HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR SUMMER

This is a question recently posed to my English class, which mostly consists of ladies approaching my own age, so I thought the answers would be similar to my own. In many cases, they were – but the old customs are disappearing. For the benefit of those who have not been taught the traditional ways of preparing the household for summer in Japan, here are a few things that I usually do; some of them play “catch-up” with the reality of hot weather (in other words I just manage to get them done when needed) and some are not rigorously followed.

1. Changing clothes (koromogae) Of course clothing is different in summer and winter, and there comes a day when we put away bulky jackets etc., and get out the lighter, cooler clothing of summer. Since I don’t go out much, I don’t have too many “going-out” type clothes to manage, so I don’t have huge dry-cleaning bills etc., but there is the hauling out of plastic boxes which held summer clothing all winter and transferring the clothes within to drawers, and at the same time putting away the winter things in the same boxes (with insect-proofing, some people also use anti-humidity stuff to prevent mold). At the same time I usually get rid of some items which I haven’t worn for several seasons, taking them to the local charity places. The whole process takes a day.
   

2. Changing bedding. A similar thing happens with bedding, it gets lighter and lighter especially when you don’t use air-conditioning at night, as we don’t – we sleep with huge open windows (screened) and electric fans on really unbearable nights. Very heavy winter futons are changed for lighter summer futons or even for taoru-ketto, which are like giant towels that are all you really need to cover you when you sleep in summer. The futons for both seasons should ideally be aired before putting them away or using them, but they are heavy so I only do this when it seems really necessary.
   

3. Changing doors (koromogae) -- this is referred to by the same name as changing clothes, except it is for the house. Walls in a traditional house are actually sliding doors in sets of 3 or 4, and they are thicker and more sturdy in winter, but are changed to reed doors, which let in the air, in summer. I once counted how many doors had to be moved during a seasonal door change, and it was over 30. Doors that are not used during a season are stored in the door cupboard at the far end of the house, and some of them, particularly the winter doors painted with nature scenes, are both heavy and delicate – it would be easy to knock a hole in them, so they are handled with care. And these doors have to be wiped clean, usually when they are gotten out. Winter doors are cleaned during Big Cleaning before New Year, but summer doors are cleaned when they are used. Summer doors are usually used in the house from the end of May to the end of September, depending on temperature and feeling.
   

4. Putting on screens (amido) Window screens are typically taken off and stored around the same time as summer doors are changed to winter. They must be labeled by location, as they are all different sizes. And they must also be cleaned, either when put away or when they are gotten out, as they get very dusty and grubby.
   

5. Changing space heaters for electric fans. We have about 7 or 8 of each, for the various rooms in the house. Space heaters should be emptied of kerosene before being covered and stored; electric fans are cleaned free of dust, either when put away or when gotten out.
   

6. Getting out insect stuff. This mostly takes the form of those little electric gadgets that have bottles of mosquito repellent in them, which keep bedrooms etc. mosquito-free at night. There are a lot fewer mosquitoes recently in the countryside; I think it is because of the ubiquitousness of sewers and less numerous earth toilets, which used to be huge mosquito breeding tanks in the old days. Still, a few mosquitoes manage to evade this and survive. Other insect-management things include cockroach traps and (thank goodness these are no longer a part of my life) rolls of fly paper. We have a lot fewer insects of any kind in the house now, compared to when I first moved here. I see only about two or three houseflies, cockroaches etc. per summer season these days.
   

7. Changing kitchen utensils, etc. This is sometimes done, as glass vessels, which give a cool feeling, are used more in summer. I usually just get these out as needed.
   

8. Baths to showers. Our bath schedule changes radically in summer, as my husband and I work outside and just come in and hop in the shower whenever. Hot baths in the evening are reduced to compensate. I realize most Japanese bathe every day regardless of the season, but this is how it is done in out house. Most households do laundry every day too, I just can’t be bothered with that, and laundry days are tied to leftover bathwater (which is cleanish, as people wash outside the bath before soaking) being available for use in the washing machine. Recently my husband hooked up our well water for use in the washing machine, which means clean clothes that emerge to be hung are several degrees cooler than before – that is very welcome in summer – well water comes from deep underground, and is always cooler than regular water from pipes.

Any more? All these things are reversed, of course, when cold weather comes back. I am a hot-weather person, I like sweating and wearing fewer cloths and having shorter hair, so I always look forward to summer even though it can be a pain. There are a lot of other good things about summer, notably the constant availability of “free” food from the veggie patch. Right now we are eating, besides the usual onions and potatoes, carrots, green beans, cucumbers, rainbow chard, tomatoes, blueberries, corn, eggplant, and several kinds of peppers.

I probably forgot several things for preparing for summer, but you get the general idea. It’s good to record these things, which will be the stuff of history before we know it.