Hey everyone! It’s Zundamon, nanoda!
Today, October 23rd, 2026, is Sลkล (First Frost), nanoda.
It’s one of the 24 solar terms, the time when dew turns to frost… in other words, it’s the season when we start hearing about the first frost, nanoda.
The next solar term is already Rittล, the start of winter, nanoda. Time flies, nanoda~.
And one more thing, today is an incredibly important day, nanoda.
It’s the Jลซsan’ya (Thirteenth Night), nanoda ๐
And on a day like this, a single sketchbook arrived for me, nanoda.
๐ The Thirteenth Night is the “Bean Harvest Moon,” nanoda
First, let me tell you about the Thirteenth Night, nanoda.
The Thirteenth Night is a moon-viewing that comes after the Mid-Autumn Festival’s full moon (the Fifteenth Night) in September, and it’s also called the “Nochi no Tsuki” (the Later Moon), nanoda.
While the Fifteenth Night is a custom that came from China, the Thirteenth Night is said to be a moon-viewing tradition that started in Japan, nanoda.
And now for the main event, nanoda.
The Thirteenth Night is called this because it’s a time to offer chestnuts and edamame that are in season, nanoda.
- Kuri-meigetsu (Chestnut Moon)
- Mame-meigetsu (Bean Harvest Moon) โ !!!
…Did you notice, nanoda?
Mame-meigetsu.
The edamame moon, nanoda!!!
Kiritan: “You’re being loud.”
Me: “Today is my day, nanoda~!!”
By the way, this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival moon was on September 25th, nanoda. That was the day I had a dango showdown with Ankomon, nanoda.
An autumn where you can see both the Fifteenth and Thirteenth Nights… I feel like I’ve really lucked out, nanoda ๐
๐จ A Sketchbook Arrived in the Evening, nanoda
A small, flat package arrived at the door, nanoda.
The sender was my friend from the Green Alliance, Kyuurin, nanoda.
When I opened it, there was just one sketchbook inside. No letter, no memo, not a single word, nanoda.
But the moment I opened a page, I understood everything, nanoda.
It was filled with drawings of autumn vegetables, nanoda.
Drawn freely with crayons, filling up the whole page.
I spread the sketchbook out on the dining table and turned the pages one by one, nanoda.
๐ Introducing the Autumn Vegetable Pages, nanoda
Sweet Potatoes
Right from the first page, a big one, nanoda.
Three big, lumpy potatoes with dirt still on them. You can really feel that they were just dug up, nanoda.
They say that if you let sweet potatoes rest for a while after harvesting, they get even sweeter, nanoda.
Pumpkin
Perfectly round and hefty. Even the stem is drawn carefully, nanoda.
The orange of the cut part is so vivid, you wouldn’t think it was drawn with crayon, nanoda.
Lotus Root
The number of holes was drawn so precisely that I couldn’t help but count them, nanoda.
Lotus root is a vegetable that’s available for a long time from autumn to winter, and they say it gets sweeter as it gets colder, nanoda.
Taro
Taro is in season from around September to December, and it’s most common from October to November, nanoda.
In other words, right now! The timing is perfect, nanoda!
Mushrooms
Shiitake, maitake, shimeji. The page is full of mushrooms, it looks like a forest, nanoda.
Daikon Radish
Finally, one magnificent daikon radish with its leaves still on.
The leaves are standing up straight and look so lively, you can tell it’s fresh even though it’s a drawing, nanoda.
Zunko-sama: “You see, autumn vegetables have less water than summer ones, so their flavor is richer and sweeter. They’re really delicious when you simmer them.”
I see, nanoda. That’s why the vegetables in the sketch all have such deep colors, nanoda.
๐ฅ I Laughed at the Last Page, nanoda
When I turned to the very last page, what was drawn there was…
A single, smiling cucumber.
After a whole lineup of autumn vegetables, a proud cucumber, nanoda.
I couldn’t help but laugh out loud, nanoda. Because cucumbers are summer vegetables, nanoda. They’re not in season in the fall, nanoda.
And what’s more, that cucumber was drawn more energetically than anything on the other pages, nanoda.
Zunko-sama: “What’s wrong with that? Besides, we have greenhouse cultivation now, so cucumbers are in stores all year round.”
That’s right, nanoda!
There’s no off-season for cucumbers, nanoda. They’re the star all year round, nanoda ๐ฅ
๐ฒ Zunko-sama’s Mushroom Soup, nanoda
While I was looking at the sketches, Zunko-sama stood up and went to the kitchen, nanoda.
After a little while, a wonderful smell started to drift over, nanoda.
Zunko-sama: “Looking at the pictures made me want to cook.”
What she brought out was a mushroom soup packed with taro, daikon radish, carrots, and mushrooms, nanoda.
The taro was soft and melty, the daikon had soaked up the broth, and the aroma of the mushrooms was wafting up, nanoda.
I had three helpings, nanoda.
The drawing became a meal, nanoda. This is the first time I’ve ever gotten a letter like this, nanoda ๐
โ๏ธ I’ll Reply with a Drawing, nanoda
Even without words, the message came through so clearly, nanoda.
So I decided to reply with a drawing instead of words, too, nanoda.
On a piece of drawing paper, I drew zunda mochi, the moon, and one cucumber.
…To be honest, my drawing isn’t very good, nanoda. The zunda mochi just turned into a green circle, nanoda.
Zunko-sama: “It gets the message across just fine. The feeling is what reaches them first.”
I’ll put it in the mailbox tomorrow, nanoda ๐ฎ
You can see my relationship with everyone in the Green Alliance on the relationship chart page, nanoda.
๐ Tonight, I’ll Offer Zunda Mochi, nanoda
When the sun goes down, I’ll put a small stand out on the veranda, nanoda.
- The Thirteenth Night moon
- Pampas grass
- And… zunda mochi
Since it’s the Bean Harvest Moon, I have to offer mochi made from edamame, nanoda.
The moon on the Thirteenth Night isn’t a full moon; it’s just a tiny bit incomplete, nanoda.
But that slightly incomplete part somehow looks gentle, nanoda.
I left the sketchbook propped open on the veranda, nanoda.
So the cucumber in the drawing can see the moon properly, too, nanoda ๐
๐ Today’s Summary, nanoda
- October 23rd is Sลkล. It’s when dew turns to frost, nanoda
- The same day is the Thirteenth Night (the Later Moon). It’s also called the Chestnut Moon or the Bean Harvest Moon, nanoda
- The Bean Harvest Moon means it’s the edamame moon, nanoda!
- Autumn vegetables have less water, so their flavor is richer and sweeter, nanoda
- Taro is most common in October-November, and lotus root is available from autumn to winter, nanoda
- Cucumbers are summer vegetables. But thanks to greenhouses, you can buy them all year, nanoda
- Even without words, a drawing can get the message across, nanoda
You can find my profile on Zundamon’s page, and Zunko-sama, who made the mushroom soup, is introduced on Tohoku Zunko’s page, nanoda.
What are your favorite autumn vegetables, nanoda? Please let me know on X at @zunda_union, nanoda.
And tonight, I hope you’ll look up at the sky for just a little while, nanoda.
It’s the Bean Harvest Moon, nanoda ๐
This was Zundamon, nanoda~! ๐