秋の気分: That Fall Feeling

 This week, fall has arrived completely unannounced. Just when it seemed like summer would never end, the days are growing short, overcast and and chilly.

I love seasons in Japan, but they also make me feel a bit melancholy. My childhood memories are all set in a place that is forever temperate; a blur of green and blue hues. Yet out here, every season is so distinct and the memories attached to each season can be easily placed, making it painful at times. But, I think that may be the beauty of Japanese culture. Reveling in the fact that everything is ephermal. Seeing the fallen maple leaves or cherry blossoms on the ground remind us that we are living a life that is impermanent, and someday we too must return to the earth.

 Let us notice in the coming days: the fiery-hued higanbana popping up on the side of the road; the long wisps of cosmos swaying in the breeze; the quiet of trees as the last cicadas vanish; the rice fields being plowed; the soft, white tufts of susuki catching the light of the moon. For, next time you look to see these tell-tale signs of autumn, they may be long gone.