How are you getting along?

    Sorry for not having written a letter last month. I was not so busy, but I couldn't find what I should write.
    Looking around in the library I found a book titled "JAPAN an illusrated encyclopedia" (Kodansha), so I'll read about Children's Day this month.

    "Children'S Day (Kodomo no Hi) Festival held on 5 May, one of five traditional celebrations. Traditionally known as the Tango Festival (Tango no sekku) or Iris Festival (Shobu no Sekku) the fifth day of the fifth month has been observed since ancient times. This became a festival for boys corresponding to the Doll Festival for girls on the third day of the third month. In 1948 5 May was designated a national holiday and renamed Children's Day, however, it is still observed in most families in the traditional way as a festival for boys.
    It is customary on this day for families with male children to fly carp (a symbol of success) streamers (koinobori) outside the house, display warrior dolls (mushaningyo) inside, and eat chimaki (rice cakes wrapped in cogon grass or bamboo leaves) and kashiwamochi (rice cakes filled with sweet bean paste and wrapped in oak leaves). In China it was customary on this day to hang mugwort (J:yomogi) from the eaves of the roof in order to repel disease. Since irises (shobu, correctly, sweet flag) were also believed to repel evil spirits, the Japanese developped the practice of hanging a combination of iris and mugwort.

    It would be a little difficult for the people who don't know about Japan, I think. But this book is very interesting and please read this if you are interested in Japan.

    Then see you next month!

    How are you?
    I'm fine.

    What does the word "June" remind you of? According to Encyclopedia Americana, it comes from the Roman goddess Juno, who was the wife and sister of Jupiter and June has long been the month most closely associated with marriage.

    But speaking of June in Japan, we are reminded of "Bai-u" which means rainy season. Looking up the JAPAN-illustrated encyclopedia, I couldn't find "Bai-u". So I myself will talk about "Bai-u" this time.

    This is characteristic of Far East Asia, and it is observed in the basin and the delta of the Yang-tze in China, the southern part of Korea and Japan excluding Hokkaido.

    They call it "Mai-yu" in China, "Maeue" in Korea, but "Bai-u" in Japan is an international word which is used all over the world.

    "Bai-u" means ume(Japanese apricot)-rain, rainy season when ume ripen. It is also called "Tsuyu" and it is in May in old calendar, so it used to be written "rain in May" which we pronounced as "samidare".

    A famous haiku of Basho
    "Samidare wo atsumete hayashi Mogami-gawa"
    (The Mogami-river, collecting rain of June, streams violently.)
depicts the scene of this season.

    Well, that's all for today. See you next month!