October 3rd – October7th, 2025 is Autumn – End of SHUBUN (Autumn equinox)-48th KOU “Farmers drain fields.”
The 48th KOU tells us that it is harvest season, especially rice harvesting season in Japan.
“Farmers drain fields” is draining the water from the paddies and drying them out. An area where a rice binder and a combine harvester will be entering must be dried especially carefully, and some rice in a certain area are cut to easy to enter. This is an essential step for a safe and successful harvest.
And October 6th (August 15th on the lunar calendar) is known as the “CHUSHU-NO- MIGETSU” meaning Harvest Moon, a day to give thanks for the harvest.
In the past, farmers based their farming operations on the lunar calendar, so understanding the movement of the moon was very important. That’s why the CHUSHU-NO-NEIGETSU was adopted into the lunar calendar.
The neighborhood shrine is holding autumn festival for the full harvest.
