Tuesday, June 30, 2009

When it rains it pours

For the last few weeks there have been sighs of disbelief from all the farmers around here as despite the rainy season arriving, there has been no rain in sight. Many rice farmers have had to delay their planting due to water shortages and in general the outlook has been glum. And then about 3 days ago the rain finally came. And came. And is still coming! Now of course there are heavy rain warnings, flooding problems, roads being washed out as hills collapse etc. I haven't even tried to get into my garden but I am guessing there is going to be a fair bit of damage - or perhaps the weeds have been protecting everything....
In an attempt to make the rain stop my son decided to make a "teru teru bozu" - which basically looks like a ghost kind of thing. A lot of children make these if they have a sports day or outing the next day and therefore really need the weather to be fine. I have made them and seen them before, but really had no idea what they were, so I finally decided to look it up. For anyone else who isn't sure...
(As kind of written in Wikipedia): The name "teru teru bozu" can be translated as "Shiny Shiny Buddhist Priest”. "Teru" is a verb that describes sunshine and "bozu" is a Buddhist monk or in modern slang "bald headed". It is a little traditional hand-made doll made of white paper or cloth that Japanese farmers began hanging outside of their windows using a string back in the ancient time, but I am wondering if I hung my father's head out the window if it would have the same effect. He is both a minister and a "little" bald! This amulet is supposed to have magical powers to bring good weather and to stop or prevent a rainy day. If you hang the doll upside down with its head pointing downward acts like a prayer for rain. Perhaps that is where my son went wrong!
Here's hoping the rain stops soon... mind you it has been nice to have a few "inside" days too.

5 comments:

  1. I can tell you exactly where all your rain went. It just slipped up north for a bit and paid a MONTH LONG visit to us in Hokkaido. You can have it back. You're welcome!

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  2. Didn't know if you hung it upside down it worked like a 'rain dance'. It's definately the biggest one I've seen. I'm not quite sure what your dad would say about being hung by his head out the window!!

    Lets hope Thursday is a bit dryer - we have a nearly blocked drain outside that needs unblocking. Great.

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  3. Hahaha - next time Dad is over, I definitely want to see a photo of him hanging out the window!

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  4. hanging out indeed. I'm only half bald I reckon!! I must try it here though - too much cold and rain. perhaps if I was to hang Masaki outside maybe that would work?

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  5. Aww, what a very cute, teru teru bozu your son made! : ) PS, I think you guys could sent the rain this way as well. Ha ha ha. : ) It's been raining like crazy for 2 days. : )

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