Singing Insects

I love hearing the crickets each evening in the garden outside my bedroom window. Their music seems especially appealing in the fall.

Crickets were kept as pets in ancient China and Japan. They were prized for their beautiful melodies. Some crickets were kept in gold cages that only the rich could afford. For people who couldn't afford golden cages, bamboo and wooden ones were used. Crickets were put in the bedchamber so the owner could hear a nighttime serenade.

This illustration, done in the 1700s, is called Cricket Cage Peddlar by the Japanese printmaker Kiyonaga.