SMILE Vol.31 January 28, 2018 (H30)
Lightning and thunder at dawn signal the arrival of spring
A few days ago, I was woken up by the lightning and thunder before dawn. “It is spring thunder(春雷-shunrai)! Spring is approaching!”, I got excited in bed and could not fall asleep anymore. When I got out of bed, I looked up the definition of the word “春雷”. “春雷”means thunder that forms from March through May, which signals the arrival of spring. It is also called “虫出しの雷(mushidashi-no-kaminari, meaning bug-poking thunder)”, because it wakes up the insects that has been hibernating over winter. My body and soul must have been longing for spring to arrive from recent extreme cold weather.
For ages, Japanese people reflected changes of four seasons onto their calendar. We have been embracing the seasons and lived with them side by side. We are feeling the seasons with our five senses. 続きを読む…