Rain, Glorious Rain!
Posted by Taro Kobayashi on 3rd Jun 2014
Today is the first day of tsuyu, the beginning of the rainy season in southern Japan.
Spring is in its full glory and gentle, warm rain has been falling all day. It will rain here every day for the next 6-7 weeks. The picture is from the banks of Oyodu River running through our town, Miyazaki.
Tsuyu is an integral part of the culture and rhythms of life in Japan. Here is a famous haiku poem about rain by Yosa-no-Buson (1716 – 1784).
spring rain
the pond and the river
have become one
In Japanese:
Ike to kawa
hitotsu ni narinu
haru no ame
Japanese have specialized words to describe different kinds of rain. The tsuyu season rains are called sami-dareh (五月雨) and further characterized as naga-ame (長雨, long rain) and shito-shito (しとしと, one-by-one, gentle drizzle, pattering). Other words to describe different kinds of rain are:
Kiri-same ( 霧雨): Misty rain
Ko-same (小雨): Light rain
O-ame (大雨): Heavy rain
Gou-u ( 豪雨): Torrential rain