Microseason: Heavy Fog Drapes

AUTUMN

HINT OF AUTUMN

HEAVY FOG DRAPES

17 - 21 August

In the wee hours of the morning fog dresses the mountains and waterways. Signaling last days of the heat. It’s an official farewell to Summer, as well as to our Ancestors who have come for a visit this past week.

It’s a long-awaited annual visit, so we send our Ancestors a horse so they can trot over to This World as quickly as possible. We light fireworks, pay homage to memorable places, and feast together over 3 nights and 4 days. And when it’s time, we prepare an ox. The ox is burly enough to carry the weight of the many gifts we pack for our Ancestors, but we also choose an ox because they walk much slower than a horse. We want our Ancestors to return safely to the Other World. But we don’t want them to go too quickly.

Every year on 16 August, we watch the Okuribi bonfires light up the mountains that hug Kyoto from all sides. Literally “sending off fire”, the Okuribi help light the way, helping our Ancestors return to the Other World without getting lost along the way.

The heavy fog this time of year, reminiscent of the smoke and dust that the bonfires and oxen have left behind. A sort of bittersweet farewell, until next year.

Short periods of fog create stress for agricultural produce, which increase their sweetness factors. As the temperatures slowly cool immediately following this microseason, our bodies begin to prefer harvest that is just a bit sweeter.

Photo credit: Tomohiro Ueno

Video credit: Momoko Nakamura