In the afterword Tomomi Matsutani writes that even with the lid put on, what keeps coming back are snowscapes: dry snow at the start of a fall that shows its crystal shape on a coat sleeve, and the bluish-white wind of snow that passes from the cheek to above the ear. Such sensations are vivid and seem to cling even to the scenes of spring and summer. Rikka, literally six flowers, is another name for snow, derived from the hexagonal shape of its crystals.