VOX POPULI: Scent of snow fills the air after Tokyo receives a wet, wintry mix
Many years ago, I received a New Year’s “nengajo” (greeting postcard) from a young man who had relocated from Saitama Prefecture to Akita Prefecture for his job.
He wrote, “I realized for the first time that there is such a thing as the scent of snow.”
From his message, I could sense his quiet pleasure in making new discoveries while struggling to adjust to his life in the unfamiliar snow country.
Since then, I have remembered his words whenever it has snowed.
As the air trembles and condenses in the cold, so to speak, I would try to sniff out the scent of snow in the back of my nose.
I can readily recognize the smell now. But in the past, I did not even know it existed. We humans are so strange.
Actually, snow not only gives off a scent, but it also makes sounds.
A heavy accumulation of snow atop a house causes the roof to creak, as if the snow is determined to crush everything under its weight.
“No other sound is more terrifying,” a friend of mine, a native of a snow-bound town on the Sea of Japan coast, used to say.
Snow fell in Tokyo on Feb. 5.
It was actually a wet, wintry mix, but bad enough to disrupt public transportation and the distribution of goods, and it must have inconvenienced many people.
I hope everyone will watch out for icy patches underfoot today, so they won’t slip and hurt themselves.
In the big cities, the amount of snowfall has apparently decreased over the years. However, the inconveniences and dangers to the daily lives of citizens must have increased.
Asked repeatedly to refrain from non-urgent outings, I, for one, would be made to feel unnecessarily rushed and flustered.
Even though I tell myself I have to live with this, I can’t help feeling sorry for myself for not being able to have the luxury of sitting back and simply enjoying the snow.
In “Kuroi Fukin” (Black organ), poet Sakutaro Hagiwara (1886-1942) wrote to the effect, “Woman, play the organ/ Lightly, gently and solemnly/ Like the sound of falling snow.”
--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 6
* *
*Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
Related articles
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Freshpet rise; Luminar, Integra fall, Monday, 5/6/2024
Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes on Monday:Paramount Global, up 40 cents2024-05-07Yellen says threats to democracy risk US economic growth, an indirect jab at Trump
WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen argues that a fractured democracy can have destruc2024-05-07Chevrolet denies participation in Team Penske's IndyCar cheating scandal
Chevrolet denied on Friday any knowledge of the IndyCar cheating scandal within Team Penske and said2024-05-07Miami Marlins working on trade that would send 2B Luis Arraez to the San Diego Padres
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The Miami Marlins are working on a trade that would send second baseman and r2024-05-07Auditors can't locate former St. Louis circuit attorney to complete state audit
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A state examination of the office that handles criminal prosecutions in St. Louis i2024-05-07Yankees ace Gerrit Cole to throw off mound Saturday for first time since elbow injury
NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees ace Gerrit Cole is scheduled to throw off a mound Saturday for the first tim2024-05-07
atest comment