Microseason: Sound of Evening Cicada

AUTUMN

HINT OF AUTUMN

SOUND OF EVENING CICADA

12 - 16 August

In Summer, one cannot go without noticing the cicadas. For Japanese people, they are as synonymous with the season as watermelon, yukata, fireworks, and festivals. They are so iconic in fact, that the average person is familiar with the various species and there are widely accepted onomatopoeia associated to each of their unique sounds.

Until Early September Higurashi kana kana kana kana

Until Early September Kumazemi shan shan

Until Mid September Ninninzemi chi~~~~~

Until Late September Aburazemi jiri jiri

Until Early October Minminzemi mi~n minmin mi~

Until Mid October Tsukutsukuboshi ohtsukutsukuho~shi

Sound is a quick gauge of time. From the inklings through the remnants of Summer, the distinct sound of each species marks where we are in the season. Particularly where the remnants of Summer and the inklings of Autumn collide, we begin saying farewell to each species one at a time.

Setting the scene by day part too, the cicada are most vocal at dawn and dusk. In Japan, this time of year, that means the 5 o’clock hour in the morning and the 6 o’clock hour in the evening.

In addition to time of year and time of day, when Japanese people think about the cicadas, what also comes to mind is the emotional melodrama that is their lifespan. While not 100% based to hard scientific data, the cultural storytelling of cicadas found across Japan says that they spend 7 long years under the earth, and just 7 days above ground before they pass. This is why they are so vocal. Letting us know that they are here.

The sense of time being both ephemeral and eternal, is experienced through our relationship with this single insect.

Cicada in Kyoto, August 2024

Photo and video credit: Momoko Nakamura