cicadas in the twilight
If you've ever watched an anime, you probably know the scene.
An establishing shot of quaint Japanese countryside town. Green rice fields, light blue skies, big cumulonimbus clouds towering on the horizon, heat flickering in the air over the streets ... and that sound.
Miiiiiiiin miiin miiin miiin miiiiiiiiiiiiii.....
The sound of the cicadas. Or, in this case specifically, the sound of hyalessa maculaticollis, called minminzemi in Japanese, after the noise it makes.
Cicadas are a staple of Japanese summer days, a key feature that has been associated with the season for centuries - but that might be changing.
It's especially noticeable this year. Now that temperatures of 37 degrees and higher are starting to become the default in July and AUgust, it feels quiet during the day. Eerily quiet, if you're used to the familiar cacophony. If I hear the cicadas, it's early in the morning or late in the evening, when the sun has already disappeared behind the horizon. It feels weird hearing a sound that's so clearly tied to daytime in my memory in the twilight hours.
Apparently it's getting too hot for the cicadas. It was too warm earlier in the year, leading to fewer hatchings than usual. And some species just flat-out stop singing when temperatures exceed 35 degrees.
This might not be that big of a deal to most ... after all, we're talking about noisy bugs. But it's a clear sign of the seasons and the world at large changing. And, for better or for worse, we're along for the ride...