Fall is the new summer : Warming threatens Japan’s cultural calendar
JAPAN TIMES TOMOKO OTAKE Nov 19, 2023
Itako, Ibaraki Prefecture
In one hand is a cold beverage; in the other, a paper fan. Clad in a yukata (summer kimono) and perched on the embankment of a river, you look up at the sky. Bright sparks spread out like big flowers on the pitch-black canvas, accompanied by bangs and crackles. A slight smell of mosquito-repellent incense drifts through the air.
Watching firework displays has long been a quintessential summer experience in Japan, with relatively cooler evenings offering a moment’s respite from the unrelenting daytime heat.
At this year’s riverside fireworks festival in Itako, Ibaraki Prefecture, however, the vibe was markedly different... because the event was held in late October for the first time.
Fireworks festivals, traditionally a summertime feature, are becoming more common in October in order to avoid Japan’s increasingly uncomfortable summers.
And it's not just fireworks.
It’s now common to fight off surprisingly active mosquitoes in November. And in more and more fall foliage viewing spots across the country, people must wait until late-November or even December...The impact of autumn's fade is huge — for haiku poets, the disappearance of a season is an existential threat.
