Endurance Game: Flowers of early summer in Yokohama’s forests 2023

 

In Japan, we have at least two rainy seasons. One is in autumn, and another is in early summer. Early summer rainy season is the headliner for Japanese calendar. It has the name Tsuyu, and the other rainy days have names like Susuki-Tsuyu for autumn rains. Tsuyu is written in Chinese Character 梅雨 = rains when plums are ripened. Susuki-Tsuyu ススキ梅雨 means raining like Tsuyu season when Chinese silver grass turns the color of their seed head beautiful white. You’ve got the idea, right? For traditional Japanese society, knowing the weather pattern and coincident transition in vegetation was important. When plums are ripened and rainy season begins, it’s time to plant rice seedlings in paddies. When silver grass turns the color of their head and rainy days continue, a bit waiting for the end of rain brings joyous time for harvesting rice. Although the importance of such things is now not that much as in 200 years ago, knowing the beginning and the end of rainy season is still significant for us. So, like a Groundhog Day festival, it’s an annual ritual in Japan to hear the declaration of start/end of Tsuyu from the Japan Meteorological Agency. They are using tax-payer funded supercomputers to analyze the patterns of chaotic planetary weather and are expected to issue such statements without much confusion. Er, that is a hope, at least. Last year, they did a blunder.

Male Orthetrum Melania. When they come it’s summer!

For Kanto Region where Yokohama belongs to Tsuyu 2022 started on June 6th. Moving average out of the last 30 years for starting date was June 7th. That was good, right? The problem was the declaration for the end. The Agency first issued the statement for Kanto Region the Tsuyu of 2022 was over on June 26, for the shortest Tsuyu season in record for Megalopolis Tokyo. Yeah, around that time we had days of sweltering heat with too strong sunshine. The scientists for the Agency might have thought the same thing as we were: summer rainy days were over for 2022. That was a gigantic mistake. After the declaration, the weather pattern returned to Tsuyu, or even worse to storms with evacuation orders. In September 1, 2022, the Agency issued the definitive date for the end of Tsuyu which in Kanto Region was July 23rd, more or less around the average date of July 19th.

In really hot day,
Japanese grass lizard is also feeling dizzy … I guess.
 It stayed as was at my feet.
Hey, cars can come! Be careful!

Huh. That’s the world of Climate Change. In the first place, having heatwave with direct sunshine in early July was not common in Yokohama before! We’re in such era … And so, Tsuyu season for 2023. The plums this year have ripened at least a week earlier than the previous years (; my post on June 2nd, 2023). Something’s happening …? At least the declaration from the Meteorological Agency for the “opening (yeah!)” was June 8th this year for Kanto Region. But again, we in Yokohama have mid-summer like heatwave early July … we’re murmuring “Strange.” Meanwhile at least flowers for early summer in forests are behaving dependably. They are flowering as before about time … at least for now in Yokohama. How long could they endure, I wonder …

Gooseneck loosestrife

East Asian sage

Tricyrtis macropoda

Golden-rayed lily

Asian lizard's tail

East Asian pollia

Orange Daylily

Common reed

Cattail

If you find a problem in the greenery of north-half of Yokohama, please make a contact with

Office for the Park Greeneries in the North
北部公園緑地事務所
Yokohama Municipal Government Creative Environment Policy Bureau
横浜市環境創造局
Phone: 045-311-2016 

FAX: 045-316-8420