The Sound of Summer Nights

Summer Festival Series Vol.2

 

Summer nights have their own music.

It begins softly.

The distant rhythm of drums drifts through the evening air. Laughter echoes from a nearby street. Somewhere, a wind chime rings gently as the last traces of sunlight fade from the sky.

Each sound is small on its own.

Together, they become the sound of summer.

In Japan, summer festivals are often remembered through photographs of fireworks and colorful lanterns. Yet many people remember them through something less visible.

The sound.

The cheerful calls from festival stalls.

The quiet conversations of friends walking home.

The gentle rustling of yukata sleeves in the evening breeze.

These sounds do not last long.

They appear for a moment and disappear into the night.

Perhaps that is why they remain in our memories.

Long after summer ends, a familiar melody or the distant beat of a drum can bring back the feeling of warm evenings and glowing streets.

Some seasons are remembered by what we see.

Others are remembered by what we hear.

And summer, perhaps, is the season that sings to us most softly.

If you missed the previous article in this series, you can read Lanterns Before Sunset.