Mountain Stream Freezes Over” (Jan 25 – Jan 29).

The haiku selected for this week are written by Basho, Issa, Buson, Reichhold, and Kerouac.

---

The 24 Solar Terms 

The 24 solar terms were created by farmers in ancient China  (206 BCE and 24 CE) to help guide their agricultural activities. Each solar term is 15 days long and is based on the climate around the city Xi’an, which was the capital of the Han Dynasty (206 BCE to 220 CE). ⁽¹⁾

Major Cold

This week falls within the Solar Term of Major Cold (Jan 20 – Feb 03).   

Major Cold is the last Solar Term of winter and the last Solar Term in the Lunar Calendar. Snow, icy rain, and cold temperatures are common and welcomed during this time.  The accumulation of snow will provide a reserve of water for the upcoming growing seasons, and the colder weather will help control the population of pests that might damage the spring crops.⁽²⁾ 

Seasonal Food: Stewed Hen Soup

One of the foods common around Nanjing in the Jiangsu province during this time is Stewed Hen Soup.⁽²⁾ Stewed hen soup is similar to chicken soup.  However, stewed hen soup uses older hens instead of younger chickens as the protein source.  The meat of the older hens is tough and isn’t recommended for most chicken dishes.  

Cooking stewed hen soup is not complicated, but it does take many hours to complete.  The hen is placed in a stewed pot and simmered for about three hours. Near the end of the cooking time, you add your chosen vegetables. Some suggested ingredients for hen soup are Chinese yam, dried jujube, dried goji, ginger, and mushrooms. 

Check out AsianCookingMom.com’s stewing hen soup recipe for detailed instructions and a commentary about the process.  

---

The 72 Seasons

The 72-season calendar was established in 1685 by Japanese astronomer Shibukawa Shunkai.  Each season lasts for about 5 days and offers “a poetic journey through the Japanese year in which the land awakens and blooms with life and activity before returning to slumber.”⁽⁴⁾

The micro-seasons for this week are “The Giant Butterbur Flowers” (Jan. 21 – Jan 24) and “The Mountain Stream Freezes Over” (Jan 25 – Jan 29)

The Giant Butterbur

The Giant Butterbur (Petasites japonicus) is also known as the Japanese Butterbur, Great Butterbur, or Sweet Coltsfoot. The Giant Butterbur is a perennial herb in the Asteraceae family. It is native to China, Japan, and Korea.  This plant thrives in woodlands near streams and where the soil is moist. The Giant Butterbur is considered an invasive plant in most parts of North America.^(5,6,7)

In early spring, just after the ground thaws, small green buds of the Giant Butterbur begin to emerge from the ground. Those buds produce small flowers that start out green but then quickly turn white.  As the plant matures, the flowers give way to the stalks and leaves of the plant.^(5,6)

When fully grown, the Giant Butterbur has stalks that can be about 36 inches long (.9 meters) and leaves that can be up to 48 inches (1.2 meters).  The stalks are edible and are called “Fuki”. One technique for preparing fuki is to stir-fry it with miso to create a relish to add to rice dishes. 

You can find some great photos documenting the growth of the Giant Butterbur on Linda Davis’s site: NewEnglandFineLiving.com

---

Astronomical Season

January 28 is the last day of week 04 of 2024.  Jan 28 is 38 days past the winter solstice and 51 days until the spring equinox (March 19, 2024).  

The Wolf Moon (January 25)

January’s full moon arrived on January 25.  This full moon is sometimes referred to as The Wolf Moon.

Catherine Boeckmann at The Farmer’s Almanac explains that the Wolf Moon got its name because  “wolves were more likely to be heard howling at this time. It was traditionally believed that wolves howled due to hunger during winter, but we know today that wolves howl for different reasons.”  Some of the other reasons wolves howl are to identify territory, locate other wolves, and coordinate hunting activities.  

 Other traditional names for January’s full moon include:

• Frost Exploding Moon from the Cree
• Freeze Up Moon from the Algonquin  
• Severe Moon from the Dakota
• Spirit Moon from the Ojibwe, and 
• Greetings Moon from the Western Abenaki.

For more information about the Wolf Moon, read Boekmann’s full article.

---

Seasonal haiku

Stewed Hen Soup, fuki, and the story behind the Wolf Moon got me thinking about words related to getting or eating food in the winter. For example, “hunting” is listed as a winter kigo in The Five Hundred Essential Japanese Season Words selected by Kenkichi Yamamoto and in Reichhold’s A Dictionary of Haiku.   

There are also fishing-related kigo including “wicker fishnet” from The Five Hundred Essential Japanese Season Words, and “fishermen in winter” in A Dictionary of Haiku. For those of us in colder climates, “ice-fishing” would also fit in here. 

For foods that are commonly consumed in winter, “porridge” is listed as an option in The Five Hundred Essential Japanese Season Words, and “Bean Soup” is listed in A Dictionary of Haiku.  I also think “Chicken Soup” would be another potential seasonal word for this week. 

Now with all this in mind, let’s read some haiku.

---

Basho

if it hails 
I'll cook and serve
wicker-caught whitebait. 
(translated by David Landis Barnhill)

barley soup
grown thin from love
the cat’s wife 
(translated by Jane Reichhold)

well nothing happened
yesterday has passed away
with globefish soup 
(translated by Jane Reichhold) 

Issa

dawn
at the hunting shack...
the dog's bell 
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

his wicker fishing trap
built once more...
deep mountain haze
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

the season's first
pufferfish soup smoke...
house on the hill
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

Pufferfish soup (fukuto-jiru) is a winter season word.

going out
to get soup stock...
bright moon
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

Buson

In wintery wind
gills puffing — 
a hooked fish 
(translated by Allan Persinger)

Reichhold

old hunter
confined to setting traps
for mice

Kerouac

America: fishing licenses
   the license
To meditate

This last haiku by Kerouac is one of my favorites.  I wanted to include it even though it isn’t necessarily a winter haiku. 

---

Haiku invitation

This week’s haiku invitation is to write a haiku or senryu referencing some aspect of cooking or gathering food in winter.

Share your haiku in the comments below, or post on your page and link back. I can’t wait to read what you write!  

---

Let’s Spread the Joy of Haiku!

Buy a haiku book for the Woodbury Community Library (Woodbury, VT) and help them spread the joy of haiku! Follow this link to see the wishlist and how you can help.

2 out of the 10 books for the library have been purchased and are on their way.

Thank you for your support!

---

You can also support our work by donating at “Buy Me a Coffee” or shopping at our bookstore.

About the Haiku

Basho’s haiku were retrieved from “Matsuo Bashō’s haiku poems in romanized Japanese with English translations” Editor: Gábor Terebess.  Issa’s haiku were retrieved from David G. Lanoue’s Haiku Guy.  Buson’s haiku was retrieved from Foxfire:The Selected Poems of Yosa Buson. Jane Reichhold’s haiku was retrieved from Dictionary of Haiku. Kerouac’s haiku was retrieved from Kerouac’s Book of Haikus. 

Resources

1. “The 24 Solar Terms”; China Educational Tours
2. 24 Solar Terms: 6 things you may not know about Major Cold; ChinaDaily.com
3. 72 Seasons App
4. “Japan’s 72 Microseasons”; Nippon.com
5. Davis, Linda. “Giant Japanese Butterbur, a prehistoric looking plant in our yard”.
6. Dyer, Mary. “Japanese Butterbur Information: Growing Japanese Butterbur Plants”. 
7. “Petasites japonicas:; Wikipedia
8. Boeckmann, Catherine. “Wolf Moon: Full Moon in January 2024”. Almanac.com