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Happily the natsuzemi is soon succeeded by the minminzemi, a much finer musician, whose name is derived from its wonderful note. It is said 'to chant like a Buddhist priest reciting the kyo'; and certainly, upon hearing it the first time, one can scarcely believe that one is listening to a mere cicada.
Its name, like that of the minminzemi, is onomatopoetic; but in Izumo the sounds of its chant are given thus: Tsuku-tsuku uisu , Tsuku-tsuku uisu, Tsuku-tsuku uisu; Ui-osu, Ui-osu, Ui-osu, Ui-os-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-su. However, the semi are not the only musicians of the garden. Two remarkable creatures aid their orchestra.
The minminzemi is followed, early in autumn, by a beautiful green semi, the higurashi, which makes a singularly clear sound, like the rapid ringing of a small bell, kana-kana-kan a-kana- kana. But the most astonishing visitor of all comes still later, the tsukiu-tsukiu-boshi. I fancy this creature can have no rival in the whole world of cicadae its music is exactly like the song of a bird.
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