Three Days Of Cold, Four Days Of Warmth

We again had some snow today but the past few days were very warm, so... I learnt that this is called 三寒四温 (san-kan-shi-on) season. Just get used to it.

Don't catch a cold, take precautions to avoid the flu. Wash your hands a lot, don't shake hands, and did I mention wash your hands many times each day?

Kodo, the taiko drum band from Sado Island has a tune called Sankanshion from their amazing 1995 Acropolis concert...

I like how this is more of a rural thing. If you live in Tokyo, odds are you have never met anyone who has heard about it. Increasingly, Japan is about city vs. country. Whenever I hear a comment about "Japan" I feel the writer is less in touch with the rural parts, but stuck in the commuting/concrete/highrise/highway/office parts. I wonder if the comment is less about this country, more about the lack of it. Of course people in central Tokyo or Osaka have no idea.

Image by Atsuta Chikayoshi, long-time illustrator at Mainichi Shimbun who works for eliminating iodine deficiency in Nepal. The building in his drawing is the old headquarters of the Asahi Shimbun in Osaka, from 1930.

Update: Speaking of climate, I really recommend The Rational Pessimist (formerly Climate and Risk) for great updates about the debate about our over-heating future.