Summer in Japan; Fu u ri n (Wind Chime) and Cicadas
In previous entry titled "Seasons in Japan ", I wrote that Japan experience 4 seasons through a
year. Generally, March to May is Spring, June to August is
summer, September to November is fall, December to February is winter.
I also wrote that summer in Japan is very humid and hot. For kids in school, summer is not "escape month" from schooling, and when I was elementary school,we always got one booklet that has date on it and you need to do the page one by one. Some days are Japanese,some days are math,it depends but it has number of pages for summer vacation. Plus,we were given choice of books to read. And,you then write essay on it.
Also, if you were in school,you will decide project/research theme by yourself and submit it as science homework. Then,there are school swimming days you need to come show up. Kids are divided into area group and calender shows which group is swimming day and kids show up,get a stamp on sheet,and the number of "Show-up" effects your PE class grade. If you were joining in club,there are days for activity and it usually long and tiring days. And.. every morning at about 6:30am, kids show up at park and do exercise (kind of like stretching exercise, and you do exercise to music),and you get stamps too. Usually summer vacation for students in Japan is from July 20th or so to September 4th or so. It seems enough break but with all these extra stuff we need to do,it is actually busy vacation.
During the hot,humid season, we have summer festivals,Tanabata festivals, and Bon festivals to look forward to.
To read on Japanese summer festival in previous entry titled "Summer events in Japan",please click here .
Most Japanese houses have fans ("Sen puu ki" in Japanese), or air conditioners to cool off, but there is some other thing that makes us feel "cooler" than it really is, and makes us feel "soothing".
The thing is called "Fu u ri n" a.k.a. Wind Chimes in English. Japanese wind chime or "Fu u ri n" is usually hang outside under the roof and it rings the bell by wind. Some are made with glass but some are made with ceramic, some are made with metal.. You get to see all kinds of "Fu u ri n" in Japan. Shapes of "Fu u ri n" are varied too. Some are oval,round shape and some are animal shapes or fish shapes. "Fu u rin" (Wind chimes) is symbol of Japanese summer.
I came across youtube videos where you get to see Japanese "Fu u rin" (Wind chimes). The "Fu u rin" are from Japanese shrine.
Japanese Wind Chimes (Fu u ri n)
If you are a blog subscriber or reading from facebook,please click here to watch the video.
While these "Fu u ri n" can sooth our mind during the hot, humid summer in Japan, there is something that makes us feel hotter than really is.
That is sound of cicada; "Se mi" in Japanese. Sound of Cicada is, for me, it symbolize summer in Japan. Have you heard of Japanese Cicada? They sing really loud, and make us feel hotter, I mean, really hotter than really is.
I came across youtube videos where you get to hear Japanese "se mi" (Cicadas).
Japanese Cicada I
If you are a blog subscriber or reading from facebook,please click here to watch the video.
Japanese Cicada II
If you are a blog subscriber or reading from facebook,please click here to watch the video.
Now, you can feel a little bit of what it will be like in summer in Japan.
Other than sound of wind chime (Fu u ri n) and sound of Cicada, summer is also the season of sunflowers. In Japan, you will see a lot of sun flowers in summer and bellow video I came across at youtube remind me a lot of what summer in Japan is like.
Summer (Joe Hisaishi)
If you are a blog subscriber or reading from facebook,please click here to watch the video.
I also wrote that summer in Japan is very humid and hot. For kids in school, summer is not "escape month" from schooling, and when I was elementary school,we always got one booklet that has date on it and you need to do the page one by one. Some days are Japanese,some days are math,it depends but it has number of pages for summer vacation. Plus,we were given choice of books to read. And,you then write essay on it.
Also, if you were in school,you will decide project/research theme by yourself and submit it as science homework. Then,there are school swimming days you need to come show up. Kids are divided into area group and calender shows which group is swimming day and kids show up,get a stamp on sheet,and the number of "Show-up" effects your PE class grade. If you were joining in club,there are days for activity and it usually long and tiring days. And.. every morning at about 6:30am, kids show up at park and do exercise (kind of like stretching exercise, and you do exercise to music),and you get stamps too. Usually summer vacation for students in Japan is from July 20th or so to September 4th or so. It seems enough break but with all these extra stuff we need to do,it is actually busy vacation.
During the hot,humid season, we have summer festivals,Tanabata festivals, and Bon festivals to look forward to.
To read on Japanese summer festival in previous entry titled "Summer events in Japan",please click here .
Most Japanese houses have fans ("Sen puu ki" in Japanese), or air conditioners to cool off, but there is some other thing that makes us feel "cooler" than it really is, and makes us feel "soothing".
The thing is called "Fu u ri n" a.k.a. Wind Chimes in English. Japanese wind chime or "Fu u ri n" is usually hang outside under the roof and it rings the bell by wind. Some are made with glass but some are made with ceramic, some are made with metal.. You get to see all kinds of "Fu u ri n" in Japan. Shapes of "Fu u ri n" are varied too. Some are oval,round shape and some are animal shapes or fish shapes. "Fu u rin" (Wind chimes) is symbol of Japanese summer.
I came across youtube videos where you get to see Japanese "Fu u rin" (Wind chimes). The "Fu u rin" are from Japanese shrine.
Japanese Wind Chimes (Fu u ri n)
If you are a blog subscriber or reading from facebook,please click here to watch the video.
While these "Fu u ri n" can sooth our mind during the hot, humid summer in Japan, there is something that makes us feel hotter than really is.
That is sound of cicada; "Se mi" in Japanese. Sound of Cicada is, for me, it symbolize summer in Japan. Have you heard of Japanese Cicada? They sing really loud, and make us feel hotter, I mean, really hotter than really is.
I came across youtube videos where you get to hear Japanese "se mi" (Cicadas).
Japanese Cicada I
If you are a blog subscriber or reading from facebook,please click here to watch the video.
Japanese Cicada II
If you are a blog subscriber or reading from facebook,please click here to watch the video.
Now, you can feel a little bit of what it will be like in summer in Japan.
Other than sound of wind chime (Fu u ri n) and sound of Cicada, summer is also the season of sunflowers. In Japan, you will see a lot of sun flowers in summer and bellow video I came across at youtube remind me a lot of what summer in Japan is like.
Summer (Joe Hisaishi)
If you are a blog subscriber or reading from facebook,please click here to watch the video.
Comments