Autumn, the Season of Reading

Photo MT Innes

When I think of autumn, I think back with nostalgia to my cool autumn days and the start of the academic year in North America, specifically western Canada. During my undergraduate studies, I eagerly awaited course reading lists, especially Japanese and English literature. It’s a little different here as school starts in April, and autumn is the beginning of the second term of school.

Similarly, Japanese people perceive autumn as a time for reading. The tradition comes from a Chinese classic taught in Japanese class. The 8th century government official, scholar and poet Han Yu wrote a passage which has become an aphorism - 「灯火親しむべし」 touka shita shimubeshi - meaning reading by lamplight in autumn’s cool weather is ideal. And I couldn’t agree more. As the days grow shorter and the air cools, I curl up with a blanket and a book.

Reading in Japanese can be a chore, even for me after succeeding on the Japanese Language Proficiency Test to the N2 level. My partner turned me on to reading aloud in Japanese to improve my spoken fluency and my reading ability. I told you some time ago about how I found some resources that read Japanese texts aloud so that I can acquire more vocabulary and kanji.

For me coming fresh to the world of kanji as a primarily English reader, I told about coping with vast amounts of Japanese text while still in the process of learning kanji.

When reading web pages full of kanji that I don’t know the reading for I resort to using Rikaikun, a gloss of the words in a text available in the Google Chrome browser. This application appears to be abandonware, an app no longer updated. Recently I stumbled over Yomichan, a similar kanji lookup app that’s available in Firefox and Google Chrome. It’s got great features such as kanji stroke order and supports various dictionaries. 

Walking in the footsteps of writers in the greater Tokyo area is another activity I enjoy in autumn. A historical spot is Mukojima Hyakkaen Garden which celebrates poetry. While you stroll along the paths you can spot poems inscribed on monuments. It’s a lovely flower garden in any season, but especially pleasant in the autumn. 

The author's study reconstruction at Natsume Soseki Memorial Museum photo Asanagi

Natsume Soseki, author of Botchan and I Am a Cat, spent a lot of time in the Tokyo area. One of the places he frequented and mentioned in his works is the Kagurazaka neighborhood. There are traces of his era with old storefronts, winding streets, and some classic tea shops like Rakuzan. It’s another great place for an autumn wander. On your walk, you can take a break at the Natsume Soseki Memorial Museum.

Just outside Tokyo proper, the Issa Soju Memorial Hall in Nagareyama City was the hangout of haiku poet Kobayashi Issa and his companion Soju. The veranda of the house looks onto a rock garden that inspired many of their poems. The hall also invites the public to write haiku for a published collection. Looking out at the autumn leaves from the tatami room, my companions and I put pen to paper and wrote some haiku in English.