What a relief it is that October is here and the hot, humid days of another summer are behind us. As this summer’s temperatures reached the mid to upper 30s and the humidity was 70-80% I couldn’t help but think of the past 50+ summers that we have spent in Japan. 

Back in the 60s and 70s, before air-conditioning was readily available, there weren’t many ways to stay cool other than wearing as little clothing as possible. For our son, and most likely most other young boys, that meant only underwear in or out of kiddy pools such as the one he loved splashing around in with the son of our neighbor in Tsujido.

Stripping down wasn’t only for kids. Occasionally, on commuter trains, businessmen were known to remove their trousers, fold them and carefully place them on the overhead rack and relax in their suteteko. They could, therefore, arrive at the office in dry, wrinkle-free suits. Business women, in their nylon stockings and dresses, were not so lucky; they could use only hankies and “sensu” fans to try to stay perspiration-free. In those days women did not wear trousers or they might have been tempted to follow the example of the businessmen!!

I well remember those trains going to Tokyo, with all of the windows open,  hot air rushing in, while standing under an overhead fan trying to not pass out from the heat.  In the evenings, in our neighborhood, elders sat on their front doorsteps, in their underclothing, trying to catch a cool breeze while coils of katorisenko kept the mosquitoes at bay.

 

Finally in 2005, for the comfort of workers and the conservation of energy, the Ministry of Environment decided that from June to September government offices should keep temps at 28 degrees C.; later, the private sector put this regulation into practice from May to October. In 2011 Super Cool Biz became “cool.” Polo shirts and even Okinawan or Hawaiian  shirts were approved as office wear for businessmen. The tie manufacturing companies were losing business big time. I’m sure that businesswomen also welcomed the freedom of wearing more suitable clothing for the hot, humid days.  

I’m going to try to enjoy the cooler days of fall and think of new ways to stay cool when summer once again rolls around.