The sound of summer

On August the 15th at the height of summer I wandered over to the local cemetery with the intention of taking photos of the lanterns which people here put out to guide the souls of the dead back to their homes. Unfortunately, there were no lanterns and everything was pitch black. So instead I took this film which records the sound of night time in Matsue. You probably need to turn your volume up to hear it, but if you do you will hear the cacophony of insect sounds that marks summer here in rural Japan. This sound is constant all night long, and later (in September and October) will be punctuated by the sound of singing insects. On this video you can hear the ringing of bell-ringing crickets (I think) just before halfway.

I will take another recording in late September, when the music starts. For the meantime, please enjoy a moment of Japanese summer.