June 21st- June 25th, 2025 is Summer – Start of GESHI (Summer solstice) – 28th KOU “NATSUKAREKUSA (self-heal) withers.”
The 28th KOU introduces NATSUKAREKUSA which literally means to wither and die around the time of the longest daylight hours as NATSU (summer)-KARE (die or wither)-KUSA (plants). And the 64th KOU last year also says it sprouts in winter.
Its withered flower spikes have been used as a traditional Chinese medicine since ancient times. So, people waited for them to wither. That’s why it appears twice in the SHICHIJUNI KOU calendar.
NATSUKAREKUSA in my garden, purchased at a flower shop in KARUIZW in July last year, began to bloom in mid-May, full bloom in early-June, and on the Summer Solstice, today, most of the flowers have turned brown and are dying.
