June is the month for rain. It is the season when flowers such as irises and hydrangeas are beautiful with their young green leaves glistening in the rain. The temperature is rising and the air is becoming humid.

           June 1st is "Change of dress day." On this day all who wear uniforms change to summer styles. Many students wear white shirts with short sleeves. At home, when the weather is sunny and dry, winter clothes are put out to air, and summer clothes replace them in the closet. But in the past few years many people have begun wearing their summer uniforms at the end of May, when the weather is getting hot.

           Japanese call the rain of this month 'tsuyu' and because it comes at the same time when plums are ripening they also call this rain 'baiu'. The average annual rainfall in Japan reaches 1600 mm. The amount of rain increases in June and September. The rainy season in June brings a lot of rain but less than during the typhoon season in September. Japan is a country covering a long distance from north to south, so the opening of the rainy season varies from location to location. However, there is no rainy season in Hokkaido.

           Although this long lasting rain is unpleasant, rain is important as water for agriculture and daily life, so the rain of tsuyu is a rain of blessing for the Japanese people. By this time, farmers have done rice planting. Families use the ripened plums to make plum brandy or pickled plums.

           The day of the year when daylight is longest is called 'Geshi' and every year the Summer Solstice is around 21st. In Tokyo this day is 14 hrs and 35 mins long, 5 hrs longer than the Winter Solstice in December.

           June is the month when public officials and company employees get bonuses. Bonuses are given out twice a year, usually in June and December. Nowadays many companies and government offices pay monthly salaries and bonuses by bank account transfer. A bonus was originally a kind of supplementary profit sharing, but today a bonus is an integral part of a Japanese salaried worker's earnings. The amount of bonus depends on the company and on the length of employment. People use it to make a big purchase or for traveling and so on.