Photo/Illutration People taking pictures on the roof of a high-rise building in Shibuya, Tokyo, on Sept. 2. (Wataru Sekita)

According to the traditional lunisolar calendar’s 24 “sekki” divisions that denote the changing of the seasons, Sept. 7 is “Hakuro” (white dew).

This is supposed to mean that morning dew is glistening white on plants, signifying the end of summer and the arrival of autumn.

But that hardly feels real. Considering the brutal summer heat of recent years, any fallen dew must evaporate in no time.

I got up a bit earlier than usual and searched for autumn in a nearby bush. I could not find any white dew, but the soft chirping of bugs was a welcome change from the relentless droning of cicadas.

And the blueness of the sky was more transparent than during the height of summer.

The pale pink flower of the last-remaining swamp lily fluttered in the breeze, looking a bit melancholy as if reluctant to part with summer.

Little grasshoppers jumped in the green grass underfoot, and I felt an itch on my calf. I must have been bitten by a mosquito.

As if to look for something that isn’t in front of me, I recalled a Chinese quatrain with five-character lines by Bai Juyi (772-846), a Tang Dynasty poet.

Translated by Ritsuko Inami (1944-2020), an outstanding scholar of Chinese literature, the poem means something to the effect, “The refreshing breeze blows over the pillow and mattress, and white dew dampens the jacket and the hem of the skirt.”

Chinese poets of the past favored autumn over summer as their subject. Perhaps they felt it would be too prosaic to complain about the heat of summer in verse.

From June through August this year, the average temperature in Japan was as much as 1.76 degrees higher than normal. And we are told to brace for more scorchers this month, too. It looks like our endurance game isn’t over yet.

A haiku by Teiko Inahata (1931-2022) goes to the effect, “All things pass by on Hakuro.”

Leaving a red bump from a mosquito bite on my skin, the ruffian summer is departing very, very slowly.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 7

* * *

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.

Related News