2000 Words for Japanese Rain

From artist Miya Ando, Water of the Sky, A Dictionary of 2,000 Japanese Rain Words.

Through a collection of 2,000 Japanese words, their English interpretations, and 100 drawings, Ando describes the breadth and diversity of rain’s many expressions: when it falls, how it falls, and how its observer might be transformed physically or emotionally by its presence.

I paged through this at a bookstore recently; it is delightful. From an excerpt of the book, here are a few of Ando’s rain words & phrases:

Tokidoki Niwaka Ame: Sometimes light snow and rain showers

Ama ga Nukeru: The skies open up, it rains like cats and dogs

Shinotsukuame: Intense rain that falls heavily, is very fine and strong like the Bamboo Grove at Shinotake

Giu: False rain

Amadoi: Sliding red beans to resemble the sound of rain

Kōu: Rain that comes exactly when you were waiting for it

Water of the Sky is available at Bookshop, Amazon, and wherever books are sold.

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