anything entomological. Excepting, perhaps, the butterflies, the insects of Japan are still little known to men of science; and all that I can sa

ames and characteristics of the best-known sémi; they att

ists. I must ask the reader, however, to bear in mind that the time of the appearance of certain sémi differs in different parts of Jap

aru-

a-zémi ("bear-sémi"), and other names. It makes a shrill wheezing sound,-ji-i-i-i-i-iiiiiiii,-beginning low, and gradually rising to a pitch of painful intensity. No

u-sé

wa ats

hi

ai

ich we exclaim, "Oh, how hot it i

TE

né-Sh

Yama-Zémi, a

hinné-

large insect. The upper part of the body is almost black, and the belly a silvery-white; the head has curious red markings. The name shinné-shinné is derived f

he noise of a sewing-machine in full operation. There is a double sound: you hear not only the succession of sharp metallic clickings, but also, below thes

TE

raz

Abura

e summer. I am told that it owes its name to the fact that its

The aburazémi begins to chant about sunrise; then a great soft hissing seems to ascend from all the trees. At such an hour, when the foliage of w

ko

ga ino

raz

e, has the dew taken li

TE

émi, also calle

igur

n-Min-

gi-kar

"five-colored sémi," appears early in the summer. It makes two distinct s

shi, or "

clear key, and slowly descending, is almost exactly like the sound of a good hand-bell, very quickly rung. It is not a clashing sound, as of violent ringing; it is quick, steady, and of surprising sonority. I believe that a single higurashi can be plainly heard a quarter of a mile away; yet, as the old Japanese poet Yayū observed, "no matter how many higurashi be singing together, we never find them noisy." Though powerful and penetrating as a resonance of metal, the higurashi's call is musical even to the degree of sweetness; and there is a peculiar melancholy in it

ng, dusk; and there are many Japanese verses containing plays on the word,-the poets affecting to b

rash

téoi

ru h

you let it alone, day

e effect of the sound upon the conscience of an idler-will be appreciated by any one accustomed to hear the higurashi. I may obs

rash

o két

u-t

ik

hi, your call anno

ing day, with its

inmin"

over and over again,-slowly at first, and very loudly; then more and more quickly and softly, till the utterance dies away in a sort of buzz: "min-min-m

AT

called "Kutsu-kutsu-Bōshi," e

rigané

e Pha

uku-tsu

anges and manifestations), begins to sing the tsuku-tsuku-bōshi. This creature may be said to sing like a bird. It is also called kutsu-kutsu-bōshi, chōko-chōko-uisu, tsuku-t

-tsuk

-tsuk

tsuku-

-ō

-ō

-ō

-s-s-s-

y, upon the 16th d

versio

-tsuk

-tsuk

tsuku-

-i

-i

-i

chi, chi,

ent name of Kyūshū) fell sick and died while far away from home, and that the ghost of him became an autumn cic

The musical sémi do not appear until summer; and the tsuku-tsuku-bōshi, having

urigané-

mewhat puzzled by the name; for the insect's music really suggests the tones of a Japanese harp, or koto-as good authorities declare. Pe

ears to be chiefly