露 means 'public' or 'dew'

A book title mentioned in the 霧 essay collectively refers to clouds, rain, and fog by citing their common "rain" radical. That unites the kanji in this bundle, as well. All four essays explore the realities of damp weather, as when fog grounds planes, frost damages crops, and people seek shelter from the elements. Because of such challenges, these characters make great metaphors. The Japanese associate 霜 with hardship; 曇 with life's ups and downs, as well as gloomy feelings; 霧 with mental fog; and 露 with transience. Because 露 symbolizes vanishing realities, that kanji in particular has inspired poetry.

Buddhist views of impermanence once influenced words for "fragile life," words that include 浮. Later, a fear of death inspired living hedonistically in the "floating world"; related terms again feature 浮 (as "transient"). Because bubbles vanish without a trace, 泡 figures into words for "short-lived company" and "fringe candidate" (one who quickly disappears). Dreams (夢) slip away every day, and several words for "fleeting" combine 泡 and 夢. Similarly, dew evaporates, and one famous poem likens the poet's vanishing life to dew (露) and compares his world to a dream (夢).