'Semi', Cicadas

Noise? Song!

'Semi' is the Japanese word for "cicada". There are several kinds of cicada in Japan and each kind has its own song.

At least three kinds of cicada sang their song in YKK: kumazemi, minminzemi and higurashi.

Kumazemi (Cryptotympana facialis)

'shage shage shage'
Ashinano, Hitoshi. 1997. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou. Chapter 25. Vol. 4, Page 21, Panel 4.

'wa wa wa'
Ashinano, Hitoshi. 2004. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou. Chapter 109. Vol. 11, Page 134, Panel 1.

Kumazemi cicadas sing from morning till noon, in very hot summer.

[play] Windows Media Audio
[play] RealAudio

Minminzemi (Oncotympana maculaticollis)

'min mi min min mi'
Ashinano, Hitoshi. 2005. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou. Chapter 123. Vol. 13, Page 37, Panel 1.

Minminzemi cicadas sing in hot summer days.

[play] Windows Media Audio
[play] RealAudio

The song of minminzemi is a quite popular sound effect that represents "a hot summer day" in Japanese manga. If you draw a sound effect "min min min" in the background of your manga, you don't have to make your manga character say "Man, I'm boiling." You don't even have to draw a cicada!

Higurashi (also known as Kanakana, Tanna japonensis)

'u ke ke ke ke ke ...'
Ashinano, Hitoshi. 2005. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou. Chapter 123. Vol. 13, Page 46, Panel 1 and 2.

Higurashi cicadas sing in the early evening before nightfall. Some people say the song of higurashi sounds sad.

[play] Windows Media Audio
[play] RealAudio

Makki hears some higurashi sing and she heads off home in chapter 123 and chapter 50 (volume 6, page 91, panel 2). The song of higurashi announces that it is getting dark. "It's time to go home, kids!"

Other common cicadas

Tsukutsukuboshi

[play] Windows Media Audio
[play] RealAudio

Aburazemi

Niiniizemi

Are cicadas edible?

Misago eats a minminzemi in chapter 23 (volume 3, page 121, panel 1).

Manji in Blade of the Immortal says that cicada larvae are "not half bad" and also "some like 'em".

Conclusion

Don't try to find a restaurant that serves cicadas in Japan. You can't.

Link

Semi no naku sugata by Museum of Nature and Human Activities, Hyogo Japan

You can watch some videos of cicadas singing. Including kumazemi, minminzemi, higurashi, tsukutsukuboshi, aburazemi, and niiniizemi.

If You Like YKK

Buy the books. Support the author.

Some bookstores sell YKK books online.