Grain Rain | Believing in the time when buds will eventually sprout

The gentle spring rain is moistening the fields. Today, the 20th, is 'Grain Rain' (Kokuu), one of the twenty-four solar terms. This life-giving rain, essential for the growth of crops, soaks into the northern land where farming is now in full swing, and the black soil steams as if it were sweating softly. The winds of March and the rains of April mingle to eventually give birth to a beautiful May—such is the path of the season.

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The cherry blossom front is currently racing through various parts of the Tohoku region, poised to cross the Tsugaru Strait. Moving from the coast to the highlands, tracing the temperature as it goes, its path is more of a curve than a straight line. This detour shown by nature feels like advice that one can reach their destination without rushing.

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If you look closely at the fields being pelted by the rain, the ridges have begun to take on a bluish hue. After turning the snow into fertilizer and finishing the field burning, the time for 'plowing'—softly tilling the soil—will soon arrive.

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The hands of those involved in agriculture read the temperature and wind direction, staying close to the cycle of life. The fact that folklore predicting good or bad harvests remains in various regions is proof that a gaze that does not miss the slightest change in the sky and earth has supported our lives.

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Three weeks have passed since the start of the fiscal year. For those in new environments, this may be the time when anxieties, like rain clouds, tend to linger. However, the fields are accepting the rain without rest, and the seeds are quietly swelling in the dark soil. Believing in the growth that is happening out of sight, let us take another breath and settle down.

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The upcoming Golden Week can be called a ray of light shining at the boundary between spring and summer. By then, today's rain will have pushed up the young leaves, and the late-blooming cherry blossoms will be coloring Hokkaido. Tilling at one's own pace, filling with water, and waiting for the time to come—with this 'Grain Rain' etiquette in our hearts, let us slowly turn the ridges of our wavering minds blue.

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