HELIO COMPASS inventor Kaichi Sugiyama offers a commentary on the real-time motion of the stars, and this inspires Swedish pizza parlor Omnipollos hatt to design a pizza. Each edition of Cosmic Pizza presents a new pizza created through a collaboration between HELIO COMPASS and Omnipollos hatt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Doyo in the year ahead<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Summer July 20\u2013August 8, 2023 Just as the ring of a bell made Pavlov\u2019s dogs hungry for their food, the sound of the word doyo<\/em> makes us Japanese hungry for grilled freshwater eel. We can\u2019t help our reflex, and that much is fine, but it\u2019s a shame that our reflex ends there. Doyo holds an important place in the Japanese calendar. It\u2019s even included in the \u201c24 Sekki\u201d (24 Solar Terms) and \u201cZassetsu\u201d (Supplementary Solar Terms) released by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. The list serves as the master data for all calendars published throughout Japan each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Doyo refers to the period of 18 days that starts when the ecliptic longitude of the Sun reaches 18\u00ba before the first day of spring (risshun<\/em>), of summer (rikka<\/em>), of autumn (risshu<\/em>), and of winter (ritto<\/em>). There is even a system of thought based on the idea of five seasons, consisting of the four seasons plus doyo. This originates in the Chinese philosophy of the Five Elements, which holds that all things in nature correspond to Wood, Fire, Metal, Water, and Earth, and these five elements interact to maintain balance in the universe. Wood represents spring, Fire summer, Metal autumn, Water winter, and Earth the transition period between the seasons\u2014doyo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, let\u2019s look at the HELIO COMPASS. \u201cOne season is 90 degrees, minus its doyo of 18 degrees, gives us 72 degrees per season. Take 18 degrees per doyo, times 4 doyo in a year, and we have another 72 degrees. Even though this last 72 is divided throughout the year, it does make sense to recognize it as a fifth season,\u201d says Kaichi Sugiyama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Back to the eel. We tend to associate doyo particularly with Ushi-no-hi<\/em>, or the Day of the Ox, and it is on this day that we observe the custom of eating unagi-no-kabayaki<\/em>, or grilled freshwater eel. But the origins of this custom are unclear. Popular belief says it was Japan\u2019s first work of copywriting by one Hiraga Gennai: The best season for eel is the winter, but his copy aimed to sell it in the summer too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another theory says that eel is nutritious and helps to boost stamina and beat the summer heat. And yet another says that unagi on Ushi-no-hi simply sounds good to the ear. There are many versions of the story, some with or without evidence, and some that are merely a play on words. For all we know, someone somewhere may have started eating eel on this day just for fun, without any special reason. The point is that a practice always has the chance of becoming a routine, being widely recognized, and blossoming into a culture\u2014as we have pointed out several times before in this column.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Being the transition period into the next season, doyo tends to engender feelings of instability and hesitation. Traditionally, during doyo it was considered best to avoid making important life decisions and milestone changes, like changing jobs, getting married, buying a new house. As the characters for doyo suggest, however, at a very basic level, doyo is a time for \u201cembracing the Earth\u201d\u2014that is, a grounding period. We could interpret it as a time for planting both feet firmly on the ground and tapping into the power of the Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the world of surfing, for example, once you\u2019ve mastered the basics, you can ride even the most extreme waves. If you don\u2019t know the basics, however, you\u2019re likely to be swallowed by the waves, in which case you might want to play it safe and not be too aggressive. But even then, as long as you keep in mind that the times are unsteady, you have a chance of making the most of the power of the wave and triggering a big change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In that sense, it might be exciting to make the best of doyo and try something new. \u201cBeing aware of that opportunity is an advantage that comes with understanding the calendar,\u201d says Kaichi. If you haven\u2019t yet figured out what you want to do or need to do, then sit tight and wait patiently. But if you\u2019re ready to take the first step, then channel your concentration and go for it. You\u2019d be tapping into the power of the Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A SLICE OF SPACE The HELIO COMPASS is round galactic calendar. Pizza is also round. Deciphering the truth of the universe and expressing it via a pizza is our challenge for each exciting episode of Cosmic Pizza.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":74740,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[117],"tags":[1507,6333,1505,6108,1512,3205,1513],"place":[133],"writer":[],"class_list":["post-74736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture-en","tag-cosmic-pizza-en","tag-doyo","tag-helio-compass-en","tag-issue-68-en","tag-kaichi-sugiyama","tag-omnipollos-hatt-en","tag-pizza","place-tokyo-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Cosmic_Doyo_Pizza_1-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Autumn October 21\u2013November 8, 2023
Winter January 18\u2013February 4, 2024
Spring April 16\u2013May 5, 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Doyo = Period of transition into the next season<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why eel anyway?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those who master doyo rule the entire year<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Cosmic_Doyo_Pizza_3_01-683x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The Roots of \u2018Doyo\u2019 for Health and Grounding<\/strong>
A simple, mild base of mozzarella, olive oil, and salt. Our pizza creators have used many strong root-based ingredients for strong health to represent the doyo periods. Foods such as beets, carrots, and chili peppers with an oil-based dressing mixed with turmeric, garlic, and lemon\u2014provide lots of power to pull you successfully from the doyo periods into the seasons. And in addition to the health and grounding benefits of this pizza get ready for its stimulating flavor! <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/The_making_of_Cosmic_Doyo_Pizza_07-683x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/The_making_of_Cosmic_Doyo_Pizza_13-683x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/The_making_of_Cosmic_Doyo_Pizza_02_01-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Kaichi Sugiyama<\/strong>
Sugiyama made his debut as a rekishi<\/em> calendar maker in 2022, celebrating the 150th anniversary of the introduction of the Gregorian calendar into Japan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"