View Full Version : The hototogisu
Soulend
2nd December 2000, 08:45
I have seen the hototogisu, often used poetically as a harbinger of death, explained as a cuckoo, but also have seen it explained as being a nightingale. Does anyone have an idea of what this bird actually is?
Adam DArcy
7th December 2000, 17:36
Mr. Craik,
Would you happen to have the name of the bird rendered in Japanese? I'm not sure if it is written in Kanji, hiragana or katakana, but if you have that, I can probably help.
Adam
Bishamon
8th December 2000, 07:28
David,
The hototogisu (written in kanji as •s”@‹A, Žž’¹, or one other way that I can't type because the character is not in my word processor's database!) is indeed a cuckoo, as in Cuculus poliocephalus. Incidentally, "hototogisu" is also the Japanese word for "toad lily" (different kanji, however).
Conversely, the nightingale is called "sayonakidori" in Japanese.
Hope that clears things up. :)
Soulend
8th December 2000, 20:01
Thanks Jon!
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