I wrote another book!
Celebrating the magic of the Japanese microseasons
Happy Easter weekend! I’m pausing my own holy chocolate bender to bring you some exciting news… I have a new book published this week!
If you’ve enjoyed my book Ebb and Flow: A Guide to Seasonal Living, you’ll love this smaller sister book about connecting with the seasons - with a Japanese twist!
Of all the beautiful words in the Japanese language, kisetsukan is perhaps the most appropriate for this book. It refers to the concept of being guided by the changing seasons, living in harmony with the natural world, and existing in a way that is emotionally, intellectually and physically connected to nature’s cycles. But in the ancient Japanese calendar, there are more than just four seasons to align yourself with. Spring, summer, autumn and winter are each divided into six, and each of these 24 subdivisions (sekki) are then further divided into three, to make a total of 72 microseasons (kō), each lasting around five or six days.
This traditional almanac, which is based on the lunisolar calendar, dates back to the sixth century, when it came to Japan from China via Korea. At its heart is an appreciation of the agricultural and natural cycles, the plants and animals that make up an ecosystem and, in turn, a society.
My new book is not simply about these Japanese microseasons, but about how we can take the symbolism of each one and weave it into our own lives. How can we learn from nature as we go about our day-to-day tasks and behaviours? It was a lovely book to research and write, particularly because I was lucky enough to collaborate with the hugely talented Tamae Mizukami, a Tokyo-born illustrator whose beautiful, delicate illustrations perfectly capture the colours, forms and subtleties found within the natural world.
To celebrate the launch of Microseasons, I thought I’d share the spread below, taken from the sekki translated as Grain Rain, which is the sekki we are currently in here in the UK. This microseason is all about new growth and planting seeds, which is perfect as I’ve spent the weekend transplanting seedlings and caring for the flowers and vegetable crops growing in our garden. Studies have found that gardening and tending to plants has a wide range of mental health benefits, including combating depression, anxiety, stress and high blood pressure. It doesn’t matter if you have an acre of land or a kitchen windowsill; there is always something to grow, and you may be surprised at how fulfilling it can be.
If you’d like your own copy of Microseasons, it is published in the UK on Thursday 24 April and will be available in all good bookshops, online or offline. I always recommend Bookshop or World of Books, but you can find it anywhere. It has already been released in the US, so if you need a little distraction (no reason, no reason), you can find it in Barnes & Noble.
See below for a few of my favourite spring things growing in our garden at the moment!
I have literally just bought this then found you! Congratulations 💫
Ordered two! One for me and one for a friend’s birthday 💗