5th September 2021
The sound of crickets fills the night sky in many places in Japan for a lot of the autumn, starting sometime in August in many places and finishing around November in the places in which the crickets start making their noise later.
Their sound takes over from1 the cicadas in a seasonal way and in a night and day way. In a seasonal way the sound of the cicadas finishes some weeks before the sound of the crickets. In the night and day way the crickets’ night time chirping2 takes over from the cicadas in the evening and in the morning it’s the other way around.3 The crickets are nocturnal4 but the cicadas aren’t. The cicadas are noisy during the day.
Similar to many insects the male crickets make the noise to attract the female crickets. The males rub their front wings together to make the noise.
Crickets have been part of Japanese culture in different ways for many years. They have been in stories, poems and songs and some people have kept them as pets for their singing. They have a positive image for most people. Most people like the actual sound they make, they don’t cause farmers problems and their singing is a sign that the cooler autumn nights have come.
There are many different types of crickets that make sounds that are all a little different. The most common5 cricket is called エンマコオロギ (enmakōrogi). ‘Enma’ is the name of an angry looking Hindu god called エンマ大王 (enmadaiō). ‘Kōrogi’ means cricket in Japanese. This cricket works hard it seems all over Japan to make a noise. It’s probably always tired and that’s why it looks angry!
The cricket whose name is probably most well known though is called 鈴虫・スズムシ (suzumushi) in Japanese. ‘Suzu’ means a little bell and ‘mushi’ means insect. This cricket is called a ‘bell cricket’ in English and this cricket’s sound has a very high pitch. Sadly, similar to many insects, the number of crickets is decreasing and the bell cricket is disappearing from many places.
In some places in the world people eat insects, including crickets. This is not the culture in Japan. It might change as the world talks about eating less meat and more insects. The crickets won’t want it to change though.
＊ ’Cricket’ is also the name of a sport, similar to baseball. The spelling and pronunciation is the same.
1. ‘take over from’
<Example sentences>
■ The new boss took over from the old one last week.
■ My work shift finishes at 5 pm and then another worker will take over from me and I can go home.
■ Will robots take over many jobs from humans in the future do you think?
3. ‘the other way around’
<Example sentences>
■ We’re glad it’s not the other way around!
■ He’s nice to everyone because he won but do you think he’d be nice to everyone if it were the other way around?
■ She works night shifts this week and I work mornings and then next week (it’s) the other way around.
■ What would you do if it were the other way around?
5. ‘common’
<Example sentences>
■ Eye problems are common with computer users.
■ What is a common family name in your country?
■ Cycling to school is very common in Japan.
■ Can you tell the difference between the sound of the cicadas and the crickets?
■ I’ve heard some people keep bell crickets or other crickets in their homes in Japan. Is it true?
■ Could you eat crickets?
■ What is a sign of autumn where you are from?
■ What do you think about the sound of insects? Do you like some insect sounds?