Current location:sport >>
VOX POPULI: Some celebrate while others ponder time and space on leap day
sport73176People 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.
Tags:
Reprint:Friends are welcome to share on the Internet, but please indicate the source of the article when reprinting it.“Earthly Encounters news portal”。http://mayotte.brianlynch.org/content-98e199894.html
Related articles
OpenAI pauses ChatGPT voice after Scarlett Johansson comparisons
sportNEW YORK (AP) — OpenAI says it plans to halt the use of one of its ChatGPT voices after some users s ...
【sport】
Read moreSpring scenery across China
sportTourists visit the Xuanwu Lake scenic spot in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, Mar ...
【sport】
Read moreXi Stresses Prioritizing People's Safety, Property in Flood Prevention, Disaster Relief
sportContact Us HomeNewsHighlightACWF NewsSocietyWom ...
【sport】
Read more
Popular articles
- Analysis: Larson enters conversation with Verstappen as best drivers in the world
- China will not peak as forecasted by the 'China peak theory': FM spokesperson
- Xi Sends Congratulatory Letter to Forum on Civilization and Sinology
- Nation ranks 2nd for new unicorns in '23
- Travis Kelce downs whiskey shot on slice of bread at Kelce Jam without Taylor Swift
- Freight train sends anti
Latest articles
French sports minister calls for sanctions after Monaco player tapes over anti
Xi Sends Congratulatory Letter to Forum on Civilization and Sinology
Floriade Expo 2022 opens in Almere, the Netherlands
Thousands cross Polish border fleeing Russia
Why US Catholics are planning pilgrimages in communities across the nation
Aerial view of heart
LINKS
- Owner of Raptors and Maple Leafs in talks to seal buying French soccer club Saint
- Sydney bishop stabbing: Unreasonable to hide video for all users on X, Judge says
- Short drives in go
- Ivanka Trump beams in all
- Steve Buscemi punched in the face in "random" attack in NYC
- Gucci hosts star
- 76 years of Nakba: Palestinians fear a repeat of their painful history
- Cavaliers Donovan Mitchell to miss Game 4 against Celtics
- After a rookie renaissance the past couple years, some top prospects have struggled this season
- Guardiola warns Man City will lose the Premier League title if it fails to win at Tottenham