Sometime around 1963, during a period of high growth, where steam
locomotives were still operating in Japan we saw a lot of frogs and insects
on paths through rice fields. Locusts sang in the trees also.
Many kids grabbed a net and went into the woods.
They enjoyed catching and collecting locusts and beetles.
I think people who grew up during this time were all having the
same experience. Why do Japanese people like to collect these insects?
Maybe this is
a part of culture of Japan.
Talking about America, it has been my experience that I
have never seen American children carrying a net and running after insects
in the woods. When I was a kid, I got up early in the morning and was so
excited to find and catch beetles.
The spectacle of frogs singing in a
paddy, insects humming in the summer and red dragonflies in flight during the
fall season put in my mind many memories and filled me with deep
emotion.
