Micro-season 39 of 72 · Jul 17 – Jul 22

Young hawks learn to fly.

Taka sunawachi waza wo narau

In the fierce heat of mid-July, young hawks take their first uncertain flights from the nest while cicadas reach full chorus.

The sun now strikes with an almost metallic weight, and shadows retreat to thin slivers beneath eaves and stone walls. In the mountains, the shrill cry of a fledgling hawk cuts through the drone of cicadas — a sound both urgent and ancient. The air itself seems to hold its breath in the hour before evening storms gather on the horizon.

Nature notes

Young hawks, having grown their flight feathers through early summer, now launch themselves from cliff ledges and tall cryptomeria, their wingbeats uncertain but determined. Cicadas — particularly the minminzemi — have reached their peak volume, their synchronized chorus marking true midsummer. Morning glory vines climb feverishly, and the first lotus flowers open in temple ponds, their pale pink petals luminous against dark water.

In season

Fruits

ブルーベリー

マンゴー

Vegetables

茗荷

空芯菜

モロヘイヤ

とうもろこし

Fish

穴子

鮑

At the table

01

Thinly sliced pike eel briefly swished in kelp broth, eaten with ponzu — the essential Kyoto dish for beating midsummer heat.

02

Rice cooked with fresh corn kernels and a touch of salt, capturing the sweetness that peaks in these blazing July days.

03

Chilled white peaches served with soft rice-flour dumplings in cold syrup — a cooling confection for the season of intense sun.

04

Garlic-sautéed water spinach with a splash of fish sauce, a dish that thrives when this heat-loving green is at its crispest.

Cultural note

This period falls within the days of summer doyo, when unagi (eel) is eaten to fortify the body against heat exhaustion — a practice dating to the Edo period. The specific 'Day of the Ox' within doyo, called Ushi no Hi, sees lines forming at eel restaurants across Japan. Simultaneously, many regions hold Gion Matsuri-related events, with the climax of Kyoto's great procession often occurring in these very days.

若鷹の翼ひろげて空を知る

wakataka no / tsubasa hirogete / sora wo shiru

young hawk spreads its wings — / for the first time it comes to know / the vastness of sky

Somewhere above the heat shimmer, a fledgling hawk catches a thermal and rises — and the summer tilts imperceptibly toward its zenith.