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Someone once commented that, “You hear them
before you ever see them.” Cicadas. Semi. The
sound-track of a Japanese summer. Their high-pitched
whine can transport you from your quiet Japanese
neighborhood to feeling as if you have traveled
to the deepest rainforests in Southeast Asia.
The rustling of their wings against leaves indicates
a creature much larger in size than that of
an actually cicada. If you have ever had a cicada
fly into your head (I have!) you know they can
give you quite a thumping. And even though cicadas
are in no way dangerous to human, animal or
plant, the magnitude of the noise they make
can certainly unnerve even the most courageous
among us.
Known to inhabit desert, grasslands and woodlands,
there are more than 1500 species of cicadas
around the world (32 species of cicadas in Japan).
From June through September, males sit among
the trees vibrating their drum-like abdominal
membranes to attract the females. The males
also have “songs” for warding off prey and for
communication. Why this summer-only performance?
Well, many cicadas can't fly when their body
temperature is below 22 degrees Celsius which
makes them an easier target for predators. Cicadas
are no fools: they spend the cooler portions
of the year underground.
Some large species of cicada produce a noise
level in excess of 120 dB, an intensity approaching
the pain threshold of the human ear. Smaller
species have “songs” so high in pitch that the
noise is beyond the range of human hearing.
With all the ruckus cicadas make, one would
think that hearing loss for cicadas would be
rampant but nature has taken care of this as
well. Both male and female cicadas have a pair
of large mirror-like membranes for hearing.
These “ears”are connected to an auditory organ
by a short tendon. When a male sings, it creases
its “ears” so that it won't be deafened by its
own noise.
Surprisingly, cicadas have no special significance
in Japan. This creature that is so prevalent
throughout a Japanese summer has no folklore,
myth or symbolism wrapped around it. Cicadas,
though, are considered a delicacy in Okinawa.
Along with salty squid strips and those little
eyeballs-and-all fish, you can sit back and
pop a few cicadas while having a beer.
Recently, I have come to think that foreigners
in Japan are their own migratory species. Family:
Gaikakojin; Species: Semi. While some foreigners
make Japan permanently their new home, most
of them spend no more than a few years in the
land of the rising sun. A large portion of the
foreign community in Shimane are JETs (teachers,
coordinators of international relations, and
sports advisors contracted to organizations
and schools to teach English and promote internationalization).
Every August a new group arrives in Shimane
just in time to hear the song of cicadas and
to make a bit of noise themselves.
Like cicadas, JETs are often heard before being
seen: their English or heavily accented Japanese
carrying above the normal fray. Sit next to
a table full of JETs at a restaurant and you
may feel as if you are in a pub in Ireland,
a baseball game in America or around a campfire
in New Zealand. With their accents, their own
distinct “song,” they can also lead you to foreign
lands. And let's face it: the rapidity of their
English can terrify even the Japanese people
with the strongest of samurai spirit.
Summer ends and the voices of the cicada gives
way to the other sounds of Shimane: rain against
rooftops, crunching leaves underfoot and the
hiss of kerosene heaters. The new JETs depart
Matsue for their new homes and first days of
school, fanning out across the prefecture in
a wave of English. Over the years, both have
become a normal part of everyday life in Shimane
and, in some ways, both will leave their mark
on the auditory landscape of Japan. |
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The Shimanean is a publication of the International
Affairs Division of Shimane Prefecture and the Shimane
International Center.
It may be sent free of charge to all interested parties.
Communications may be made to the editor, Jason Bickley,
at:
Shimane International Center, Kunibiki Messe 2F,
1-2-1 Gakuen Minami, Matsue, Shimane 690-0826
TEL(0852)31-5056, FAX(0852)31-5055
EMAILsiccir@mocha.ocn.ne.jp http://www.sic-info.org/bank/shimanean/8-0.html
This newsletter and much of the Shimane International
Center's work is made possible by donations from many
companies and organizations including Shimane Prefecture,Chugoku
Electric Power Company Inc., Sanin Chuo Shimpo Newspaper
Co. Ltd., Sanin Godo Bank, Shimane Denko and Sanin
Chuo Television Broadcasting Company Ltd. and various
cities,towns and villages in Shimane Prefecture.
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