Kaki, Divine Blessing – Dried Persimmon・干し柿 (ほしがき)

Dozens of dried persimmon in front of houses are not an uncommon sight during the autumn month in Japan.
Dozens of dried persimmon in front of houses are not an uncommon sight during the autumn months in Japan.

Whenever I think I make a quick post about a topic, somehow I always end up with a full-fledged study in some way…well I shouldn’t mind, I guess, because it brings back some many cherished memories (i.e. the CAMPHOR TREE・楠). This post about the dried persimmons, sets me right back into Japan during this month of year.

October days are most pleasant with skies clear, the air refreshingly cool, leaves fiery red or bright yellow. Ideal for hikes in the countryside or leisurely walks in quite neighborhoods of the cities and towns. The autumn season has much to offer for the eye, but also comes up with many delectable amenities, of which the dried persimmon is one of them. With producing techniques nowadays in place, the nutritious treat could technically be made available all year round. However, only during the autumn months one will notice the fruits on strings hanging from below the eaves of resident housings and in front of windows on balconies of apartment buildings. So this practice of drying persimmon outdoors in the sunlight is distinctly associated to this time of year, therefore considered an aspect of FUUBUTSUSHI (風物詩・ふうぶつし; things reminiscent to seasons), in other words the emotional awareness by Japanese people for certain seasonal characteristics, apart from such things as natural phenomenons, living things or sense of taste.
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Fun with Comic Essays – New Page Content Announcement

Reading Japanese

Happy to announce that a new side page has been added to MyLittle Dejima with FUN WITH COMIC ESSAYS, which contains a few recommendations on books of the COMIC ESSAY/MANGA ESSAY genre. They are all Japanese only and I would classify them intermediate level. For people interested in Japan and students of Japanese language the books are definitely worth to check out. The stories are fun and light to read. Most of them have ruby characters (Furigana) over the texts to support the reading flow of difficult kanji compositions. When time allows, I will aim to add the detailed reviews of each book in a separate blog article. It is an ambitious goal and will take a great deal of time, but I shall give my best. Even though it requires quite an effort for me, I indulge in reading Japanese stuff of all kind of sources, be it books, online articles or short stories and I hope that readers will find the information I make available via the page helpful. Happy reading!

©MyLittle Dejima