In Japan, the rainy season brings the heat. It may be a short season, a mere prelude to summer proper, but it doesn’t fly by easily. Do you remember my collection of newspaper cuttings? The ones I inherited from Hiro’s grandmother? I pulled out a few rain season scenes from her collection and was struck with how similar feelings arise now.
Rain falls in heavy sheets. Laundry. Damp even when dry. Sickly. Kids, restless. Hoping big-hearted hope, for sunny days. Skin glistens. Mosquitos. Drunk. Itch. Sweat. Cold shower. Sweat again. Weeds become jungles. Damp. So fucking damp. And the heat rises.
I smiled to myself when I noticed that the plant in the last image grows in my garden. Locally, we call it tsuwabuki. It is also known as leopard plant farfugium japonicum.
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As a desert-dweller I’m sorry to say all that moisture looks wonderful..
Woweee the hankies and the poem .... LOVE LOVE LOVE