Summers in Japan are very hot and humid and tend to wear people out. So during the hottest period, Japanese people send postcards to inquire after the health of friends and acquaintances. These summer greeting cards are called shochu mimai. People write shochu mimai cards to say, "Are you all right? I hope you're surviving this hot weather." Shochu mimai cards give people an opportunity to contact friends they have not spoken with for a while. For example, kids send them to school friends they don't get to see during summer vacation. Sometimes the postcards are decorated with seasonal images, like sea animals, summer flowers, and firework displays. Although the summertime exchanging of cards is largely a formality, people are glad when they receive beautiful postcards with heartwarming messages. Each year, the post office issues shochu mimai cards with lottery numbers, just like New Year's cards. The total number of summer greeting cards that went on sale at post offices around the country on June 1, 1998, was 320 million. According to the old Japanese calendar, the first day of autumn comes in early August; this year, it falls on August 8. Of course, it's still hot then, and so once this day arrives, people send each other greeting cards that say, "The hot weather still seems to be with us. Are you feeling all right?" These cards are called zansho mimai--"asking after someone's health in the lingering heat." Photos: (Top) An impressive variety of shochu mimai cards can be found in both post offices and stationery shops; (above) those issued by the post office have lottery numbers printed at the bottom.

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