Semi 97 



Se'mi wo kike", 

 Ichi-nichi naite' 

 Yoru no tsuyu. 



KIKAKU. 



Hear the se'mi shrill ! So, from earliest dawning, 

 All the summer day he cries for the dew of night. 



Yu-tsuyu no 

 Kuchi ni iru made" 

 Naku se'mi ka ? 



BAISHITSU. 



Will the semi continue to cry till the night-dew fills its 

 mouth ? 



Occasionally the semi is mentioned in love- 

 songs of which the following is a fair specimen. 

 It belongs to that class of ditties commonly sung 

 by geisha. Merely as a conceit, I think it pretty, 

 in spite of the factitious pathos ; but to Japanese 

 taste it is decidedly vulgar. The allusion to 

 beating implies jealousy: 



Nushi ni tatakare", 

 Washa matsu no se'mi 

 Sugaritsuki-tsuki 

 Naku bakari I 



Beaten by my jealous lover, 

 Like the se'mi on the pine-tre 

 I can only cry and cling ! 



