It's hot in Japan this year. I mean really hot. It's not just me that thinks so. I think the cicada agree.
atsuki hi ya semi ga utatteru kage kara ne
the cicada sing...
from the shade
Whether it's global warming or El Niño or something I haven't heard of yet—whatever the reason, it is really hot. The incredible humidity of Japan isn't helping things. It's reached the dangerous level many times this summer, and already there have been a number of deaths and many more hospitalizations from heat stroke.
The cicada are everywhere in Japan, as I've talked about before. Some States in the US have been complaining this year about the Brood X and the above average amount of cicada: well... it's like that every year in Japan. Yeah, we have a lot. I enjoy them, so no complaints here, by the way. Anyway, one might imagine cicada enjoy the heat since they are usually out at the hottest part of summer.
But y'know... I notice a lot of them do their singing from the shade of tree branches. Even the cicada get hot, it seems! Or so I might imagine.
The English of the haiku came to my mind first, then I tried to backtrack to what a Japanese version might look like. The humor seems slightly different in the Japanese version as I wrote it, but rather than worry about it too much, I'm just going with my initial idea. If you have any suggestions for a better translation, let me know!
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David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. He blogs here and at laspina.org. Write him on Twitter or Mastodon. |
