1.
doyō; 18-day period before each season change
In the traditional Japanese calendar, the ~18 days leading up to each new season (spring, summer, autumn, winter). The summer 土用 is the best known, associated with eating eel.
土用の丑の日にうなぎを食べる。
We eat eel on the Day of the Ox during doyō.
土用に入ると暑さが本格的になる。
Once doyō starts, the heat sets in for real.
昔は土用の期間中は土を動かしてはいけないと言われていた。
In the old days, it was said that you should not disturb the earth during doyō.
Originates from the traditional five-element calendar. Strictly, there are four 土用 periods each year, but in modern usage 'doyō' almost always means the summer one in late July to early August.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 土用の丑の日: 'Day of the Ox' during doyō — the day to eat eel
- 土用入り: the start of a doyō period
- 土用波: rough late-summer waves
- 夏の土用: summer doyō
CULTURAL CONTEXT:
The summer 土用 falls in the hottest part of the year. There is a tradition of eating eel (うなぎ) on the 丑の日 (Day of the Ox) within this period to build stamina against the heat — a custom popularized in the Edo period and still observed today.