AsiaBanyanThe new weather godsFloods and storms force Japan and South Korea to think harder about climate changeSenso-ji in Tokyo, dedicated to the boddhisattva of compassion, is Earth’s most visited sacred site.Some 30m people a year pass through the temple’s imposing entrance, known as Kaminarimon, or Thunder Gate,flanked by Fujin, the god of wind, and his even fiercer brother, Raijin, the god of storms and rain.They are just one of countless reminders across North-East Asiathat the natural calamities of downpours and floods (not to mention earthquakes and tsunamis) are deeply enshrined in the region’s collective psyche.Yet some recent meteorological punishment looks less divine than manmade.Two years ago Japan’s summer monsoon season was the wettest on record.In their usual iteration, the lifegiving rains are welcome.In excess, they sweep away roads and houses: 225 people died across 15 prefectures in 2018.The rains of 2019 set a new record as,in turn, did this summer’s deluge.In South Korea, too,the 54 days of rain this summer marked the longest monsoon on record.
