Rainy season
East Asian countries have a rainy season in early summer and the season is called tsuyu in Japanese. Tsuyu literally means plum rain because the fruit of the plum or Japanese apricot ripens with the arrival of the rainy season. The season starts in early June and ends in mid July in many parts of Japan. It rains for days, people feel gloomy?and food could go off soon because of the high humidity.
I remember making Teru Teru Bozu as a child. A Teru Teru Bozu is a simple doll made of paper or cloth, hung outside under the eaves. It is a charm made by children who believe that Teru Teru Bozu can bring a fine day. Children hang the dolls outside of the window on rainy days and sing, “Teru Teru Bozu, please make tomorrow a sunny day”. I would make the dolls hoping for fine weather the next day.
However, tsuyu has some blessing aspects. Rainy season brings much water to Japan and makes an ideal condition to grow rice. Young rice seedlings need a lot of water and a rice field during the season is full of water and looks like a big pond. The view of a paddy field is refreshing and relaxing. Although there are few rice fields in metropolitan areas, if you ride on a train heading for rural areas you will see rice fields within 30 or 40 minutes. I believe that paddy fields are one of the most beautiful landscapes in Japan during the rainy season.
Another beautiful thing in the season is ajisai or hydrangea. They show colorful flowers of pink, blue, violet or white. Hydrangea flowers and leaves look more beautiful in the rain. The plant is native to Japan and there are many famous gardens and temples for hydrangeas, such as Meigetsu-in Temple in Kamakura, Mimuroto-ji Temple in Kyoto or Higashiyama Park in Shinjo. If you visit Japan during tsuyu, you will enjoy graceful hydrangea flowers.
