A description of the rainy season of Japan
I made a presentation slide and a composition for my English training.
It introduce about the Japanese rainy season.
www.slideshare.net
The Japanese rainy season is called “Tsu-yu”. In Kanji (the Chinese character), 梅雨. It means "plum rain".
Why is the rainy season called “Tsu-yu”?
Generally, Japanese rainy season starts the beginning of June and ends the middle of July. In this season, plums are ripening. So, we call the rainy season “Plum Rain”.
The rainy season is caused by the collision of a cold wind from the north and a warm wind from the south. Under the front of this collision, the weather is unstable.
It doesn't rain every day during Tsuyu, but we will have various kinds of rain such as light rain, heavy rain, intense downpours and sometimes rainstorms.
In this season, it tends to be very humid. We must take care of mold. And we can't hang the laundry outside. So, many Japanese people dislike this season.
However, we know that the rain that is brought by Tsuyu is very important for having a harvest.
We have some traditional culture to enjoy Tsuyu. For example, some of the traditional architecture such as wooden temples are designed to look more attractive in the rain.
Also, we can enjoy seeing beautiful hydrangeas during the Tsuyu season. It comes in many colors, blue, white, pink and purple.
There is a Japanese tradition of making dolls with white cloth and hanging them outside of the window. It’s called "Teru Teru Bouzu”.
“Teru Teru Bouzu” literally means "Shine Shine Monk”. People think that Teru Teru Bouzu keep the rain away and bring sunny weather.
At the end of Tsuyu, we can see beautiful fireflies in the night at rivers, rice fields or parks.
