Page:Insect Literature by Lafcadio Hearn.djvu/366

Rh Japanese classic literature to the custom of keeping musical insects. For example in the chapter entitled Nowaki of the famous novel "Genji Monogatari,” written in the latter part of the tenth century by the Lady Murasaki-Shikibu, it is stated: "The maids were ordered to descend to the garden, and give some water to the insects." But the first definite mention of cages for singing insects would appear to be the following passage from a work entitled Chomon-shū:—"On the twelfth day of the eighth month of the second year of Kaho [1095 A. D.], the Emperor ordered his pages and chamberlains to go to Sagano and find some insects. The Emperor gave them a cage of network of bright purple thread. All, even the head-chaplain and his attendants, taking horses from the Right and the Left Imperial Mews, then went on horseback to hunt for insects. Tokinori Ben, at that time holding the office of Kurando proposed to the party as they rode toward Sagano, a subject for poetical composition. The subject was, Looking for insects in the fields. On reaching Sagano, the party dismounted, and walked in various directions for a distance of something more than ten chō, and sent their attendants to catch the insects. In the evening they returned to the palace. They put 註