| Symbols of Japanese Summer | |
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Semi （蝉）
The cry of the cicadas (semi) is one of the piercing sounds of summer. When Japanese hear semi singing, they realize that summer has arrived. When there are many cicadas, the sound becomes like a shower, which is called "semi-shigure" (shower of cicadas). There is a famous haiku poem about cicadas written by Matsuo Basho (1644-1694).
| Shizukesa ya 静けさや |
The tranquility |
| Iwa ni shimiiru 岩に染み入る |
Permeating the rocks |
| Semi no koe 蝉の声 |
Voices of cicadas |
Since cicadas die only about a week after birth, they are compared to the transient life of man.
Koukou Yakyuu （高校野球）
Baseball is one of Japan's most popular spectator sports, along with soccer and sumo. Despite the popularity of pro baseball, the most avidly followed sporting event is the All-Japan High School Baseball Championship Tournament (Zenkoku Koukou Yakyuu Senshuken Taikai), first held in 1915.
The competition is fought among the 49 schools that win their respective prefectural titles. (There are 47 prefectures in Japan, but Tokyo and Hokkaido have two divisions each.) This encourages a feeling of local pride and is a major reason for the tournament's nationwide popularity. The teams gather at the Koshien Stadium (Hyogo Prefecture) in August to compete for the championship. The tournament is nationally broadcasted and it draws almost one million spectators.
There is also the National Invitational High School Baseball Tournament held in spring, which invites 32 schools that had the best records in each regional division during the fall season of the previous year.
Kakigoori （カキ氷）
Kakigoori (shaved ice flavored with sweet syrup or snow cone) is a popular summer snack. It seems everywhere has a version of it. In Japan it comes in green tea flavor with an azuki (sweet red bean) topping. Some condensed sweetened milk also can be added on top. Fruit flavors like strawberry and melon are also popular.
Other popular foods in summer are somen (cold noodles), hiyashi-chuuka (cold ramen noodles), zaru-soba (cold buckwheat noodles), mugi-cha (cold roasted barley tea) and so on. Click here to check out "Foods to Beat the Heat".
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