Photo/Illutration A resident is rescued in Osaki, Miyagi Prefecture, on July 16 after embankments along the Nabutagawa river were breached amid heavy rain. (The Asahi Shimbun)

When I was returning from a business trip on July 15, my Shinkansen train stopped due to heavy rain. I became uneasy.

When I feel restless when it rains, I remember a haiku by Atsushi Azumi: “Shigururuya eki ni nishiguchi higashiguchi” (With showers falling, the west entrance and the east entrance to the train station).

It conjures up images of people at a train station rushing to return home after it starts raining.

The word “shigure,” whose relative is used at the beginning of this piece, refers to a shower from late autumn to early winter.

It is a season word for early winter used in haiku.

I quote this “unseasonal” poem because my sense of the season has been mystified over the past weeks.

In June, we had days that felt like nothing but the dog days of summer. The “tsuyu” rainy season ended three weeks earlier than usual, and then we have had a spell of rainy days.

Some experts believe the “baiu” (seasonal rain) front has been resurrected.

The weather has remained unstable for days. On July 16, my attention was drawn to the heavy rains that hit Miyagi Prefecture.

News footage from the city of Osaki in the northeastern prefecture showed people being evacuated on boats. One person interviewed by a TV reporter complained about having suffered a sleepless night.

In Japan, rain causes storm and flood disasters almost every rainy season. I wonder if there are no exceptions.

Both “modori zuyu” and “kaeri zuyu” (a returning rainy season) are season words for a spell of rain after the rainy season appears to have ended.

These words may sound gentle to the ear, but we should not be fooled.

I imagine that many people must have found their plans for the three-day weekend from July 16 disrupted at the outset.

Many train services were suspended or delayed in the northeastern Tohoku region and southern parts of Kyushu.

In addition to rains, resurging COVID-19 infections, which could be described as “modori korona” (a returning coronavirus), have dampened people’s enthusiasm about the holidays.

We need to be watchful of both the sky and our health conditions.

Copious rain in the final stages of the rainy season is sometimes called “okuri zuyu” (sending-off rainy season).

This phrase seems to represent a desire to see the back of a long spell of rain as soon as possible.

I am now looking forward to the second end to the rainy season.

--The Asahi Shimbun, July 17

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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