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一年で一番寒い頃となりますが、冬至の頃に比べると朝の光も明るく空気は澄み、景色は遠くまではっきりと目に映ります。寒さは、身にしみるくらい厳しく春の到来が待ち遠しいばかりです。

ふる年に春立ちける日よめる
年のうちに春は来にけり
ひととせをこぞとやいはむ今年とやいはむ
（在原元方　古今和歌集）

年のうちに春が来てしまった
この一年を去年と言おうか今年と言おうか

今年の立春は２月４日になります。この日は、旧暦の十二月一七日にあたります。つまりこの歌のように、今年は「年内立春」となります。待ちわびた春が、年が明ける前に訪れたことを喜ぶ古の人たちの気持ちが伝わってきます。

北風に揺れる木々に目をやると、梢に膨らみを見つけることができます。厳しい寒さの中にあっても、春は静かにゆっくりと、しかし確実に歩みを進めているようです。

This is the coldest time of the year, yet compared to the days around the winter solstice, the morning light is brighter, the air clearer, and distant landscapes come sharply into view. The cold is still biting and seeps deep into the body, making the arrival of spring all the more eagerly awaited.

Furu toshi ni
Haru tachikeru hi
Yomeru
Toshi no uchi ni
Haru wa kinikeri
Hitotose wo Kozotoya  Ihamu
Kotoshi toya ihamu
— Ariwara no Motokata, Kokin Wakashū

Spring has arrived before the year has ended.
Should this year be called last year, or this year?

This year, the beginning of spring (Risshun) falls on February 4, which corresponds to the 17th day of the twelfth month in the old lunar calendar. In other words, as expressed in this poem, this year marks a “spring within the year.” One can feel the joy of people long ago, delighting in the arrival of the long-awaited spring before the year had even turned.

As we turn our eyes to the trees swaying in the northern wind, we can see buds swelling at the tips of their branches. Even amid the harsh cold, spring seems to be advancing quietly and slowly—yet steadily and without fail.

*Greater Cold/ Start of Spring: The traditional East Asian calendars divide a year into 24 solar terms. “Greater Cold” is the 24th solar term and starts from January 20th. “Start of Spring” is the 1st solar term and starts from February 4th.