VOX POPULI: Getting wet at this time of year not a bad thing

Since this morning, everything I touch feels damp. Wednesday marked the start of the tsuyu rainy season in the northern Tohoku region. It feels as if the archipelago is up to its neck in water.

But that is just in theory, of course. The start of the rainy season doesn't mean it's going to rain every day. Still, from now on, any lull in the rain will be all the more precious.

Writer Yojiro Ishizaka (1900-1986) wrote about the rainy season in an essay: "Really, so much rain keeps falling with no break that I am surprised there was such a large stockpile of water in the sky. Leaden skies have hung over us day after day for so long that I can hardly remember what blue skies look like."

While the description of the rainy season by the author of "Aoi Sanmyaku" (Blue mountain range) sounds somewhat exaggerated, it might have been the case 50 years ago.

It seems to me that we have not had a proper rainy season for a long time. It appears that our sense of the seasons is weakening year by year, not only in terms of cold and warm, but also dry and damp.

This year, in particular, we have experienced unusually heavy snowfalls, a lack of sunshine and abnormally low temperatures. I don't know how much global warming has to do with freakish weather. Certainly, nature is unpredictable. With regard to crops and tap water, I want the rainy season to be moderately rainy without causing serious damage.

People tend to dislike rain. But the more it rains, the greater the joy of the end of the rainy season.

Hokkaido is appreciated all the more at this time of the year because it has no rainy season, unlike the rest of the nation which is wet and damp.

In short, the rainy days make us grateful for sunshine. "I go to Canada/ Leaving the rainy season behind at the airport" wrote haikuist Eiko Yasuda.

These days, urban life is kept dry by the dehumidification of offices, stores and public transportation systems. In fact, people can get through the season without encountering much rain.

But like heat and cold, I don't think seasonable humidity is so harmful to health. Instead of always staying indoors and avoiding the humidity, it wouldn't be such a bad idea to go out and get wet from time to time.

--The Asahi Shimbun, June 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.