Current location:World Window news portal > style
VOX POPULI: Some celebrate while others ponder time and space on leap day
World Window news portal2024-05-07 19:40:52【style】6People have gathered around
IntroductionWhen author Mizuki Tsujimura was in elementary school, her teacher said to her, “You are 8 years old
When author Mizuki Tsujimura was in elementary school, her teacher said to her, “You are 8 years old, but actually you’re only 2.”
Tsujimura’s birthday is Feb. 29.
Back then, she did not quite know what a leap year meant.
But she remembers feeling sort of happy that she was “still only 2.”
She only gets to celebrate her birthday every four years.
However, she wrote in her contribution to Asahi Shogakusei Shimbun (an Asahi newspaper for elementary school children) that she was actually lucky to have that birthday because it was easy for all her friends to remember it.
“Even if I were to be reborn, I would still like to have this birthday,” she concluded.
Today, Feb. 29, is a leap day.
The human-set time span of one year is different from the flow of time created by the sun and the Earth.
The Earth is not a perfect sphere and the movements of heavenly bodies vacillate.
A leap day is for coordinating all these variables and “synchronizing” them somehow.
There used to be such a thing as a leap month.
In ancient Japan, the new moon, or the first day of the lunar month, was called “saku,” and one “sakubo-getsu” denoted the interval between one saku and the next.
In the traditional lunisolar calendar, one year consisted of 12 sakubo-getsu, which added up to 354 days.
And to that, a leap month was added from time to time.
Nature fluctuates but humans have always sought unwavering time.
Astronomer Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) discovered the law of the pendulum in the 16th century.
After pendulum clocks replaced sundials, there were quartz clocks, and now we have optical lattice clocks that are believed to be the most accurate timepiece ever made.
But what, exactly, is time?
When I think about deep space, I become scared by the utter diminutiveness of my existence.
A haiku by Hyakusui Inaba captures a sense of loneliness and heartbreak evoked by the impermanence of life.
It goes, “Loneliness makes me four-legged in a leap year.”
--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 29
* *
*Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
Address of this article:http://www.samacharpostdainik.com/html-09a099982.html
Very good!(91)
Related articles
- Scenery of Mount Emei in SW China's Sichuan Province
- Country set to step up R&D of future
- Marintec China 2023 opens in Shanghai
- Shopping trend takes retail sector by storm
- Peng Liyuan, Spouses of Central Asian Leaders Visit Historic Theater
- China's securities regulator tightens delisting regulation
- China unveils plan to promote trade
- Multinational firms swear by Shanghai on support plan for foreign R&D centers
- Breathtaking view of oldest palace in Tibet 'Yumbu Lakhang'
- Creations of Givenchy showed during Haute Couture 2018 in Paris
Popular articles
Recommended
Xi Calls on National Art Museum of China to Build Worldwide Prestige
Online outlets prove boon for smaller retailers
China's securities regulator tightens delisting regulation
Xi Meets Sri Lankan President
Rural scenery in China's Gansu
Car buyers report poor performance
China's auto exports cruising in top gear
Theatrical play in Athens unveils life after cancer
Links
- Guideline cleans up pollutants
- China's second
- SpaceX launches 23 more Starlink internet satellites into space
- 2023 in review: A fruitful year for China's manned space program
- Tiger Woods hints at an end to bitter PGA
- Beijing boosts int'l sci
- SpaceX launches 23 more Starlink internet satellites into space
- Chinese artists from Yunnan perform in Capital Governorate, Kuwait
- Cultural exchange activities on BRICS cooperation held in South Africa
- Tibetan incense brings wealth to town of SW China's Xizang