31-07-2025
A language built on the wind, from mountain gusts to wind chimes
July in Tokyo brought regular highs of 35 degrees Celsius coupled with sauna-level humidity. Most of us are desperate for relief in the form of some 風 (kaze, wind).
I could really go for a 涼風 (ryōfū, cool, refreshing breeze) or a pleasant 海風 (umikaze, sea breeze), but I secretly dream of a 滝風 (takikaze, wind caused by a large waterfall). As long as they don't cause any damage, I'd even settle for a 突風 (toppū, sudden gust) or a 強風 (kyōfū, strong wind).
It could 吹く(fuku, to blow), そよぐ (soyogu, to flutter gently) or simply ささやく (sasayaku, to whisper). In fact, the humidity is so bad that even a 弱風 (jakufū, weak wind) or 熱風 (neppū, hot, dry wind at the height of summer) would help. Anything, please!
The Japanese language has a plethora of ways to describe 風. There are hundreds of types of 風, including different varieties that blow in each 季節 (kisetsu, season). In the world of poetry and haiku , there are more than 50 wind-related 季語 (kigo, seasonal words used in haiku) for summer alone.
Simply explained, wind is 空気 (kūki, air/atmosphere) in motion. In the same way you can feel the air inside a 風船 (fūsen, balloon) when you squeeze or push it, all air has an 押す力 (osu chikara, pushing force).
When air with a 強い押す力 (tsuyoi osu chikara, strong pushing force) bumps into an air with a 弱い押す力 (yowai osu chikara, weak pushing force), you get wind with the following result: 押す力の強い方から弱い方へ向かって空気は押されて動いていき、風になる (Osu chikara no tsuyoi hō kara yowai hō e mukatte kūki wa osarete ugoite-iki, kaze ni naru, the air is pushed from the stronger side to the weaker side and moves, becoming wind).
One of the determining factors in creating the stronger and weaker air force is 気圧 (kiatsu, air pressure), which comes in two varieties: 気圧が高い (kiatsu ga takai, high air pressure) and 気圧が低い (kiatsu ga hikui, low air pressure). Sometimes, warm air rises, creating 低気圧 (teikiatsu, low pressure systems); in other places, cooler, denser air sinks, creating 高気圧 (kōkiatsu, high pressure systems). When air pressure varies between regions, 風が吹く (kaze ga fuku, the wind blows).
In Japan, these natural forces result in many region-specific 風. For example, 富士颪 (fuji oroshi, Fuji wind) refers to the wind that blows down from Mount Fuji to the Kanto Plain. The kanji 颪 (oroshi), though no longer commonly used, specifically refers to wind that blows down a mountain. 伊吹颪 (ibuki oroshi) is wind blowing down from Mount Ibuki in Shiga Prefecture across the Nobi Plain in Aichi Prefecture.
There's also the からっ風 (karakkaze), a cold, dry wind that blows in winter across the Kanto Plain from the mountains of Nagano and Niigata prefectures, as well as the 夏至南風 (kāchībē), a strong wind that blows from south to north at the start of the rainy season in Okinawa Prefecture.
There are also particular winds that blow at different times of the year. The most famous is perhaps the 春一番 (haru ichiban, spring No. 1): 春の初めに吹く強い風 (haru no hajime ni fuku tsuyoi kaze, a strong wind that blows at the beginning of spring). The 春一番 is said to signal the end of winter to the Japanese public.
In rainy season , there are the 黒南風 (kurohae) and 白南風 (shirohae) — the former is a じとっとした湿気の多い南風 (jitotto shita shikke no ōi minamikaze, a moist, humid southerly wind) that blows at the start and middle of the period, whereas the latter is からっとした快い南風 (karatto shita kokoroyoi minamikaze, a dry and pleasant southerly wind) that blows at the end of it. The 南風 (minamikaze, southerly winds) dominate the summertime and start of autumn, with wind words such as いなさ (inasa) and 盆東風 (bongochi) referring to the strong, stormy winds brought by typhoons from the south and east. 野分 (Nowaki) is the old term for typhoon.
This rich vocabulary of winds has inevitably lent itself to some lovely 俳句 (haiku) in keeping with the tradition of 季語. Take the beautiful word 青嵐 (aoarashi, 'storm of verdure'), a summer kigo that refers to the fresh green of the high mountains at the start of summer rippling and undulating in a powerful wind. As notable haiku poet Teiko Inahata wrote: 森深く 抜けてゆく道 青嵐 (mori fukaku / nukete yuku michi / aoarashi, A path that escapes / the depths of the forest / storm of verdure).
Other 風の夏の季語 (kaze no natsu no kigo, summer seasonal words about winds) include 山背 (yamase, the wind that blows over the mountains) and 風鈴 (fūrin, wind chimes).
Speaking of which, countless Japanese customs revolve around the wind, including 風鈴, which are said to cool the mind by giving the wind a voice. Then there are かざぐるま (kazaguruma), paper pinwheels that spin when the wind hits them. The role of the wind in culture can be seen in expressions like 風の便り (kaze no tayori, a message from the wind), which means 'hearsay' or 'rumor,' while 風神 (kaze no kami, the god of wind) has been a popular figure in the culture since ancient times, often depicted as a green demon with a billowing white scarf riding the wind on black clouds.
This deep cultural association with the wind has not always been for good. The 神風 (kamikaze) suicide pilots of World War II were built around the concept of a divine wind. The word originally referred to a wind blown by the gods, specifically typhoons that repelled Mongol invasions in 1274 and 1281. The Imperial Japanese Navy began to call air suicide attack units 神風特別攻撃隊 (shinpū tokubetsu kōgeki tai, divine wind special attack units), later shortened and misread by Western sources as 'kamikaze.'
Finally, using wind-related 四字熟語 (yojijukugo, four-kanji idioms) can help elevate your language skills. You can admire 風光明媚 (fūkōmeibi, picturesque/scenic) landscapes, for example, be 風声鶴唳 (fūseikakurei, frightened by the slightest noise) or get paranoid over 風評被害 (fūhyōhigai, damage caused by harmful rumors). And if you really need to feel cooler this summer, 扇風機を使って自分で風を作ってみてくださいね (senpūki o tsukatte jibun no kaze o tsukutte-mite kudasai ne, try using an electric fan to make your own wind).
