[For Seniors] Let’s have fun with October trivia and fun facts quizzes!

chestnut

When it comes to moon viewing, many people probably think of the night of the full moon, Jūgoya. While Jūgoya features a full moon, Jūsanya in October is an event for appreciating a slightly waning moon. Around Jūsanya, it’s the harvest season for beans and chestnuts, which are offered along with rice dumplings. Because of this, it’s also called Mame-meigetsu (Bean Moon) or Kuri-meigetsu (Chestnut Moon). By the way, the Jūgoya in September is also associated with celebrating the taro harvest, so it’s known as Imo-meigetsu (Taro Moon).

Cold Dew

The twenty-four solar terms divide the year into 24 parts, each named for the season. One of them, which falls in early October, is Kanro (Cold Dew). The term originally refers to the cold dew that forms from late autumn to early winter. Thus, the Kanro solar term marks the time when cold dew begins to appear. It is also the period when we sense the days growing shorter and the nights longer.

Izumo Taisha (Izumo Grand Shrine)

In October, it’s said that many of Japan’s deities gather at Izumo Taisha for a conference. These numerous deities are referred to as the eight million gods (yaoyorozu no kami), and the deities’ conference is sometimes called kamihakari. Because the gods are away visiting Izumo Taisha, October is said to be called Kannazuki, the “month without gods.” There are other theories about the origin of the term Kannazuki as well, so it might be interesting to look them up. Incidentally, in the Izumo region of Shimane Prefecture, where Izumo Taisha is located and the gods gather, October is called Kaminazuki, the “month with gods.”

morning glory

Sweet potatoes belong to the same family as morning glories. Both sweet potatoes and morning glories are plants in the genus Ipomoea of the bindweed (Convolvulaceae) family, and they produce similar flowers. Because they are closely related, it’s said that grafting—the cultivation method of joining two different plants—is also possible. If you graft a morning glory bud onto a sweet potato and grow it, it can even produce flowers.

rhino

When written in kanji, kinmokusei is 金木犀, right? The character 犀 is also used, and it comes from the animal rhinoceros (sai). It’s said to be because the bark of the kinmokusei resembles a rhinoceros’s skin. Also, the “gold” (金) in kinmokusei is said to be used because it bears orange flowers, in contrast to ginmokusei (銀木犀), which has white flowers.

Fukui Prefecture

In Fukui Prefecture, more than 95 percent of Japan-made eyeglass frames are produced, with Sabae City serving as the main production center. Today, it is renowned worldwide as a “holy land of eyewear,” standing alongside China and Italy as a major production hub. It is said that eyeglass manufacturing in Sabae began around the Meiji era as a side job suitable for the agricultural off-season. At the time, Sabae had heavy snowfall, and relying solely on farming income was difficult. Craftsmen skilled in eyewear techniques were invited from Osaka to teach their craft, and production began on eyeglasses that could be made at home even during winters when people could not go out.

Move the soil

Doyo refers to the roughly 18 days just before the start of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, occurring four times a year. During this Doyo period, it’s said that you should avoid activities that dig up or disturb the earth. It is believed that during Doyo, the deity who governs the earth presides, and moving the soil—thus angering the deity within the ground—is taboo. However, on certain days within Doyo called “Man-nichi” (intercalary days), it’s considered acceptable to move the soil.