The Sixth Month (Rokugatsu) is also called Minazuki ("No Water Month"), as rice sprouts all take root (mina-tsukitaru) and springs dry up because there is "no water."
That is almost ironical, for June is the month that Tsuyu, the Rainy Season, starts, in the Kansai and Tokyo usually around the 10th of the month, lasting until around the middle of July, so for about 5 weeks. Because the rain falls while the Ume (plums) ripen, it is called Bai-u (Bai is another way to read the character for ume). Another word for these rains is Samidare or Satsuki-ame - literally "Fifth Month Rain," as in the old lunar calendar our June was more or less the Fifth Month. As during the long rains it can be dark even in daytime, one speaks about Satsuki-yami, "darkness of the rainy season."
Except farmers who need the rain water in their rice fields, many people feel down due to the dark, rainy weather, but I don't agree. Compared to the full summer in late July and August, it is still relatively cool during the rainy season (at least the sun is not strong enough to be painful), but what is more, gardens are fresh green and irises, water lilies, hydrangea and moss appear brighter and more beautiful. The rainy season gives you the opportunity to see Japanese temples and gardens from a different perspective. And what is more fun than so sit on a temple verandah and hear the soft rain gently fall on the garden in front of you, or walk under a traditional Japanese umbrella made of oiled paper?
June 1 is the day of Koromo-gae, when the Japanese officially change to summer clothes. Uniforms such as of hotel staff, train personnel, shop personnel, students and clerks are replaced with white summer wear with short sleeves. Changes in color are not restricted to clothes, but also apply to furniture coverings, dishes and other household goods. Floor space is made cooler by putting out reed mats, and bamboo blinds are hung in front of windows (so that the sun is kept out but the scarce wind can still enter). Serving dishes for food have refreshingly cool patterns, or are made of cool materials like glass.
Coolness (Suzushi) is important in June, and therefore fans (Uchiwa) and folding fans (Ogi) are taken out and used to cool oneself. For added coolness, people dress in a light Yukata. In traditional houses, in the daytime the sitting room is opened up on all sides by taking away shoji and fusuma and this is called Natsu-zashiki, "a room for summer." In Kyoto along the Kamo River appear Noryo-yuka (floors set up over the water) meant for Yuka-suzumi (enjoying the evening cool).
This coincides with the "cool biz" campaign which started in 2005 but has since the 2011 nuclear accident and consequent energy crisis been institutionalized by the Japanese government: business men and office workers wear short-sleeved shirts without jackets or ties, and some even wear polo shirts or aloha shirts. This enables changing the standard office air conditioner temperature to 28 °C. Cool biz lasts annually from May through October.
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[Women planting rice, c. 1910]
June is also the month for Rice Planting (Ta-ue), the transplanting of the young rice plants (called sanae or wakanae). Although rice is normally planted by mechanical mans (nifty rice planting machines), for ritual purposes the rice is still planted by hand by Sa-otome (young women doing the rice planting) from a nursery to the rice field. Several shrines celebrate "Rice Planting Festivals," as the Sumiyoshi Shrine in Osaka in June 14 and the Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto on June 10. Aota is the name for the green rice fields, caressed by soft breezes.
The new bamboo shoots, which were so delicious only two months before, now have grown into fresh green bamboo (Wakatake) and in the Kuramadera Temple on June 20, the Takekiri or Bamboo-cutting Festival is observed.
The Summer Solstice (Geshi) also falls in June, on or around the 22nd. It has the longest daytime and the shortest night time of the year and therefore around this day one speaks of mijika-yo, "short nights."
June is the season that Hotaru, Fireflies, appear - in the past they were hunted and put into cases to enjoy their mysteriously flitting lights. The Japanese Cuckoo (Kankodori) sings from the middle of summer until the end of autumn and in the mountains the mysterious Bupposo may be heard.
June is also the month to start enjoying Reishu, Cold Sake, preferably enjoyed from cut glass (Giyaman or Kiriko), which contributes to a feeling of coolness. A suitable sweet is Take-nagashi, a hollowed out piece of bamboo filled with Yokan and served cold. The fresh color of the bamboo enhances the overall feeling of coolness.
Ayu is the primary fresh water fish for summer - the fishing season opens on June 1. The ayu has a brilliantly shining body and its taste has a delicious fragrance. June vegetables are Nasu (eggplant) and Kyuri (cucumbers).
A famous June confection is Minazuki, called after the traditional name of the month, a tasty gelatinous triangle made from wheat flour and studded with red azuki beans. They are customarily eaten on June 30 to prevent illness. Another June treat are Kuzumochi (arrowroot cakes), small white triangles eaten with brown sugar syrup and a sprinkling of kinako (soybean flour). A variation of these cakes are Kuzumanju, translucent arrowroot cakes filled with sweet bean paste and served chilled. They have a jelly-like consistency.
The flower of the rainy season is of course the Ajisai or Hydrangea (Hortensia), glowing in its soft blue or pink in a shaded spot. Several temples and shrines are famous for their hydrangea gardens: Mimurotoji in Uji, Yatadera in Nara and the Fujinomori Shrine in Kyoto. The Fujinomori Shrine also holds an Ajisai Matsuri on June 15.
Other festivals in June in Kyoto include:
- Kibune Matsuri on June 1 at the Kibune Shrine, which includes a water-blessing ceremony at 11:00 (the shrine worships the god of water, very suitable for the rainy season!), and a parade at 14:00 in which the shrine's mikoshi is carried along the river.
- Takigi Noh on June 1 and June 2 at the Heian Shrine (opens at 17:00, performances start at 18:00 - reservations required. Two Noh schools, the Kanze and the Kongo, as well as the Okura school of kyogen, put on five different plays each night. It is a wonderful experience to view Noh on an open-air stage as night is falling.
- Otaue Matsuri on June 10 at the Fushimi Inari Shrine, which stats with a ceremony at 13:00, followed by rice planting at 14:00. About 30 women in traditional kimono plant rice in a paddy within the shrine precincts.
- Aoba Matsuri on June 15 at Chishakuin temple, a "green leaf" festival to commemorate the birthday of Kukai (Kobo Daishi), the founder of Shingon Buddhism to which this temple belongs. At 10:00 a fire ceremony is performed by about 30 yamabushi priests.
- Takekirie-shiki on June 20 at Kurama Temple. This "Bamboo Cutting" which starts at 14:00 is an ancient ritual of destroying evil. Four long bamboo poles, which represent serpents, are attacked by two groups of men dressed as warrior monks. The two groups compete to cut up the "serpents" as quickly as possible.
- Nagoshi no Harai on June 30 at the Kamihamo Shrine, Kitano Tenmangu Shrrine, Heian Shrine, Fushimi Inari Shrine, Yoshida Shrine, Nonomiya Shrine, and the Kuramazaki Shrine (which holds this observance during the whole month of June).. This day, which marks the halfway point of the year, people atone for their siins of the past six months by passing through a huge thatched ring called chinowa. Thsi ceremony began in the Nara period, more than 1,200 years ago. On this day the Japanese eat minazuki, a special triangular sweet.
Festivals in Nara:
- Revealing of Statue of Ganjin at Toshodaiji (Mieido) on June 5 to June 7 (9:00 to 16:00). Ganjin is the Chinese founder of this temple. The statue is a national treasure.
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Festivals in Tokyo and Kanto area:
- Sanno Matsuri on June 12 to 16 at the Akasaka Hie Shrine. Only held in even-numbered years, alternating with the Kanda Matsuri. A festivaal of the high city, the Sanno Matsuri culminates in a stately procession on the 15th, led by an ox-drawn sacred carriage and accompnaied by mounted samurai. The parade circles the palace and continues down to Kyobashi and Ginza.
Photos own work or courtesy Wikipedia.