Shūbun (秋分): Autumn Equinox
Day and night are almost equal. The seven days centered on it are the autumn higan.
| Year | Date and time (Japan Standard Time) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Sep 23, 2025 (Tue) 3:19 |
| 2026 | Sep 23, 2026 (Wed) 9:05 |
| 2027 | Sep 23, 2027 (Thu) 15:02 |
Times are found from the sun's apparent longitude (Japan Standard Time).
What Shūbun means
Shūbun is a chūki (中気, “middle”) term and falls in the middle of the Rooster month. In the old lunisolar calendar, the month containing Shūbun was the 8th month.
Customs and seasonal food around Shūbun
The middle day of the autumn higan, when people offer ohagi rice cakes. In season: chestnuts and sweet potatoes.
The 72 kō of Shūbun
Each solar term is divided again into three periods of about five days, the 72 kō (七十二候, “microseasons”). The names here follow the 1874 Ryakuhon-reki almanac. The first person to adapt the Chinese names to Japan's own climate was the astronomer Shibukawa Harumi, in the Jōkyō calendar of 1685.
| Kō | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 雷乃収声 | Thunder ceases |
| 2nd | 蟄虫坏戸 | Insects close up their doors |
| 3rd | 水始涸 | Fields are drained |
1st kō: Thunder ceases (雷乃収声)
The thunder of summer falls silent, a name shared with the Senmyō calendar, pairing with “distant thunder” at the spring equinox. During the autumn higan people visit graves and offer ohagi. The sky is high and clear, with mackerel clouds.
2nd kō: Insects close up their doors (蟄虫坏戸)
Insects burrow into the soil and seal their doors, a name shared with the Senmyō calendar and the pair of “insects open their doors” in Keichitsu. The long autumn nights of insect song are ending, and new rice is in the shops.
3rd kō: Fields are drained (水始涸)
Water is let out of the paddies to prepare for the rice harvest, a name shared with the Senmyō calendar (some read it as wells and rivers running low). Rice harvesting and autumn festivals take place, and chestnuts and mushrooms are in season.