蝙蝠【こうもり】 kōmori （かうもり）, bat (all summer)
- かわほり kawahori bat [old reading for above]
- 蚊喰鳥【かくいどり】 kakuidori bat [literally "mosquito-eating bird"]
動物【どうぶつ】 dōbutsu Animals
青蛙【あおがえる】 aogaeru （あおがへる）, green frog [hyla species] (all summer)
- 雨蛙【あまがえる】 amagaeru tree frog [literally "rain frog"]
- 夏蛙【なつがえる】 natsugaeru summer frog [note that "frog" by itself, 蛙【かわず】 kawazu, is a spring seasonal topic]
蟇【ひきがえる】 hikigaeru （ひきがへる）, toad [Bufo vulgaris] (all summer)
- 蟾【ひき】 hiki toad
- 蟾蜍【ひきがえる】 hikigaeru toad
- 蝦蟇【がま】 gama toad
河鹿【かじか】 kajika river frog / singing frog [Polypedates buergeri, noted for beautiful singing] (all summer)
- 河鹿蛙【かじかがえる】 kajikagaeru river frog
- 河鹿笛【かじかぶえ】 kajikabue river frog's flute [metaphorical for its singing]
蜥蜴（石龍子／龍子）【とかげ】 tokage lizard [in Japan, generally a skink, family Scincidae] (all summer)
- 青蜥蜴【あおとかげ】 aotokage blue skink
- 縞蜥蜴【しまとかげ】 shimatokage striped skink [Eumeces species]
蛇【へび】 hebi snake (all summer)
- くちなわ kuchinawa snake
羽抜鳥【はぬけどり】 hanukedori molting bird (late summer)
- 羽脱鶏【はぬけどり】 hanukedori molting chicken
- 抜羽【ぬけは】 nukeha molted feather
時鳥【ほととぎす】 hototogisu little cuckoo [kanji literally "bird of time"] (all summer)
- 子規【ほととぎす】 hototogisu little cuckoo [kanji suggest the cuckoo's habit of laying eggs in other bird's nests]
- 不如帰【ほととぎす】 hototogisu little cuckoo [kanji suggest homelessness]
- 杜鵑【ほととぎす】 hototogisu little cuckoo [kanji literally "woods cuckoo"]
- 蜀魂【ほととぎす】 hototogisu little cuckoo [kanji literally "spirit of Szechuan"]
The little (or "lesser") cuckoo has been a favorite topic of Japanese poets for ages, esteemed,
like the bush warbler, for its distinctive voice, especially its first cries of the season. Its call
has been (somewhat facetiously) likened to phrases such as teppen kaketa ka (meaning, perhaps,
"did you give it your utmost?"), or tokkyokyokakyoku ("office of patents and licenses"). The little
cuckoo is the smallest member of the cuckoo family in Japan (though still 27 cm / 11" long). The feathers
on its back are dark grey; its flight feathers are brownish; its breast is white with black cross-stripes.
Like most in its family, this cuckoo does not make a nest but lays its eggs in the nests of other birds,
and its young typically dominate the attention of the adopted parent. During the summer, the cry of the
little cuckoo can be heard day and night in mountainous plateaus, hills and fields. (In the translations
below, the word "cuckoo" is used, as the Japanese name has no hint of the meaning "little" or "lesser";
however, in English the word "cuckoo" by itself properly refers to the larger kakkō, or "common
cuckoo" (郭公【かっこう】, length 35 cm / 14"), also a bird of summer.)
This is one of Hisajo's best known verses, dating from 1931. The author said that she made several visits
to Mount Hiko (英彦山). The verse is a crystallization of the poet's obsession with perfection. The
result is a powerful haiku.
うづき来てねぶとに鳴くや時鳥
宗鑑
uzuki kite nebuto ni naku ya hototogisu
the fourth month comes
crying at full force--
the cuckoo
Sōkan
時鳥いかに鬼神もたしかに聞け
宗因
hototogisu ikani kijin mo tashika ni kike
Cuckoo's calling--
What do you think, fierce gods?
listen well!
Sōin
時鳥大竹藪をもる月夜
芭蕉
hototogisu ōtakeyabu o moru tsukiyo
a cuckoo . . .
moonlight spills through
a big bamboo grove
Bashō
ほととぎす鳴くや湖水のささにごり
丈草
hototogisu naku ya kosui no sasa-nigori
a cuckoo cries--
the lakewater muddied
just a little
Jōsō
谺して山ほととぎすほしいまま
杉田久女
kodama shite yama hototogisu hoshii mama
making echoes
the mountain cuckoo
does as it pleases
Sugita Hisajo
閑古鳥【かんこどり】 kankodori cuckoo [Cuculus canorus, the common cuckoo of Eurasia; can also refer to the closely related oriental or himalayan cuckoo, C. saturatus] (all summer)
- 郭公【かっこう】 kakkō cuckoo [the same]
- かっこ鳥【かっこどり】 kakkodori cuckoo [the same; has dozens of local common names]
老鶯【おいうぐいす】 oi-uguisu （おいうぐひす）, summer bush warbler [literally "old bush warbler"] (all summer)
- 老鶯【ろうおう】 rōō old bush warbler [note: homonym for 老翁【ろうおう】 rōō, old master]
- 夏鶯【なつうぐいす】 natsu uguisu summer bush warbler
- 残鶯【ざんおう】 zan'ō remaining bush warbler
- 乱鶯【らんおう】 ran'ō late bush warbler
- 鶯老を鳴く【うぐいすおいをなく】 uguisu oi wo naku uguisu cries of old age
葭切【よしきり】（葦切） yoshi-kiri reed warbler [literally "reed-cutter"; Acrocephalus species] (all summer)
- 行行子（仰仰子）【ぎょうぎょうし】 gyōgyōshi reed warbler [from its vocalization]
- 葭雀【よしすずめ】 yoshi-suzume reed warbler [literally "reed sparrow"]
- 葭原雀【よしはらすずめ】 yoshihara-suzume reed-plain warbler [literal]
- 葦原雀【あしはらすずめ】 ashihara-suzume bull-rush-plain warbler [literal]
浮巣【うきす】 ukisu floating nest [most often associated with the little grebe, though may include the nests of other waterfowl] (all summer)
- 鳰の浮巣【におのうきす】 nio no ukisu grebe's floating nest
- 鳰の巣【におのす】 nio no su grebe's nest nest
通し鴨【とうしがも】 tōshigamo （とほしがも）, sojourner duck(s) (all summer)
青鷺【あおさぎ】 aosagi （あをさぎ）, grey heron [literally "blue heron"; Ardea cinerea] (all summer)
濁り鮒【にごりぶな】 nigoribuna muddy carp [muddy from swimming up river to spawn] (mid summer)
- 濁りを掬う【にごりをすくう】 nigori o sukuu (to) scoop up muddy (carp) [with a net]
鮎【あゆ】 ayu ayu / sweetfish [Plecoglossus altivelia; sometimes translated "trout", as both fish are small, freshwater delicacies] (all summer)
- 年魚【ねんぎょ】 nengyo ayu / sweetfish [literally "annual fish"]
- 香魚【こうぎょ】 kōgyo ayu / sweetfish [literally "fragrant fish"]
Ayu, or sweetfish, is also called "year fish" because its lifespan is limited to one or
two years. In the spring, young fish swim up freshwater streams to spend the summer upstream, where they
grow to a length of some 30 cm (12"). They are most active in summer. In early June the fishing season
for ayu opens, and anglers crowd around fishing spots in rivers and streams. The fish has a pleasingly
"orthodox" appearance and a mild flavor, and has been prized as a delicacy since ancient times. It is
captured with the use of fishing rods or with the help of cormorants. It is delicious when grilled with
salt or with miso paste (gyoden). Because of its distinctive pleasant smell it is also called
"fragrant fish". A condiment known as uruka, the entrails of sweetfish pickled in salt, is considered
a delicacy when accompanied by saké.
When sweetfish is grilled it gives off a pleasant aroma. The poet returns to her hometown, near the Nagara
River (長良川), and takes comfort in the abundance of cooked sweetfish. The evening moon is fine.
The smell of the fish is fine, too. Both have strong associations with the longing for home and the pleasures
of being there again.
鮎くれてよらで過ぎゆく夜半の門
蕪村
ayu kurete yorade sugiyuku yowa no kado
bringing sweetfish
he declines to stay . . .
the gate at midnight
Buson
鮎釣に脂粉の女来て跼む
松村蒼石
ayu-tsuri ni shifun no onna kite kagamu
fishing for sweetfish--
a woman in rouge and powder
comes and crouches
Matsumura Sōseki
てのひらに鮎の命脈しづかなり
有馬草々子
te no hira ni ayu no meimiyaku shizuka nari
in the palm of my hand
the life-pulse of a sweetfish
how quiet
Arima Sōsōshi
ふるさとはよし夕月と鮎の香と
桂信子
furusato wa yoshi yūzuki to ayu no ka to
my hometown's
just fine--the evening moon
the fragrance of sweetfish
Katsura Nobuko
山女【やまめ】 yamame cherry salmon [literally "mountain maiden"; Oncorhynchus masou] (all summer)
- 山女魚【やまめうお】 yamameuo cherry salmon
- 山女釣【やまめつり】 yamame-tsuri fishing for yamame
金魚【きんぎょ】 kingyo goldfish (all summer)
熱帯魚【ねったいぎょ】 nettaigyo tropical fish (all summer)
- 天使魚【てんしぎょ】 tenshigyo angelfish
- 闘魚【とうぎょ】 tōgyo fighting fish
鰹【かつお】 katsuo （かつを）, bonito (all summer)
- 松漁【かつお】 katsuo bonito [kanji literally "pine fish"]
- 堅漁【かつお】 katsuo bonito [kanji literally "firm fish"]
- 鰹釣【かつおづり】 katsuozuri fishing for bonito
- 鰹船【かつおぶね】 katsuobune bonito-fishing boat
飛魚【とびうお】 tobiuo （とびうを）, flying fish (all summer)
- とびお tobio flying fish
- つばめ魚【つばめうお】 tsubameuo swallow-fish [after the bird, 燕【つばめ】 tsubame, swallow]
- とびの魚【とびのうお】 tobi no uo flying fish
蟹【かに】 kani crab [note: these are all small crabs, generally not eaten] (all summer)
- 山蟹【やまがに】 yamagani mountain crab [a Potamon species]
- 川蟹【かわがに】 kawagani river crab
- 沢蟹【さわがに】 （澤蟹） sawagani, swamp crab [Potamon dehaani]
- 浜蟹【はまがに】 hamagani shore crab
- 砂蟹【すながに】 sunagani sand crab [a salt-water crab, Ocypoda stimsoni; not a mole crab, which is 砂堀蟹【すなほりがに】 sunahorigani--the creature most commonly called "sand crab" on both coasts of the U.S. and not generally found in saijiki, though appropriate to summer]
- 弁慶蟹【べんけいがに】 benkeigani Benkei crab [a salt-water crab, named after the legendary hero]
- 磯蟹【いそがに】 isogani rock crab
舟虫（船虫）【ふなむし】 funamushi sea louse/lice [Megaligia exotica] (all summer)
海月【くらげ】 kurage jellyfish (all summer)
- 水母【くらげ】 kurage jellyfish
- 鰹の烏帽子【かつおのえぼし】 katsuo no eboshi bonito's headgear [figurative for portuguese man-o-war, refers to ancient court noble's headdress; Physalia physalis]
蛾【が】 ga moth (all summer)
- 火取虫【ひとりむし】 hitorimushi light-drawn insect [i.e., moth]
- 灯虫【ひむし】 himushi lamp insect [moth]。
- 火入虫【ひいりむし】 hiirimushi fire-entering insect [moth]
毛虫【けむし】 kemushi woolybear / hairy caterpillar [distinguish 尺取【しゃくとり shakutori, inchworm / looper, also an all-summer season word] (all summer)
蛍【ほたる】 hotaru firefly/fireflies (mid summer)
- 蛍火【ほたるび】 hotarubi firefly glow
- 源氏蛍【げんじぼたる】 genjibotaru Genji firefly [Luciola vitticollis; the name recalls 『源氏物語』Genji Monogatari and the Minamoto Clan]
- 平家蛍【平家ほたる】 heikebotaru Heike firefly [the name recalls 『平家物語』 Heike Monogatari] and the Taira Clan]
- 蛍合戦【ほたるがっせん】 hotarugassen firefly contest [the image of many fireflies flying together looking for mates]
Flying in the darkness near the water's edge while blinking their mysterious lights--firelflies
are a powerfully poetic image of summer. The word hotaru is said to derive from a phrase meaning
"to drip fire" (ho-taru), or perhaps from "fire glow" (ho-teri). The kanji literally means
"lantern insect". Typical Japanese varieties are the "Genji firefly" (also called "large firefly" 大螢【おおぼたる】ōbotaru) and the smaller "Heike firefly". Fireflies emit light from larval through adult stages.
The spectacle of a swarm of countless fireflies is called a "firefly contest". The peak season for fireflies
is around mid-June, though Heike fireflies tend to appear later. Widespread use of pesticides destroyed
the river snails (川蜷 kawanina) on which firefly larvae (and some adults) feed, causing a marked
decline in their numbers. Efforts to restore natural populations through artificial breeding have had
some success. The great entomologist Henri Fabre found that the luminescent organ of the firefly, when
detached from the insect's body, continues to emit light--a discovery which prompted research into mechanisms
of bioluminescence. (Wingless larvae and females [土螢 tsuchibotaru] are known as "glowworms"
in English; not a season word.)
"These creatures are not long-lived, so I look in on them each morning. If one is lying on its side,
I will feel vaguely gloomy all morning." This is the poet's comment on her own poem. The desolation and
solitude of a woman who devoted her youth to passionate love flickers here like the light of a firefly.
大蛍ゆらりゆらりと通りけり
一茶
ōbotaru yurari-yurari to tōrikeri
a large firefly
fluttering fluttering
passed by
Issa
かごからほたる一つ一つを星にする
荻原井泉水
kago kara hotaru hitotsu hitotsu o hoshi ni suru
out of their cage
one by one I turn fireflies
into stars
Ogiwara Seiensui
蛍籠昏ければ揺り炎えたたす
橋本多佳子
hotarukago kurakereba yuri-moetatasu
the firefly cage
grown dark I shake
it alight
Hashimoto Takako
女一人目覚めてのぞく蛍籠
鈴木真砂女
onna hitori mezamete nozoku hotarukago
a solitary woman
I wake and peek inside
the firefly cage
Suzuki Masajo
兜虫【かぶとむし】 kabutomushi beetle [literally "helmet insect"; also written 甲虫 with same pronunciation, kanji literally "armored insect"; order Coleoptera] (all summer)
- 胄虫【かぶとむし】 kabutomushi beetle [also literally "helmet insect"]
- さいかち虫（皀莢虫）【さいかちむし】 saikachimushi beetle [literally "grain-husk insect"; note that 皀莢の花【さいかちのはな】 saikachi no hana is the honey-locust blossom]
- さいかち saikachi beetle
金亀虫【こがねむし】 koganemushi golden scarab beetle [family Scarabaeidae, including what is known in America as the "Japanese beetle" Popillia japonica, 豆金亀虫【まめこがねむし】 mamekoganemushi] (all summer)
- 黄金虫【こがねむし】 koganemushi golden scarab beetle
天道虫【てんとうむし】 tentōmushi （てんたうむし）, ladybug / ladybird [literally "heaven's way insect"; family Coccinellidae] (all summer)
- 瓢虫【てんとうむし】 tentōmushi ladybug / ladybird [kanji literally "gourd insect"]
- てんとむし tentomushi ladybug / ladybird
鼓虫【まいまい】 maimai （まひまひ）, whirligig beetle(s) [family Gyrinidae] (all summer)
- 水澄【みずすまし】 mizusumashi whirligig beetle(s)
水馬【あめんぼう】 amenbō water strider(s) [family Gerridae], (all summer)
- 水馬【みずすまし】 mizusumashi water strider(s) [note that kanji are required to avoid confusion with previous kidai]
蝉【せみ】 semi cicada / locust (late summer)
- 初蝉【はつぜみ】 hatsuzemi first cicada
- 蝉時雨【せみしぐれ】 semishigure cicada shower / cicada chorus
- 油蝉【あぶらぜみ】 aburazemi oil cicada [Graptopsaltria nigrofuscata]
- みんみん蝉【みんみんぜみ】 minminzemi robust cicada / min-min cicada [Oncotympana maculaticollis]
- 唖蝉【おしぜみ】 oshizemi voice-less cicada [that is, a female cicada]
- にいにい蝉【にいにいぜみ】 niiniizemi nii-nii cicada [Platypleura kaempferri]
- 熊蝉【くまぜみ】 kumazemi bear cicada [Cryptotympana japonensis, a particularly broad-backed, black cicada]
In haiku, a cicada may evoke different seasons according to its type. Conventionally, the "pine-tree
cicada"(松蝉 [まつぜみ] matsuzemi) and the "spring cicada"(春蝉 [はるぜみ]
haruzemi), which one hears in May, signify spring; the "clear-toned cicada/ day
darkener"(蜩 [ひぐらし] higurashi) and the "monk cicada"(法師蝉 [ほうしぜみ]
hōshizemi) signify fall; all others are treated as signs of summer. The
cicada in Bashō's haiku at Risshaku-ji temple is a "nii-nii cicada"(にいにい蝉 [にいにいぜみ]
nii-nii zemi). The "oil cicada"(油蝉 [あぶらぜみ] aburazemi)
sings with voice that makes one imagine the sizzling sound of the frying oil. The "minminzemi" (みんみん蝉
[みんみんぜみ] minminzemi) is so named because of its echolike song: "meen-min-min."
Perhaps the most common type of cicada one hears is the large "bear cicada"(熊蝉 [くまぜみ] kumazemi), which makes a loud "sha sha" sound. The first cicada that to sing is called
"hatsuzemi" (初蝉[はつぜみ] hatsuzemi) and the phrase "cicada shower"(蝉時雨
[せみしぐれ] semishigure) likens the way cicadas begin singing in unison
to the sound of rainfall. "Voice-less cicada"(唖蝉 [おしぜみ] oshizemi)
describes the female cicada, which does not sing. The life of cicadas is short (the mature cicada only
lives for a week or two), but it takes seven years for a cicada to mature enough to come above the ground.
The cicada is a non-holometabola and does not have a pupal stage. The ecdysis, or molting, often takes
place early in the morning or the evening, and one often sees the cast-off skin left on the tree. This
slough is called "empty cicada" (空蝉 [うつせみ] utsusemi).
On a quintessential summer day, the cicadas are singing in the woods. As the poet listens to the voices,
his thoughts turn to the voice-less female cicadas. There must be as many of these voice-less ones as
those who are singing, he thinks. The silence of the voiceless cicadas takes on a presence all the more
pronounced for the sound of cicadas that continue to sing.
閑かさや岩にしみ入る蝉の声
芭蕉
shizukasa ya iwa ni shimiiru semi no koe
oh in the quietude
seeping into the rock
the voices of cicadas
Bashō
暁の蝉のきこゆる岬かな
前田晋羅
akatsuki no semi no kikoyuru misaki kana
the dawn cicada
makes itself heard
at this cape
Maeda Fura
悉く遠し一油蝉泣きやめば
石田波郷
kotogotoku tōshi ichi aburazemi nakiyameba
utterly distant
when this one oil cicada
stops its cries
Ishida Hakyō
唖蝉も鳴く蝉ほどはゐるならむ
山口青邨
oshizemi mo naku semi hodo wa iru naramu
as many voiceless cicadas
there cannot be to match the
cicadas that are singing
Yamaguchi Seison
蝿【はえ】 hae （はへ）, fly [do not confuse with はえ hae, south wind] (all summer)
- 金蝿【きんばえ】 kinbae golden fly
- 銀蝿【ぎんばえ】 ginbae silver fly
蚊【か】 ka mosquito(es) (all summer)
- 蚊柱【かばしら】 kabashira column of mosquitoes / swarm of mosquitoes
- 藪蚊【やぶか】 yabuka striped mosquito [aedes mosquito; literally "country mosquito" or "thicket mosquito"]
- 蚊を打つ【かをうつ】 ka o utsu (to) swat a mosquito
蟻地獄【ありじごく】 arijigoku （ありぢごく）, antlion / doodlebug [larvae of the 薄翅蜉蝣【うすばかげろう】 usubakagerō, literally "weak-winged/narrow-winged ephemera", a late-summer season word] (all summer)
- あとずさり atozusari antlion / doodlebug
蚤【のみ】 nomi flea (all summer)
紙魚【しみ】 shimi clothes moth / bookworm [family Tineidae] (late summer)
- 衣魚【しみ】 shimi clothes moth / bookworm
- 雲母虫【きららむし】 kiraramushi mica insect [literal]
蟻【あり】 ari ant (all summer)
- 山蟻【やまあり】 yama-ari mountain ant
- 蟻塚【ありづか】 arizuka anthill
- 蟻の塔【ありのとう】 ari no tō ant tower
- 蟻の道【ありのみち】 ari no michi ant trail / ant column
蜘蛛【くも】 kumo spider (all summer)
- 蜘蛛の囲【くものい】 kumo no i spiderweb / cobweb(s) [sometimes written 蜘蛛の網【くものい】 kumo no i]
- 蜘蛛の巣【くものす】 kumo no su spiderweb / cobweb(s) [literally "spider's nest"]
- 蜘蛛の糸【くものいと】 kumo no ito spider silk [literally "spider's thread"]
蝸牛【かたつむり】 katatsumuri snail / land snail (all summer)
- でで虫【ででむし】 dedemushi snail
- でんでん虫【でんでんむし】 dendenmushi snail
蚯蚓【みみず】 mimizu earthworm (all summer)
- 蚯蚓出づ【みみずいづ】 mimizu izu earthworms come out
夜光虫【やこうちゅう】 yakō-chū （やくわうちゆう）, noctiluca/noctilucae [a phosphorescent animalcule, Noctiluca scintillans] (all summer)
