Tsuyu Series: The Wonder of Hydrangeas

Now as I've mentioned before, hydrangeas are a symbol of the rainy season. The Japanese word for hydrangea is "ajisai." The kanji, or Chinese characters are "purple," "sun," and "flower." (紫陽花)

When I first learned that the Japanese associated hydrangeas with the rainy season, I had no idea how deep their fondness for them went.

It seems the Japanese are fond of flowers in general, but I think more so than that, they appreciate them as part of the season.

If the year is a clock, then, in Japan, the flowers mark each hour.

And how!

My experience of flowers in Japan has been that, you hardly ever see them. But once the season of the year for a particular flower arrives, suddenly, there they are!

All year long, hydrangeas lie dormant. But once the rainy season begins, they seem to just pop up out of nowhere!

The same is true for almost any other flower the Japanese appreciate.

Cherry blossoms. Dogwoods. Hydrangeas. Morning glories. Cosmos. Plum. You name it.

It seems trees and plants are strategically placed in Japan, so that at any one time, a particular flower is blooming, letting you know what time of the year it is.

When you see plum blossoms, you must be at the beginning of the year when spring begins.

Cherry blossoms tell you you're in April, and they usually accompany the beginning of the school year. (In Japan, school begins in April and ends in March.)

Then the hydrangeas bloom, accompanied by gray skies and rainy days.

Morning glories bloom, ushering in the sounds of summer.

Fields of cosmos flowers bid farewell to the summer and to the sun.

Plum blossoms herald the arrival of spring.

Cherry blossoms bloom once again and the Japanese get the feeling that yet another year has passed, and a new one is just beginning.

April seems to mark various new beginnings in Japan.

But we'll get to that later.

The rain continues to sing to me at night, and I have decided that I wanted to post pictures of hydrangeas that I took around my neighborhood.

I knew what hydrangeas were before I came to Japan, but for one, I had no idea the were called hydrangeas. I only knew the Spanish name for them, which is "hortencia."

Next, I thought hydrangeas were like, only one species of flower.

NOPE!

It turns out there is a myriad of varieties of the plant, and the Japanese appreciate them all.

And did you know that the bunches of flowers in which hydrangeas grow are called "panicles?" You learn something new every day! :-D

Here are the pictures I took this rainy season.

Tsuyu Series: Rain in Videogames

Touched off by my last post on Japanese cultural symbolism and the rainy season in Japan, I started thinking about the many ways in which rain has been depicted in Japanese video games. Since I started learning the Japanese language, and consequently, about Japanese culture, I've had so many "ah-hah!" moments while playing some of my favorite games. One of my reasons for starting this blog is so that I could share these moments on the interwebs.

Since I started playing video games, there have been so many instances where I thought "WTF???" I mean a lot of the time it was mostly good. Strange, but good. Why does Tanooki Mario turn into a statue?

What, indeed, is a "Tanooki?"

What's with the coin boat that appears with the strange Chinese character on it in Mario 3?

Why do Japanese and Chinese script look similar? Why does the truck in Turbo Man's stage (Megaman 7) look like some sort of red dog?

That green and white design on that truck reminds me a lot of the green and white bags the strange "TAC" thieves in Kirby Superstar.

Why?

What does it all mean???

After I began learning about Japanese language and culture, it all started to make sense. I learned that a lot of the nonsense we see in video games isn't entirely arbitrary, and much of it has roots in Japanese culture and the symbolism that exists within it. What seems a lot like crazy randomness to foreigners, actually has reason and purpose; it's just not immediately obvious to people who aren't familiar with Japanese culture.

Now, I like to retrace old video games in search of hidden cultural references and clues. They are like Easter eggs that were hidden in plain sight. Knowing now what I didn't know then, I play my old favorite games, seeing them in an entirely new light. It's as if they have been rejuvenated, and I along with them. As I play my old games with new eyes, the games are new to me once again. I begin to see a world that was always in front of me, but I just never knew.

Frog/Toads and Rain
In Japanese culture, frogs and toads have the same name; kaeru (蛙). They are associated with rain and, strangely enough, with bad singing.

In Zelda: Link's Awakening, Link learns an important song from Mamu, the frog.

My earliest recollection of a frog/toad and rain in video games has got to be Toad Man, from Megaman 4. My first thought when I saw this was "WTF? Toad Man? What is he going to do? Throw toads at me? Some sort of tongue attack? Some super-sonic croak?" No. Of all things, he makes it RAIN. Rain?! I as seriously at a loss for words. I just accepted it as part of the game. It's "Toad Man," and he makes it rain... OK...

Now, it all makes sense! He's a toad, and he makes it rain, because he's a toad, and in Japan, toads/frogs = rain. Oh, I get it! Hah hah! That would explain the rain in his stage too.

Why there would be a flock of birds in the rain is beyond me.

Which brings me to another recollection of amphibians in video games; frog from Chrono Trigger.

Not surprisingly enough, this character's attacks center around water.

But one of my favorite cultural references to frogs and rain in video games is Genjuro from one of my favorite video game series of all time, Samurai Shodown.

Genjuro Kibagami, Samurai Shodown II

It can be said that this is the game that started it all for me regarding my quest to understanding Japanese language and culture. This game is rich in Japanese cultural references, from language, to traditional music, to history, to folklore.

Genjuro is a character whose theme is Hanafuda, a Japanese card game that is strongly associated with traditional gangs and outlaws. His signature moves all include depictions of hanafuda, and even his stage is a reference to one of the hanafuda cards.

 Genjuro's Stage

A Hanafuda card from the August suit

But the ultimate reference to the hanafuda cards a personification of the "Rain Man" card, one of the cards in the November suit, which depicts a man with an umbrella, looking at a frog through the willows.

NeoGeo characters tend to have some sort of after-fight sequence, and Genjuro's sequences reference the hanafuda cards in one way or the other.

In Kirby's Dreamland 3, you encounter a frog that needs help in stage 2-4. In order to help the frog, and thus gain a heart-star from it, you must find its child. Once you do, the parent-child pair become happy and yields the heart-star to Kirby, which will help him on his quest.

At first this will not seem terribly peculiar, until you realize that there is a Japanese saying that goes "Kaeru no ko wa kaeru." (蛙の子は蛙) Translated, it means "Frogs breed little froggies." A saying in English with a similar meaning is "Like father, like son."

And just for the heck of it, I include another memorable frog scene from one of my favorite video games of all times. I wonder if readers can tell where it's from... :-)

Other Depictions of Rain in Video Games
I love the sound of the rain at night... I'm listening to the rain sing its song to me right now as I type. For whatever reason, rain scenes in video games have always left an impression in me. They add to the dramatic effect.

In Samurai Shodown, WanFu's stage is set in a thunder storm.

In Samurai Shodown 3, when you kill Zankuro, it begins to rain.

During Megaman 2's end sequence, it begins to rain also.

What is it about rain that can make life seem both peaceful, yet sad at the same time? And yet, when the sound of thunder and flash of lightning is added, it can imply a deciding moment? Rain can signal a dramatic beginning, or a tragic end. Or even a dramatic middle. Such is the diversity of rain.

In Zelda: Link's Awakening, the scene opens with Link caught in a thunderstorm

Zelda: A Link to the Past also begins in the middle of a storm.

The accompanying music is actually an excerpt from the story after the title screen.

At the beginning of Super Metroid, Samus returns to Zebes in the middle of a storm.

In Megaman and Bass, players encounter rain early on.

Well, that about does it for frogs and rain in video games. Until the next time!

Tsuyu: More Japanese Rainy Season Trivia

The Japanese are very fond of the changing of the seasons, and they have different symbols and associations for them that they wait for with anticipation every year. In Japan, the rainy season is associated with snails (蝸牛, den-den mushi, or katatsumuri), frogs (蛙, kaeru), and hydrangeas (紫陽花, ajisai). Perhaps it’s a good thing to have things to look forward to, especially during the rainy season when it rains constantly.

The snail has two names in Japanese, and they can be used interchangeably. They are “den-den mushi” or “katatsumuri.” They are associated with the rainy season, and they are often depicted crawling along in the rain on a hydrangea leaf.

Snail Song
This is a Japanese children’s song about the snail.

Japanese
でんでん むしむし かたつむり
お前の頭はどこにある
つの出せやり出せ頭 出せ

Romanization
Den den mushi mushi katatsumuri
Omae no atama wa dokoni aru
Tsuno dase yari dase atama dase

English Translation
Snail, Snail, Snail
Where is your head?
Stick out your horns, stick out your spears, and stick out your head.

“Kaeru” is the Japanese word that refers to both frogs and toads. Frogs are closely associated with rain. As Japan was an agricultural economy based on the flooded rice paddy, the presence of frogs is considered a sign of good fortune.

Japanese Frog Proverbs
蛙の子は蛙
(Kaeru no ko wa kaeru)
“Frogs breed froggies.”

Proveb with similar meaning in English:
“Like father, like son.”

蛙の面へ水
(Kaeru no tsura e mizu)
“Throwing water at a frog.”

Proverb with similar meaning in English:
“Water off a duck’s back.”

Frogs in Japanese Folklore
The position of a frog’s eyes on top of its head gave rise to much folklore. In one story, a frog asks god to grant him the ability to walk on two legs. His wish was granted, but his eyes were left on top of his head. He couldn’t see where he was going, and so he died. Due to the belief that a frog's eyes only look up and it can't see where it's going, if two people are trying to meet up but keep missing each other, they are said to be engaging in "frog sumo" or "kaeru no sumo." (蛙の相撲). If a man marries an older woman, so he always has to look up to her, she is said to be a "frog wife," or "kaeru nyobo" (蛙女房).

One of the Hanafuda cards in the November suit depicts a man with an umbrella, observing a jumping frog through the leaves of a willow tree, another symbol associated with rain. This card is one of four cards in the November suit. Because of their association with rain, these cards are also known a the "rain cards."

Hydrangeas (紫陽花, ajisai)
Hydrangeas are a symbol of the rainy season. They will often be depicted with snails on their leaves. As the flowers change depending on certain conditions, hydrangeas have a poetic meaning of a fickle heart that changes easily.

Japanese Children’s Song (童謡, doyo)
The following is a Japanese children’s song about being caught in the rain.

あめふり
雨　雨　ふれふれ　母さんが
蛇の目で　おむかえ　うれしいな
ピッチピッチ　チャップチャップ
ランランラン

かけましょ　かばんを　母さんの
後から　いこいこ　鐘が鳴る
ピッチピッチ　チャップチャップ
ランランラン

あらあら　あの子は　ずぶ濡れだ
柳の　根かたで　泣いている
ピッチピッチ　チャップチャップ
ランランラン

母さん　ぼくのを　かしましょか
君　君　この傘　さしたまえ
ピッチピッチ　チャップチャップ
ランランラン

ぼくなら　いいんだ　母さんの
大きな　蛇の目に　はいってく
ピッチピッチ　チャップチャップ
ランランラン

Amefuri
Ame ame fure fure kaasan ga
Janome de o-mukai ureshii na
Pitchi pitchi chappu chappu ran ran ran

Kakemasho kaban wo kaasan no
Ato kara iko iko kane ga naru
Pitchi pitchi chappu chappu ran ran ran

Ara ara ano ko wa zubunure da
Yanagi no nekata de naiteiru
Pitchi pitchi chappu chappu ran ran ran

kaasan boku no wo kashimasho ka
kimi kimi kono kasa sashitamae
Pitchi pitchi chappu chappu ran ran ran

boku nara ii n da kaasan no
ookina janome ni haitteku
Pitchi pitchi chappu chappu ran ran ran

Rainfall
The rain is falling, and mommy is
picking me up with an umbrella. I'm so happy!
Splish, splish, splash, splash, la, la, la

As I follow mommy with my bag on my shoulder
Step by step, a bell somewhere begins to ring
Splish, splish, splash, splash, la, la, la

Oh no, that poor kid is soaking wet
She is crying under the willow tree,
Splish, splish, splash, splash, la, la, la

Mommy, shall I lend her my umbrella
Here you, I shall lend you mine
Splish, splish, splash, splash, la, la, la

Mommy has a huge Janome umbrella
I'll go under it, don't worry I'll be fine
Splish, splish, splash, splash, la, la, la

A Janome umbrella (蛇の目, “janome”)

The above song can be heard in the Ghibli film, "The Grave of the Fireflies." I think there may be an allusion to this song in the film "Totoro" as well, when a boy named Kanta decides to give his umbrella to the girl protagonists, Satsuki and Mei, who get caught in the rain.

This scene can be seen here. (Last accessed 6/19/2016)

Tsuyu: The Rainy Season

We're supposed to be in the middle of tsuyu (梅雨, tsuyu), or the rainy season. Tsuyu is this long period of rain just before summer. It is said to be marked by consecutive rainy days, but if you asked me, it tends to be mostly cloudy, sometimes sunny, at least for Osaka. It does tend to get rather humid, which tends to affect the Japanese way of life in surprising ways.

The high humidity and moisture in the air causes mold and bacteria to grow. Clothes that are packed away or kept in the closet for a long time may get moldy and gross. Mold will grow in futon (布団, futon), pillows and bedding that is kept in the closet, or left out on the tatami. For these reasons, the Japanese have their clothes dry cleaned before putting them away. Winter clothes are packed away in air-tight plastic boxes. People that don't take the proper precautions might find mold and other unpleasant surprises when they unpack them in the winter.

To prevent mold from growing and/or getting clothes and bedding from getting all wet and sticky, the Japanese place desiccant boxes and/or dehumidifiers (湿気取り: shikketori) in their closets. Products that are useful for the season usually become available at local grocery and/or drug stores.

As the humidity and moisture begins to increase, the space between futon and tatami, or other flooring, becomes the perfect breeding ground for mold and mites (カビ, kabi, andダニ, dani respectively). Tatami are especially prone to mite infestation with the onset of Tsuyu. To prevent mold from growing under futons, and mites from infesting the tatami, the Japanese put away their futons regularly. I learned this the hard way, as I am lazy and like to leave my futon out.

I lifted my futon to put it away one day, when I noticed dark moldy spots on the white linen casing and on my tatami mats. I was grossed out beyond belief. I learned never to leave my futon out, or at the very least to put it away during tsuyu.

Something the Japanese do on a regular basis is put their futons out to air them. On bright sunny days, walking down a street, one can't help but notice futons draped over people's verandas.  You might even see a baa-chan (old lady) beating them with sticks. You can actually see as the dust drifts off and away from the futons.

Futon being hung out to air on a nice sunny day.

A few years ago, when I took my wife to America to meet my parents, she asked me "Do people not put out their clothes to dry? Their blankets? Mattresses?" I told her "Well, some people do. But mostly, people use their driers." My wife mentioned to me that she noticed that houses didn't have verandas, and if they did, there were no clothes or blankets hanging from them. "In Japan, you don't waste a sunny day. (晴天の日, seiten no hi) On a sunny day, most people put out their clothes and futon to dry in the hot sun."

During tsuyu, it may not always be possible to air out futons and bedding, so the Japanese take advantage of the "dry" features on their conditioners. They hang their mattresses over a couple of chairs, or on special racks for indoor use, and they set their air conditioners to "dry" for a couple of hours. They even sell specialized driers for futons called "futon kansoki." (布団乾燥機: futon dryer) And the Japanese are careful not to leave their futon and clothes out while they go out on errands; sudden rain can be disastrous.

 Futon airing out on a rack.

Insect repelling measures must be taken. There are insect repellents that can be placed in the closet where people keep their futons. You can buy insect repelling paper that you can spread on the floor of your closet, on which you can place your futons when you fold them up and put them away. Some people go the extra mile and buy repellent spray and apply it to the futon every once in a while. To prevent infestations, it is important for people to keep their apartment clean: clothes must not be left lying around, tatami must be vacuumed regularly.

The humidity and the summer heat also attract cockroaches (ゴキブリ, gokiburi). This is common sense, but if dishes aren't washed regularly and the kitchen isn't kept clean, this attracts cockroaches. Food must be sealed properly and crumbs shouldn't be left out lest they become food for any uninvited guests. Laying out repellents or traps is not a bad idea.

As the tsuyu begins to turn into summer, mosquitoes can be a pain in the neck. There is repellent available that can be applied to the body, but you can also use mosquito repellent vaporizers for your room. Or, if you want to be Japanesey, you could always light up one of those green mosquito coils.

 This vaporizer releases an odorless vapor that keeps away mosquitoes.

 Lighting up mosquito repellent coils is common in Japan.

Well, that's it for now. Stay tuned for more the Japanese rainy season!