Plum rain

Can plums rain from the sky? Not really, unless you live in Japan (or China!). Tsuyu (梅雨) - this is the name of the rainy season, which means 'plum rain'. As you can easily guess, this is the period when it rains a substantial amount, and depending on the region of Japan, this season occurs between May and July. Tsuyu lasts about four to six weeks. However, why is this rain called a "plum rain"?

When I asked my Japanese colleagues about this, most couldn't answer. My first thought - "It's probably a metaphor, right?". It rains so much, it's as if the raindrops are the size of plums. Well... not really. The explanation turned out to be much simpler - this period is when the plums ripen and fall from the trees. Interestingly, the name 'plum' does not originate in Japan but in China.

After a bit of searching on the Internet, I found out that the explanation for the name was only partially true. It turns out that the origins of Tsuyu go all the way back to ancient times. At that time in China, it was believed that when plums which are growing south of the Yangtze River ripen, they change colour and then fall from the trees. The moisture evaporates from the fruit... and turns into rain. To be honest, I wasn't expecting such an explanation.

Coming back to modern Japan... The rainy season doesn't really mean daily heavy rainfall. Yes, sometimes there is a downpour, and sometimes just a drizzle. The sky is almost always streaked with clouds, the humidity rises to very high levels and persists throughout the entire season.... However, there are occasional days on which it doesn't rain and you can finally see the sun (which you should definitely take advantage of!).

The walk in the park was a nice break from being constantly inside...

Unfortunately, also the temperature rises during the rainy season, and can reach 25-27 °C. This combination of heat and humidity promotes the growth of mold. Consequently, special care must be taken with food and clothing. I became aware of how the Japanese deal with food quite quickly. Even before the first rains fell, I noticed that many products are packaged in extremely small portions, or a larger package contains many small packings. This didn't make sense to me at first. After all, it's a waste of plastic! However, later it became understandable.... There's no point in opening a whole packet of biscuits if they all become slightly soggy in just two days. Unfortunately, taking care of clothes is just as difficult. Let's say I want to do laundry. How can I dry my clothes if the humidity doesn't drop below 90%? The only sensible option is to use a tumble dryer, which are much more popular here than in Poland. But what if your clothes can't be dried that way? Well... all in all, it's best to wait for a day of sunshine with your laundry, and hang them out on the balcony...

However, as if the hassle of washing your clothes wasn't enough.... leather items must be especially taken care of. Shoes, belts, gloves, handbags, jackets... To prevent the items from being damaged by mold, they should be exposed to the sun as often as possible (sun kills the blue mold which is so prevalent in rainy season). This was one of the most valuable pieces of advice I received. I came across it completely by accident, while browsing through a forum for foreigners.... Sometimes it's worth spending a little time on the internet...

The rainy season was not a period that offered me many opportunities to go out or explore, not to mention the ongoing pandemic. Not only I had to avoid enclosed spaces, but being outside due to constant rain wasn't an option either. Nevertheless, it was not a completely wasted time - one could even say that I needed it to get used to being in a new place. And once the rains stopped and the sun came out... I actually longed for the rainy days to return! Why, I will answer that soon, in the next post.