Page:Insect Literature by Lafcadio Hearn.djvu/324

Rh —min-min-min-minminmin-dzzzzzz." The sound is plaintive, and not unpleasing. It is often compared to the sound of the voice of a priest chanting the sutras.

On the day immediately following the Festival of the Dead, by the old Japanese calendar (which is incomparably more exact than our Western calendar in regard to nature-changes and manifestations), begins to sing the tsuktsuku-bōshi. This creature may be said to sing like a bird. It is also called kutsukutsu-bōshi, choko-choko-uisu, tsuku-tsuku hōshi, tsuku-tsuku-oishi,—all onomatopoetic appellations. The sounds of its song have been imitated in different ways by various writers. In Izumo the common version is,—

Tsuku-tsuku-uisu,

Tsuku-tsuku-uisu,

Tsuku-tsuku-uisu:—

Ui-ōsu

Ui-ōsu

Ui-ōsu

Ui-ōs-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-su,

Another version runs,— 註