Find calm in the 72 Microseasons of the Japanese Calendar
by Antonio Antefermo
image courtesy of Rizzoli International Publications, all rights reserved
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KO: Japanese Microseasons, a book review
Friday, 23 October 2026
Leaves are turning yellow and falling with enthusiasm. The Old Farmer's Almanac waffles a bit, noting that the date for first frost in Hunterdon County is October 15 but cautions that that's only a 30% probability, it could be earlier. Or later. There were a couple of chilly nights recently, with one dipping to 30.7 degrees Fahrenheit, below the freezing point. I made a small fire in the wood burning stove, and put flannel sheets on my bed.
The four seasons. We take it for granted that the year is divided into 12 months with four seasons, each about three months long: spring, summer, fall, and winter. Karl Foerster, a noted horticulturist, thought there should be six seasons. After all, the first few weeks of spring are very different from the last few weeks, and the same for summer. So his suggestion was that there should be first spring and second spring, first summer and second summer, followed by fall and winter for a total of six seasons.
The Japanese take it even further.
KO Japanese Microseasons
Find calm in the 72 Microseasons of the Japanese Calendar
by Antonio Antefermo
image courtesy of Rizzoli International Publications, all rights reserved
"Absurd." you think. "How can a "season" be just 5 days long?
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This year, 2026, there were two very warm days in April that hastened fruit trees into early bloom.
Then we had exceptionally cold temperatures, April 19th through 22nd, down into the 20s Fahrenheit.
There would be no peaches. Exceptional weather? Yes, and just within the length of a microseason.
Granted this was an exceptional microseason with first quite warm weather followed by exceptionally cold temperatures. Consider instead a microseason in early spring when the little bulbs hurl themselves from the frozen earth and quickly into flower, something they do year after year. How welcome these first snowdrops, an assurance that winter is on the wane.
KO, Japanese Microseasons is more than a calendar. Antonio Antefermo hopes that his book will introduce you to the rhthyms of nature, the year's cycle of birth, growth, decline. Each of the book's 24 sekki, (solar periods) begins with a haiku written by the author. Haiku, he suggests, requires concentration, yet taking time to focus on nature's beauty while creating the brief, very structured poem. Each KO has an exploration of what we might gain from it.
"Just as the first peach blossoms herald the arrival of spring, so each small step forward marks the initiation of new growth. Celebrate each progression."
There is discussion of what hopeful implications the peach blossom offers us. This KO then finishes with the suggestion that the reader create a progress journal, finding a small success, a new personal discovery, a moment of joy to enter in its pages.
Here and now, my calendar is tilted to late October. The KO for October 23-27 takes notice that frost begins to form.
"Let calm and reflection transform your spirit" Learn to slow down. Find a quiet place,
Sit. Close your eyes. Slow breathing. Consider changes you may be facing. Open your eyes
and then write your thoughts in your journal, free of any judgement. Reflect on priorities.
KO, Japanese Microseasons has the subtitle, Find calm in the 72 Microseasons of the Japanese Calendar. Antonio Antefermo is a practitioner of martial arts, a psychologist with a Zen approach using principles of Buddhism with the goal of improving personal well being though mindfulness, kindness and understanding for ourselves. Abook to read slowly, ko by ko.
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Winter continues. Water freezes. Snow falls. The year turns. Ice melts. Snow disappears.
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The seasons turn about. Spring arrives. Plants emerge from the earth. Flower, and fruit.
images courtesy of Rizzoli International Publications, all rights reserved
KO Japanese Microseasons
Find calm in the 72 Microseasons of the Japanese Calendar
by Antonio Antefermo
published by Rizzoli Universe, a division of Rizzoli International Publications
Hardcover, trim size: 5-3/10 x 7-1/2, $19.95
ISBN 978-0-7893-4678-0
on sale September 8, 2026
A review copy was provided by the publisher
If you have any comments or questions, you can e-mail me: jgglatt@gmail.com
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