Do You Parasol?
Long ago when I first came to Japan, one thing that surprised me was how nearly all women used parasols throughout the summer. Coming from the U.S., my image of parasols was limited to Victorian ladies — an affectation long gone, or so I thought. I didn’t realize the practice was alive and well in the land of the rising sun.
But alive it was, and is. Women in Japan typically avoid the sun, keeping their skin as pale as possible, which is a long-held beauty ideal here. It may seem odd at first, but you get used to it. After all, considering pale skin beautiful in Japan is no stranger than considering tanned skin beautiful in the States. Just a cultural difference.
What I almost never saw, however, was men using parasols. While Japanese men usually don’t chase a tan, neither did they go out of their way to avoid one. About the only men I’d ever see carrying a parasol were really old guys.
But with the brutal heat of the past few years, that might be changing.
Climate change has hit Japan hard. Recent summers have hovered around or just above 40℃ (104℉), and with Japan’s typical 90% humidity this makes for sauna-like conditions. On top of that, summer seems to be expanding at both ends — starting in late May and running well into the end of September. That’s a long time to be drenched in sweat.
Heatstroke cases are climbing across age groups. Even middle-aged folks who used to tough it out are feeling it. The heat and humidity sap your energy.
So perhaps it’s no surprise that more and more men are now carrying parasols. It’s no longer unusual. A recent survey on nippon.com shows a clear uptick in parasol use among men of all ages:
The main reason given? Avoiding heatstroke. But simply feeling less hot was a close second.
And I can attest: it works.
Actually, I started using a parasol years ago. I never brought my own, but if I was out with my wife and she set hers down for a moment, I’d steal borrow it.
I don’t know if it prevented heatstroke, but it definitely made the sun feel less oppressive.
Anyway, check out the full article here: → More Men in Japan Opening Up to Parasols Amid Heatstroke Concerns
What do you think about this new trend? Would you carry one?
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David is an American teacher and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. He blogs here and at laspina.org. Write him on Bluesky. |
I've noticed more men using parasols in Hiroshima as well, including a bulky 2nd year student with a thick mop of hair (unlike me) who would surely survive well enough without the assistance of such an accessory. For my part, I prefer to put on my pith helmet when I go out in the midday sun and leave the parasols to the memsahibs.
!BBH
!ALIVE
My wife is severely allergic to the sun. Like she burns super easy, so we tend to carry umbrellas around more than we used to just in case. Especially during sports events for our nieces and nephews.
Using a parasol is very helpful, I use it most of the time, but not necessarily because of sunburn, but heavy downpour.
Now I want a parasol!
That is interesting, because I don't have a mental picture of men carrying parasols on a sunny day. I think it's a fine idea, especially with the changes in weather conditions as you say.
Do the women have lots of different ones to go with their various outfits? Just curious.
This summer, for some reason, I have become very sensitive to the sun. In no time at all it will break my skin out in a rash and itch for 3 days. Yikes! ...right? I do believe it has something to do with the medications I am currently taking as I can figure nothing else out at this time. I wear a very strong sun block and some arm protection sleeves even when I will mostly be driving and not taking long walks in the sun. There was some event I thought about attending and then the thought that I would need to be walking out in the sun more than normal to attend came to my mind. Since it is not a "thing" here, carrying a parasol never crossed my mind, but might be a possible solution. Maybe I'll start a trend.:)
The same happened to me this summer as well, I started to get heat rashes and itchy spots after being out in the sun. It's never happened to me before. I'm not on any medication, and never use sunblock ( yes, I know I should 😔). Since then, I've been very conscious of protecting myself from the sun, as I'm worried it might get worse. Maybe the parasol and sun protection sleeves is the way to go next.
It seems as I get older, some of the smallest things have gotten more complicated. I need to do more things to protect more things before I can leave the house and even in the morning just getting out of bed to start the day. It's quite annoying! I'd like to have my life back when I could just jump and and take off. I really don't like all the fussing I am beginning to have to do to just get through a regular day. At least I can still laugh about it, that's a good sign.
I don't like using sunblock in general because I don't like putting chemicals on my skin, but unfortunately, it may be the lesser of the evils. I'm concerned if my skin is reacting like that, then it might cause me to be more susceptible to skin cancers or the such (although I don't know that to be true really) ...since it seems my skin is not protecting me like it has done the rest of my life. It has not been my style to lay out in the sun in the summers, but just doing normal things, working in flowers and other things in the yard and the such, my skin had lightly tanned nicely, so I never worried with it.
I'm just too lazy to carry more things around with me when I go out. But I am getting worried because this year I've started get heat rashes and itchy spots after being out in the sun. Maybe parasol is the way to go next year
umbrella under the sun is super smart and i would do it if it was practical.
a hat does it too
ye, Mary Poppins and her parasol..
The weather does really make such accessories useful, as it's better to prevent heatstrokes than deal with the aftermath of it. I've recently notice that the intensity of the heat during summer is quite difficult to take in compared to a few years ago. I mostly try to avoid not being under the sun whenever possible, it didn't cross my mind that such practices exist until reading this post now :)