Beginning of Spring

Japanese: 立春 - りっしゅん

One of the twenty-four divisions of the calendar. The beginning of spring marks the beginning of the lunar-solar new year. In other words, the beginning of spring refers to the New Year's Day (first half of January), which is about 15 days from the day when the sun's ecliptic longitude reaches 315° (February 4th or 5th in the solar calendar) to the day before Usui (the sun's ecliptic longitude is 330°, February 19th or 20th), but in the current calendar, it refers to the first day of this period. Around this time, the cold eases with the spring wind, and everything takes on a new spring outfit. In ancient China, this was further divided into three periods of five days each (the east wind thaws, the hibernating insects begin to swing, and the ice on the fish rises). This refers to the time when the east wind blows and the ice begins to melt, the insects that have been hibernating underground begin to move, and the fish that have been hibernating in the water come out of the ice.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

二十四節気の一つ。立春を迎えて太陰太陽暦の新年が明け，春の季節が始るとした。すなわち立春は正月節 (1月前半) のことで，太陽の黄経が 315°に達した日 (太陽暦の2月4日か5日) から雨水 (太陽の黄経 330°，2月 19日か 20日) の前日までの約 15日間であるが，現行暦ではこの期間の第1日目をさす。この頃は春風とともに寒さがやわらぎ，万物が春の装いを新たにする時期で，昔中国ではこれをさらに5日を一候とする三候 (東風解凍，蟄虫始振，魚上氷) に区分した。これは，東風が吹いて氷が解けはじめ，地中に冬ごもりした虫が動きはじめ，水中に休止していた魚が氷を出てくる時期の意味である。

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