Stag Beetles

The first half is here. 3. Stag beetles became popular insects (from mid 1970’s) Books written only about stag beetles (and rhinoceros beetles) started being published in this period. They included various styles such as illustrated books, encyclopedia and cartoons. Most of them introduced the ecology of the insects and how to care them. I picked up some of them which I felt enjoyable even now (written in Japanese). “カブトムシ・クワガタのひみつ”, written by 林夏介, published by 学習研究社, (1976) Introduced stag beetles…

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In the previous post, I wrote that rhinoceros beetles became a popular pet in Japan in 1960’s. Then the next topic should be: When stag beetles became popular? As previous, I checked books that instruct how to care animals and insects from 1960’s to access this question. All the books shown here are accessible in the National Diet Library and the International Library of Children’s Literature in Tokyo (all written in Japanese). The history can be divided into 5 periods….

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As I described in “Stag beetles and rhinoceros beetles in Japanese culture”, caring rhinoceros beetles and stag beetles is common in Japan. Then a question arose in my mind: when these insects became popular? Was it originated in Edo or Meiji era, in which the insects were seen in Japanese paintings? Singing insects in Japanese culture Much earlier than rhinoceros beetles and stag beetles become popular, Japanese people enjoyed singing of insects. The oldest evidence appears in the Man’yōshū, which is…

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