[For Kids] Trivia & Fun Facts Quiz About June

Because it’s the season when the plum fruits ripen.

The reason the character for “plum” (梅) is used in the word tsuyu (rainy season) is that this is the time when plums ripen. When the term was brought from China during the Heian period, it was pronounced baiu, but it came to be read tsuyu due to associations with the season of dew—when plants are covered with dew—and with expressions like tsubeiu, referring to crushed plum fruit.

Strawberry Moon

The full moon seen in June is called the Strawberry Moon. It is said to be named by Native Americans to mark the strawberry harvest season. Many people know it for its cute-sounding name, and it is also popular as a moon that brings happiness.

girl

The model for the teru teru bōzu is a girl from China. She is known as “Saoqing Niang,” a girl who stopped a long spell of rain, and in China there is a custom of hanging dolls of her. That custom was brought to Japan and evolved into the present form of the teru teru bōzu.

rain cloud icon

In Japanese weather forecasts, an umbrella icon is used to indicate rain, whereas overseas forecasts generally use a rain cloud icon. This is said to be because opening an umbrella when it rains isn’t necessarily taken for granted in other countries. Incidentally, Korean weather forecasts use the umbrella icon just like Japan.

China

“Tsuyu” (the rainy season) is a term that came from China. In China, it was named because the plums ripen during this period. It is also called “baiu,” written with the character for mold (黴), due to the tendency for mold to grow easily at this time, giving the alternate form 黴雨.

pearl

The birthstone for June is the pearl. Associated with health and longevity, it is cherished as a gemstone with a special meaning due to its mysterious luster and its unique origin of forming inside a shell. Beyond being June’s birthstone, pearls are often worn to mark life’s milestones and are loved by people of a wide range of ages.

swallow

It’s said that when swallows fly low, it’s going to rain. Changes in air pressure and humidity before rain affect the height at which insects—the swallows’ food—fly, and swallows fly lower to catch them. This saying has been passed down from the wisdom of people in the past who observed animals and nature.