The most ancient poem on the kutsuwamushi is perhaps the following, by the Lady Idzumi-Shikibu:—
Waga seko wa
Koma ni makasété
Kinikeri to,
Kiku ni kikasuru
Kutsuwamushi kana!
—which might be thus freely rendered:
Listen!—his bridle rings;—that is surely my husband
Homeward hurrying now—fast as the horse can bear him!...
Ah! my ear was deceived!—only the Kutsuwamushi!
Kantan.
This insect—also called kantan-gisu, and kantan-no-kirigirisu,—is a dark-brown night-cricket. Its note—“zi-ï-ï-ï-in” is peculiar: I can only compare it to the prolonged twang of a bow-string. But this comparison is not satisfactory, because there is a penetrant metallic quality in the twang, impossible to describe.
Kantan (natural size).