Japanese with anime voice: episode43
Hello, I’m Sachi.
May 1, today is the day of 八十八夜 (hachijuuhachiya), which is written by combining the number 88 and the character for 夜 (yoru). It is the day that marks the 88th day and night counting from 立春 (risshun). 立春 (risshun) is the day on which spring began. In other seasons, 立夏 (rikka) is the day when summer begins, 立秋 (risshu) is the day when autumn begins, and 立冬 (rittou) is the day when winter begins. Each season of the year has its own day.
What does 八十八夜 (hachijuuhachiya) indicate, though? Even though spring has begun, depending on the location and weather conditions, there may be frost, which can affect crops. However, after the 88th night from the first day of spring, the weather is stable and we can safely sow seeds and plant rice.
This 八十八夜 (hachijuuhachiya) is said to be a day that was born from the experiences of Japanese people in the past as they lived while growing crops. People in the old days are really amazing. I think that although we have weather forecasts now, people in the old days could predict weather changes based on the air and the sky. I think they must have had such excellent intuition.
And at this time of year, tea fields are covered with new sprouts. This means that it is the peak season for Japanese tea and we can enjoy new tea from now on. So on this 八十八夜 (hachijuuhachiya) day, Green Tea Day and New Tea Day are established. It is said that if you drink tea picked on the day of 八十八夜 (hachijuuhachiya), you will live longer, so they established this day after that. Since 八十八夜 (hachijuuhachiya) changes depending on the day of 立春 (risshun), the day of green and new tea naturally changes as well.
Well, everyone, it’s May. Already…it’s already the fifth month since the beginning of the year 2024. It’s been six months since I started this podcast. It’s already been a month since I switched to a 5-day-a-week schedule. How time flies!
I always say this when the New Year arrives. I am sure that spring will come and Golden Week will be here in no time. Just when you think it is over, summer comes and Obon passes in the blink of an eye. Just when you think it has turned into autumn, December soon arrives. And while we are saying that there is only one month left in this year, the year will start over again.
Why do you feel like your life has suddenly become more rushed since high school? I felt that elementary school was a very long time. It was as if this period would last forever. Junior high school was also long. It was supposed to be only three years, the same as high school.
A friend of mine once told me that once you get into a routine, the day seems to go by very quickly. When you become a member of society, your daily routine is usually the same. Because the same things are repeated every day, a year seems to fly by. But in a child’s life, many things happen in a day, don’t they? Therefore, even if a year is the same as when they were adults, they feel the passage of time differently than when they were children.
I am no longer a company employee, but I still had the same cycle in my daily life. Right after I quit my job, I concentrated on languages for about a year. I studied for a set amount of time. Even after I started YouTube and podcasting, I had a set schedule. It’s like, I would create a narration by Sunday, practice it Monday-Wednesday, record and edit on Thursday, and set a reserved posting for Friday.
The other thing I often hear is that if you want something to become a habit, just make sure you do it at a certain time every day. I heard that if you keep doing it until it becomes a habit, it will no longer depend on the motivation of the day. I’ve been trying to develop a language habit by setting a schedule, but here’s what a friend of mine said that really stuck out to me. Since we spend the same amount of time in a day anyway, we think that doing various things in a day, without a set routine, will make our life feel longer and more profitable. That is certainly true. I didn’t want to be influenced by my own motivation, but I wanted to enjoy life more slowly.
To begin with, when I changed the podcast to 5 days a week, I feel that the cycle I have been in has been broken and I am pushing myself like an office worker working overtime all the time. I’m supposed to be doing what I love, but for some reason I’m pushing myself and putting stress on myself. What kind of state is that? During March and April, I was back and forth between my hometown and home. So on the day of arrival, I was so tired from traveling that I sometimes forgot what I needed to do that day. That’s the other way around, time went by so fast. Now that I think about it. Either way, though, time seems to be flying by. This is not what I heard!
