Good morning,
In this time, I talk about the rainy season “Tsuyu”.
Two weeks ago, the rainy season “Tsuyu” started. The end of this year's “Tsuyu” will be the middle of July, which is normal.

Why do we write "Tsuyu" as "plum rain"?
It is said that the rain of “Tsuyu” is a rain of grace for the plum. When it rains in this season, the fruit of the plum swells greatly.
“Tsuyu” is a special rainy season in East Asia that lasts for about a month.
“Tsuyu” is called "Meiyu" in China and "Changma" in Korea.
The word "Meiyu" was handed down from China to Japan in the Edo period, and it came to be called “Baiu” and "Tsuyu". Before the word "Tsuyu",it was called "Samidare" means the rain in May.
The name of this rainy season is called "Baiu" because it means "rain that falls when the plum blossoms ripen."


Plum
It is a deciduous shrub native to China and lives only in East Asia. It is said that the Japanese envoy brought it back to Japan from China in the Nara period. It fits well with Japanese climate and spread widely during the Heian period. In Japan, it was called "Ume" in the Nara period and "Mume" in the Heian period.
From February to March, flowers are put on before the leaves come out, the fruit begins to swell around May, and ripens yellow in June. In the Edo period, breeding was carried out, and now there are more than 500 varieties.

There are plum trees in Fukono Junior High School.
(↓Photo in May)