Japan Culture Navi 日本語
Micro-season 22 of 72Grain Fills

Silkworms Feast on Mulberry

蚕起食桑かいこおきてくわをはむ

蚕が桑の葉を盛んに食べる

SummerMay 21〜May 25

EN

In English

Silkworms wake and eat mulberry leaves without stopping. Silk was Japan's biggest export for decades, so this was once a season the whole country's economy depended on.

蚕が目を覚まし、桑の葉を休みなく食べる。生糸は長く日本最大の輸出品で、この季節に国の経済がかかっていた。

The solar term it belongs to

Grain FillsしょうまんShoman means "small fullness." Plants grow thick and the ears of barley start to fill out, so farmers could feel a small relief that the harvest was coming.

Japanese culture around May