noun
72 microseasons
Traditional East Asian calendar system dividing the year into 72 five-day periods, each with a poetic name describing seasonal changes. Used in classical literature and almanacs.
七十二候は、二十四節気をさらに三つに分けたものです。
The 72 microseasons are a further division of the 24 solar terms into three parts each.
From 七十二 (seventy-two) + 候 (season, climate). The system originated in ancient China and was adopted in Japan, where the microseason names were later adapted to better fit the Japanese climate and natural phenomena.