(China Daily)
Updated: 2007-11-22 07:13

I took a walk in Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden at the weekend when the season's first cold wintry winds hit Tokyo. With the drop in temperature in recent days, leaves have fallen and formed patterns that look like pointillist paintings on lawns. With each gust of wind, cherry trees shed their leaves of yellow, red and brown.

In a recent column, I marveled at the "multitalented" dogwood, which blooms in the spring, produces colorful foliage in the fall and bears red berries in late fall.

I wrote that compared with the dogwood, which gives us pleasure three times a year, the cherry pours all its life force into its spring blossoms. In response, a number of readers wrote me that cherry trees in the fall are not so bad, either.

I was so impressed with the springtime cherry blossoms in Japan that I tended to neglect the changing colors of its leaves.

One reader gave the following description with reference to the random way individual leaves change colors that are slightly different from each other: "It is a gentle and intricate form of supreme art. The use of color is reminiscent of Cezanne."

I looked at the leaves closely and was impressed with the observation.

More and more, we hear news of snow from the north. On Monday, the first freeze of the season was observed in Kyushu. At long last, it seems the cold and heat have balanced out. Could it be that the Earth has renewed its resolve to put up a fight against global warming?

A report on global warming published by the United Nations warns that the advancement of global warming depends on how much effort we make to fight it in the next two to three decades.

If we sit back and do nothing, it could cause irreversible damage through the rise in sea levels and extinction of endangered species. The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: "The world's scientists have spoken clearly and with one voice. I expect the world's policymakers to do the same."

At a time of abnormal weather, it is good that the four seasons change in proper order. I found myself doing some soul-searching and feel we must change our wasteful lifestyles while nature still retains its resilience. Standing at the threshold of winter, I feel the underlying strength of the changing seasons.

The Asahi Shimbun

(China Daily 11/22/2007 page11)