Summer Hubutsushi – Chirin-chirin

The Japanese language has a word called「風物詩(hubutsu-shi)」(meaning ‘seasonal scenery or Seasonal hallmark’).

The word refers to things and events that give a sense of the seasons, a feeling that has been valued in ancient Japan.

The concept of “hubutsu-shi” applies to a variety of seasonal foods, household items, festivals and customs.

As society becomes more rationalised, a sense of seasonality is fading away, and in Japan,「hubutsu-shi」are becoming a thing of the past.

But even so, people still rejoice in the new spring at the sight of plum blossoms, wipe away summer sweat at the sight of watermelons and feel autumn at the sound of bell cricket. In the corners of their hearts, 「hubutsu-shi」will continue to live on.

 

「風鈴 (Hu-rin)」 is a summer「hubutsu-shi」in Japan.
In English, they are called「wind chime」.

While overseas wind chimes are shaped like a collection of long, thin metal tubes, most Japanese wind chimes are spherical and umbrella shape. It plays a cool tone in the slightest breeze in the hot summer.

In an age when there were no air-conditioners or refrigerators, this was the wisdom and taste of our ancestors who tried to keep cool with sound.

They became popular with the general public 200 years ago during the Edo period. Until then, most were made of bronze or brass, but it was around this time that those made of glass were developed.

 

If we go further back in the history of wind chimes, we find ourselves in China 2000 years ago.
「風鐸(Hu-taku)」, slightly larger than today’s wind bells, were hung in bamboo groves and used for divination by measuring the direction of the wind and how they rang.

It is said to have been brought to Japan 1,300 years ago during the Nara period (710-794). Initially the property of the nobility, it later spread to the warrior class, where it seems to have been used to ward off evil spirits. The sound was rattling and rattling, and there was no sense of coolness.

Have you ever seen lantern-like objects hanging from the four corners of the roofs of Japanese or Asian temples? Those are the remnants of「Hu-taku」.

As time went by, the meaning of the festival faded away to ward off bad luck, but in the olden days, summers were also plague-prone, so for the common people it may have had the meaning of keeping them cool and warded off plague at the same time.

 

In today’s air-conditioned world, the ingenuity and emotion of the cooler climate has been lost. and even the use of wind chimes is discouraged due to noise problems.

I don’t think that a life of convenience and rational thinking is the only way to a happy life. I think that the results obtained through ingenuity and the emotion of enjoying them are also very important for people.

Fortunately, Japanese impressions of「Hu-rin」themselves are generally positive.
Many people have the above-mentioned「hubutsu-shi」.

「風鈴祭り(Hurin-Matsuri / Wind Bell Festival)」is also held in various locations from late June to August.
If you happen to visit Japan during this season, please drop by.
Tinkle-tinkle ♪ (Chirin-chirin in Japanese. (^^)

One final note.
「Hurin」is pronounced [huurin / hoorin].
If you pronounce it as it is [hurin] without stretching it, be careful, as it can be mistaken for a bad word related to ‘cheating’.(^_^;)

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