obálka
Boku, aburazemi
Tokuda Yukihisa, Takahashi Kiyoshi
Fukuinkan, 2004


i
translation
Told from the perspective of an insect, the book introduces children to the remarkable life cycle of the cicada. It spends most of its life as a larva deep underground, then spends ten days singing its shrill song to attract its mate. (Actually, it should be said more like “crying”; in Japanese, the verb used for the chirping of insects is “naku,” to cry.)

I, the cicada
 

2
Boku, aburazemi
Tokuda Yukihisa, Takahashi Kiyoshi
Fukuinkan, 2004


i
translation
Told from the perspective of an insect, the book introduces children to the remarkable life cycle of the cicada. It spends most of its life as a larva deep underground, then spends ten days singing its shrill song to attract its mate. (Actually, it should be said more like “crying”; in Japanese, the verb used for the chirping of insects is “naku,” to cry.)

I, the Cicada
Tokuda Yukihisa - text, Takahashi Kiyoshi - illustrations

Jirijirijirijiri……
A hot summer day, a male cicada sings.

4
Boku, aburazemi
Tokuda Yukihisa, Takahashi Kiyoshi
Fukuinkan, 2004


i
translation
Told from the perspective of an insect, the book introduces children to the remarkable life cycle of the cicada. It spends most of its life as a larva deep underground, then spends ten days singing its shrill song to attract its mate. (Actually, it should be said more like “crying”; in Japanese, the verb used for the chirping of insects is “naku,” to cry.)

A few days later, the female lays her eggs under the wavy bark.

Winter has come.
The eggs live quietly inside the dry bark.

6
Boku, aburazemi
Tokuda Yukihisa, Takahashi Kiyoshi
Fukuinkan, 2004


i
translation
Told from the perspective of an insect, the book introduces children to the remarkable life cycle of the cicada. It spends most of its life as a larva deep underground, then spends ten days singing its shrill song to attract its mate. (Actually, it should be said more like “crying”; in Japanese, the verb used for the chirping of insects is “naku,” to cry.)

When I fall to the ground,
I quickly burrow into the soil
so that ants and spiders won't find me.

With my shovel-like front legs
I dig my way through the dirt
and look for thin tree roots.

When I find one,
I bite into it
and suck the juice out of it.

That's my food.

11
Boku, aburazemi
Tokuda Yukihisa, Takahashi Kiyoshi
Fukuinkan, 2004


i
translation
Told from the perspective of an insect, the book introduces children to the remarkable life cycle of the cicada. It spends most of its life as a larva deep underground, then spends ten days singing its shrill song to attract its mate. (Actually, it should be said more like “crying”; in Japanese, the verb used for the chirping of insects is “naku,” to cry.)

Five years have passed since then.
One sunny summer night
I climbed out of the ground.

When I began to see a little,
I found a tree
and slowly climbed up it.

I walked and walked,
and when I reached a branch,
I stopped there for a moment and rested.

12
Boku, aburazemi
Tokuda Yukihisa, Takahashi Kiyoshi
Fukuinkan, 2004


i
translation
Told from the perspective of an insect, the book introduces children to the remarkable life cycle of the cicada. It spends most of its life as a larva deep underground, then spends ten days singing its shrill song to attract its mate. (Actually, it should be said more like “crying”; in Japanese, the verb used for the chirping of insects is “naku,” to cry.)

Then I started to feel
something strangely twisting and moving inside my body.

My head was spinning.

I don't know why,
but it seemed
something big was happening inside my body.

14
Boku, aburazemi
Tokuda Yukihisa, Takahashi Kiyoshi
Fukuinkan, 2004


i
translation
Told from the perspective of an insect, the book introduces children to the remarkable life cycle of the cicada. It spends most of its life as a larva deep underground, then spends ten days singing its shrill song to attract its mate. (Actually, it should be said more like “crying”; in Japanese, the verb used for the chirping of insects is “naku,” to cry.)

I met
different kinds of cicadas in the forest.

All the cicadas
had their own names.

15
Boku, aburazemi
Tokuda Yukihisa, Takahashi Kiyoshi
Fukuinkan, 2004


i
translation
Told from the perspective of an insect, the book introduces children to the remarkable life cycle of the cicada. It spends most of its life as a larva deep underground, then spends ten days singing its shrill song to attract its mate. (Actually, it should be said more like “crying”; in Japanese, the verb used for the chirping of insects is “naku,” to cry.)

We cicadas
don't fly much.

Do you know why we sing?

When we sing, we tell other cicadas:
"I'm here!"

and let them know about us.

And when a female hears
and likes our voice,
she will come to us.

Yes, when we grow up,
we only live for about a week or two.

That's why we sing so loudly
with all our might.

Oh! From the depths of the forest
came a female.

Boku, aburazemi
Tokuda Yukihisa, Takahashi Kiyoshi
Fukuinkan
2004