Crow-dipper sprouts

What Is Hangeshō?

Hangeshō is one of the zassetsu (supplementary seasonal markers) of the Japanese calendar, falling on the 11th day counting from the summer solstice (generally around 2 July). Long regarded as a turning point in farm work, it has been valued in rural communities across Japan as a guidepost for agriculture—"finish the rice planting by Hangeshō." It is not a festival of any particular region but a seasonal marker handed down throughout Japan in connection with the life of farming.

Origins and Meaning

The name "Hangeshō" is said to derive either from its being the time when the medicinal herb karasubishaku (known in Chinese as hange) sprouts, or from its being the time when the plant hangeshō (lizard's tail) turns its leaves white. As one of the zassetsu that supplement the twenty-four solar terms—alongside Setsubun, the equinoctial weeks, hachijūhachiya, nyūbai, and doyō—it has been deeply rooted in the lives and agricultural calendar of the Japanese people. Around this time, the end of the rainy season is near, and as a guidepost for the completion of rice planting, it has been regarded as an important dividing day for farming households.

Customs Remaining in Various Regions

Various customs of Hangeshō remain by region. In the Kansai region, the custom of eating tako (octopus) is widely known, expressing gratitude for the labor of rice planting and the wish that the rice take firm root like an octopus's legs. In Fukui Prefecture there is a custom of eating grilled mackerel (hangeshō saba), and in some areas of Kagawa Prefecture people eat udon. In some regions, sayings such as "poisonous vapors fall from the heavens" or "put a lid on the well" remained during the Hangeshō period, and the custom of resting from farm work to rest the body was also seen in various places.

Its Place in the Seasons and Calendar

Hangeshō falls in the interval after the summer solstice and before the arrival of full summer, and its season is classified as summer. In the shichijūni-kō (72 micro-seasons), it appears as "Hangeshōzu," a term expressing the changes of nature at this time. As a seasonal turning point in the shift from the rainy season to high summer, and as an important division of the agricultural calendar, it retains its traces even today in food culture and folk sayings.

Hangeshō in Daily Life

Today, its meaning as a guidepost for farm work is fading, but through the food cultures of various regions (octopus, grilled mackerel, udon, and so on), Hangeshō is still cherished as a piece of everyday wisdom for sensing the seasons. Octopus appearing in supermarkets around this time and grilled mackerel being served in Fukui are food customs rooted in the regions and handed down to the present. It is a richly evocative calendar day that conveys to this day Japan's deep sense of the seasons and the farming culture that has walked alongside nature.

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