歳時記の言葉 vol.5 蛇 / The seasonal words in Japanese haiku. Vol.5 "Hebi"


蛇(hebi)は英語の"A snake"、"Snakes"を意味し、夏を表します。

 日本にはおおよそ三種類の毒蛇、蝮、ハブ、ヤマカガシが生息していますが、他の大半の蛇は毒を持ちません。春に蛇たちは冬眠から覚め、巣穴から出て来ます。夏には活動的になり、あちらこちらをうろつきます。この季節には水田を滑るように進む蛇を見ることができます。三種類の毒蛇の中では、ヤマカガシが最も大人しそうに見えるのですが、毒性は最も強いものです。ですから、この蛇には最も注意が払われるべきです。

"Hebi" means "A snake" or "Snakes" in English, and expresses summer.

There are approximately three kinds of poisonous snakes in Japan: pit vipers, habus, and tiger keelbacks, but most of the others aren't poisonous. In spring, snakes wake from hibernation, and come out of their holes. In summer, they become active, and wander from place to place. We can see slithering snakes on the surface of rice paddies in this season. Among the three kinds of poisonous snakes, tiger keelbacks are the quietest looking ones. However, they're the most venomous, so we must pay the most attention to these snakes. 

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