July in Tokyo brought regular highs of 35 degrees Celsius coupled with sauna-level humidity. Most of us are desperate for relief in the form of some 風 (kaze, wind).

I could really go for a 涼風 (ryōfū, cool, refreshing breeze) or a pleasant 海風 (umikaze, sea breeze), but I secretly dream of a 滝風 (takikaze, wind caused by a large waterfall). As long as they don’t cause any damage, I’d even settle for a 突風 (toppū, sudden gust) or a 強風 (kyōfū, strong wind).

It could 吹く(fuku, to blow), そよぐ (soyogu, to flutter gently) or simply ささやく (sasayaku, to whisper). In fact, the humidity is so bad that even a 弱風 (jakufū, weak wind) or 熱風 (neppū, hot, dry wind at the height of summer) would help. Anything, please!