Sōkō (霜降): Frost Descends
Mornings and evenings grow colder and the first frost begins to fall.
| Year | Date and time (Japan Standard Time) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Oct 23, 2025 (Thu) 12:51 |
| 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 (Fri) 18:38 |
| 2027 | Oct 24, 2027 (Sun) 0:33 |
Times are found from the sun's apparent longitude (Japan Standard Time).
What Sōkō means
Sōkō is a chūki (中気, “middle”) term and falls in the middle of the Dog month. In the old lunisolar calendar, the month containing Sōkō was the 9th month.
Customs and seasonal food around Sōkō
The autumn doyō, and the season for viewing autumn leaves. In season: persimmons and salmon.
The 72 kō of Sōkō
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 | 霜始降 | First frost |
| 2nd | 霎時施 | Light rains fall |
| 3rd | 楓蔦黄 | Maples and ivy turn color |
1st kō: First frost (霜始降)
The first frost falls, a kō found only in Japan. News of first frost arrives from the mountains and the north. Frost damages crops, so farmers began protecting them. In warm regions the first frost comes later.
2nd kō: Light rains fall (霎時施)
Light showers come and go, a kō found only in Japan. These rains lead into the shigure showers of early winter, each one a little colder than the last. A good season for reading on long autumn nights.
3rd kō: Maples and ivy turn color (楓蔦黄)
Maples and ivy change color, a kō found only in Japan. People go leaf-viewing and the mountains turn red and gold. Persimmons and apples are in season. The last kō of autumn; Rittō is near.