How to Read “The shrike’s loud cry lasts seventy-five days”
mozu no takanaki shichijūgo nichi
Meaning of “The shrike’s loud cry lasts seventy-five days”
This proverb shows that about 75 days pass between the shrike’s loud cry announcing autumn and the arrival of full winter.
This is not just counting days. It teaches us that seasonal changes follow a certain rhythm.
People use this saying when they hear the shrike’s call in early autumn. They also use it when talking about preparing for winter.
Someone might say, “The shrike has started calling, so winter will come in about 75 days.” It serves as a marker for feeling the progression of seasons.
This expression comes from ancestors who carefully observed nature. They used its patterns as practical wisdom for daily life.
Today we have weather forecasts to know seasonal changes. But this proverb reminds us how important it is to sense seasons through the behavior of familiar creatures.
Origin and Etymology
This proverb was born from observing the shrike, a small bird. In autumn, shrikes perch on high tree branches and call with a sharp “kee-kee” sound.
This behavior called “takanaki” (loud cry) is thought to be a form of territory declaration. People have cherished it as a sign of autumn since ancient times.
The specific number “seventy-five days” comes from years of nature observation. Shrikes begin their loud cries around September to October.
Counting 75 days from then brings you to late November or December, the beginning of winter. The proverb expresses this natural rhythm.
About 75 days after the shrike’s cry begins, real winter arrives.
For farmers, accurately understanding seasonal changes was extremely important. They needed more than just calendars.
They developed wisdom to read seasons from the behavior of familiar creatures. This wisdom crystallized into words like this proverb.
The small shrike’s call functioned as nature’s calendar, prompting people to prepare for winter.
Interesting Facts
Shrikes are known for a unique habit called “hayanie.” They impale captured prey like insects and frogs on tree branches or barbed wire to store them.
Various theories exist about this behavior’s purpose. Some say it stores food, others say it marks territory.
Shrikes make hayanie during the same period as their autumn loud cries. This shows shrikes are planful birds that steadily prepare for winter.
The number seventy-five may relate to the old calendar’s seasonal divisions. There is a system called shichijūni kō that divides the twenty-four solar terms even further.
Japanese people have long quantified and understood subtle seasonal changes. The period from the shrike’s loud cry to the winter solstice is roughly 75 days.
This expression may have been born from combining actual observation with calendar knowledge.
Usage Examples
- They say the shrike’s loud cry lasts seventy-five days, so I should start preparing winter clothes soon
- I heard the shrike’s voice again this year, the shrike’s loud cry lasts seventy-five days means year-end is coming
Universal Wisdom
“The shrike’s loud cry lasts seventy-five days” teaches us a universal truth. Nature has a certain rhythm, and we can predict big changes from small signs.
Humans have listened to nature’s voice since ancient times to survive. Through experience, they learned that a small event like one bird’s call foretells a big change like harsh winter.
This wisdom shows that change always has warning signs. Even when something seems to happen suddenly, small signs existed before.
Whether you can read those signs depends on daily observation and accumulated experience.
This proverb also contains a lesson about “the importance of preparation.” The specific number 75 days shows the grace period for preparing for winter.
Nature does not give us trials without warning. It gives us time to prepare.
Human society is the same. Economic fluctuations, relationship changes, life turning points—all big changes have precursors.
If you notice them and prepare appropriately, you can overcome difficulties. Perhaps our ancestors learned such life wisdom from a small bird’s voice.
When AI Hears This
Seventy-five days after shrikes begin their autumn loud cries almost matches the winter solstice. This high accuracy is not coincidence.
It is evidence that living things calculate the rate of change in daylight hours. For example, calculating from mid-September, daylight decreases by about 2 minutes per day.
Shrikes sense this rate of decrease itself. They calculate backward to when temperatures drop below insect activity levels.
What is interesting is that shrikes read “the speed of change” rather than “absolute cold.” Temperature varies by year, but the daylight decrease curve is determined by Earth’s orbit.
There is almost no error. In other words, shrikes choose reliable astronomical data rather than uncertain temperature data.
This is a rational strategy that maximizes prediction accuracy.
Furthermore, the 75-day period overlaps with optimal climate conditions. Hayanie (impaled prey) does not rot but gains preservation through drying.
In early autumn with high humidity, prey rots. In deep winter, it freezes and becomes inedible.
Shrikes derive the “just right time window” where multiple environmental variables intersect from the single indicator of daylight hours.
The human empirical rule of 75 days actually pinpointed through observation alone the result of advanced environmental prediction like solving differential equations.
Lessons for Today
This proverb teaches us living today the importance of observation skills that do not miss signs of change.
Modern society overflows with information. Our eyes tend toward big news only.
But truly important signs of change may appear in more familiar, smaller places.
In work and relationships, small signs always exist before big problems surface. A colleague seems different than usual.
A client’s response has changed. Your physical condition shows subtle changes.
By noticing such small changes like “the shrike’s loud cry” and responding early, you can avoid big difficulties.
Also, the specific period of 75 days teaches that preparation needs appropriate time. You do not need to rush, but you should not be too relaxed either.
When you sense change, steadily advance your preparations. Such planning ability and execution power become keys to enriching life.
Learn from nature’s rhythm. Do not fear change, but do not neglect preparation.
This proverb gently teaches us such a way of living.
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