"The turning of the leaves in the American autumn is, in its own way, wonderful, but it lacks a poignancy and an elegance suggestive of the passing of time."
These are the words of nonfiction author Masako Shirasu (1910-98), who spent some of her teenage years at the Hartridge School for Girls in Plainfield, New Jersey, where she witnessed the turning of the leaves.
The coming of the autumnal equinox — this year on Sept. 23 in the northern hemisphere — invariably reminds me of the Japanese saying, Atsusa samusa mo higan made.