Plum Rain (梅雨)

Hi, how are you?

We feel it is getting humid and hot in NY.

Matcha Burmese cake with Family

Today’s blog is about plum rain.

It is raining season in June. This season is called

“Tsu-yu (梅雨)” in Japan. It means “plum rain” in English.

Japanese people feel very uncomfortable because it rains everyday during plum rain season.

1. People cannot hang their laundry outside for drying.

We know most people will not think about drying their

laundry outside in New York because they live in an

apartment or a high building. They use drying machine

instead but it is a regular practice to dry washed clothes

outside for Japanese people who lives in local areas in

Japan. People living in Tokyo or Osaka area will follow

same way as New Yorkers.

2. The food goes bad quickly because of the high humidity.

3. The high humidity and continuous rain cause depression

for some people.

1. It is an important season for vegetables and fruits because

the rain helps them grow. If the rain does not come, they

will lack water in the summer. Fruits and vegetables need

the rain for harvest.

2.Hydrangea blooms into beautiful colors such as blue purple

and pink. These colors create a healing feeling for

Japanese people.

3. We can see the firebugs (lightning bugs) near river areas.

Clean water can flow at night after plum rain season

finished. We feel cool and summer will come soon.

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< How Japanese people spend plum rain season >

We spend the raining season indoors and pass time with activities such as watching DVD, listening to music, reading books, playing computer games, cooking and so on.

Actually, plum flowers does not bloom during this season, so why is the kanji character,“梅” (Ume, meaning plum) use in the name?

The original name is said to be originated from China. In China, plum flowers bloom near the Yangtze river area

( 長江： it is a very famous and long river) during this raining

season.

It is the season for growing plums in China. When the name came to Japan, we keep the original Kanji (梅　Ume：Plum) for June’s season.

Matcha Milk Pudding with Junior and Sir. Spongy

Thank you very much for reading and taking your precious

time with us.

See you again on our next blog.