cry of earthworms
A poetic seasonal phrase (kigo) for late autumn, referring to the faint, imagined sound of earthworms crying on autumn nights or rainy days. Used in haiku and classical poetry; not a literal zoological term.
'Mimizu naku' is used as an autumn kigo in haiku.
The phrase 'mimizu naku' evokes the stillness of an autumn night.
Literary kanji spelling; the word is a fixed seasonal phrase and is rarely written in kanji in modern Japanese.
Mixed kana-kanji spelling sometimes seen in modern contexts.
A traditional autumn-season expression based on the imagined chirping of earthworms; the sound was probably that of insects living near the ground.