By using the bamboo shades, the room darkens to simulate something like a cool cave-like interior. The rattan carpet over the floor provides tactile coolness. Sprinkling water in the garden quenches the dry earth and thirsty greenery and refreshes the atmosphere.
Among other things that symbolize summer in Japan, There are windchimes, goldfish, shaved ice, watermelon, and herbal insect-repellent incense, the metal or glass windchime swayed by the slightest breeze brings auditory coolness in its high-pitched tinkle. The plump goldfish swimming lazily but gracefully in a fancy glass bowl offer a visual sensation of coolness. A crystal-like bowl of shaved ice topped with lemon or lime flavoring, or a bit of cold and juicy watermelon, gives chilling gustatory satisfaction. The insect-repellent incense pleases the olfactory nerves by adding its special fragrance to the summer atmosphere. The Japanese discovered such wonderful props that appeal to the various senses, to create the illusion of coolness in the summer, and this ingenuity has been both artistic and poetic.
But alas, with the advent of the mechanical age and the Westernization of Japan, the artistic and poetic ingenuity once seen in the Japanese house has become a thing of the past. Those devices once used to created the illusion of coolness in the summer have lost their purpose. Above all, the people - traditionally so nature-conscious - have lost their poetic response to nature.
The other day, a sultry summer afternoon, I went to town on a little errand. A small, antiquated shaved-ice banner hanging out at a modern coffee shop attracted me, and, wiping the perspiration from my brow and neck, I walked in through the automated glass door and ordered a bowl of lemon flavored shaved ice. By the time the pantaloon-attired waitress brought the anticipated shaved ice, my perspiration had dried and my body was cold. I put one spoonful of the yellow-colored ice in my mouth, and that was enough. The efficient room cooler had lowered my physical temperature, but it also ruined my enjoyment of the hot summer afternoon.

photo Henry Mittwer
Mr. Mittwer (80) is a Zen priest of Tenryuji Temple, Kyoto.
He is active as a lecturer, painter, ceramist and writer.
When he visited KEK not long ago, I had the pleasure of guiding him on a tour through experiment areas. (Editor)

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