Hello, I am Yoshi from NILS Japanese language school. Today, we would like to introduce some traditional things you may see in Japan in summer.

風鈴 [ふうりん/Furin]
Furin are small wind bells, made of glass, metal, pottery or bamboo. They are traditionally hung under the eaves of teh house in summer. The bell usually has a little slip of paper underneath on which a short wish or peom is written. The paper also helps to catch the breeze. Wehn we hear the jingling sound of the bell, we realize a breeze is blowing, and that givies us a moment of relief from the severe summer heat.

団扇 [うちわ/Uchiwa]
Uchiwa are paper fans. They are flat, non-holding fans with a long handle. They are traditionally ade by attaching paper with glue to both sides of a bamboo frame. The fans are used to keep yourself cool on hot summer days. You can also get fans made with cheaper plastic frames.

蚊取り線香 [かとりせんこう/Katori senko]
Coils of special incense are used to repel the ever-present summer mosquitoes. Theya re made by grinding the flowers and leaves of hhe pyrethrum plant, which is a kind of chrysanthemum, and hardening them into a flat spiral coil. When you use one, you simply light the open end, which causes the incense smoke to drift up and drive away the dreaded insects. It should be oted that the flagrance of te incense coils reminds us off summmer evening becuase the coil is used mostly during the summer. The coile is set up on a metal plate, but pig-shaped ceramic burners are also popular.

July 31st news, from NILS Japanese language school.