🌧️ K’s COLUMN 044 : 梅雨の季節
日本は6月にもなると梅雨となる。
梅雨入りは入梅と表現する。
入梅という言葉の由来は諸説あるが、この時期に梅の実が熟すこととも関係しているようだ。
そしてこの雨はほぼ一か月間降り続く。
5月にようやく暑くなり始め
「夏だ！」
と喜んでいると6月に入り途端に雨が降り始め、気温が低くなる。
気温が低くなり冬の羽毛布団が恋しくなる。
冷房が必要だったかと思えば、今度は暖房が欲しくなる。
しかし、雨が降らなくては米は育たない。
米は雨があるからこそ美味しく育つのだ。
だから昔の人は雨乞いをしたのだろう。
雨乞いなんて非現実かもしれないが、特に日本は八百万の神といって、何にでも神様が宿るのだ。
コメにも神様が宿り、今私が叩いているキーボードにだって神様が宿るのだ。
子供の頃は、雨が降ると通学も傘が必要なため荷物になり、それが嫌だった。
ただでさえ教科書の入った革製のランドセルは重い。
しかも傘を刺していても足元は濡れる。
雨靴を履いていても風が吹いて横殴りの雨になったら、雨靴の中に雨が入り、履き心地が悪い。
靴下もびしょびしょで、学校にたどり着いた頃には気持ち悪くてしょうがない。
上履きを履くには乾いた靴下の方がいいので、替えの靴下も持参する。
雨も強くなり、台風ぐらいの激しさになると、ようやく休校になる。
この時ばかりは登校しなくて済むので大歓迎だ。
家で本を読んだり絵を描いたりして過ごす。
社会人になるとそうもいかない。
雨が降ろうが嵐になろうが、会社へは出社しなくてはならない。
交通機関が麻痺するまでは、ほとんどの人が通勤する。
雨は嫌なことも多い。
それでも、この雨があるからこそ今年も田んぼには青い稲が育つ。
そう思うと、梅雨も悪い季節ではないのかもしれない。
🇬🇧 English version below
🌧️ K’s COLUMN 044 : The Rainy Season
In Japan, June marks the beginning of the rainy season.
The start of the rainy season is sometimes referred to as Nyubai, which literally means “entering the plum season.” There are several theories about the origin of the word, but it is said to be related to the time when plums begin to ripen.
Once it begins, the rain often continues for nearly a month.
Just when the weather finally starts to feel warm in May and people happily think, “Summer is here!”, June arrives and the rain begins. Temperatures drop, and suddenly the winter down comforter starts to seem appealing again.
One day you need air conditioning, and the next day you find yourself wanting the heater.
Yet without rain, rice cannot grow.
Rice thrives because of the rain, and perhaps that is why people in the past prayed for rainfall.
Rainmaking rituals may sound unrealistic today, but in Japan there is an old belief known as Yaoyorozu no Kami—the idea that countless gods dwell in all things.
There are gods in the rice we eat, and perhaps even in the keyboard I am typing on right now.
As a child, I disliked rainy days.
Going to school meant carrying an umbrella, which felt like an extra burden. My leather school backpack was already heavy enough with textbooks inside.
Even with an umbrella, my feet would get wet.
And if the wind picked up and the rain came sideways, water would find its way into my rain boots, making them uncomfortable to wear.
By the time I reached school, my socks were often soaked through and felt miserable.
Since dry socks were much more comfortable to wear with indoor school shoes, I often carried an extra pair with me.
When the rain became especially heavy and a typhoon approached, school would finally be canceled.
Those were the days I welcomed the most.
I could stay home, read books, and spend time drawing pictures.
Things are different once you become an adult.
Whether it rains or storms, people are still expected to go to work.
Most continue their daily commute unless public transportation comes to a complete standstill.
Rain brings many inconveniences.
Even so, it is because of this rain that green rice plants will once again fill the fields this year.
When I think about it that way, perhaps the rainy season is not such a bad season after all.