A Japanese Miscellany Quotes

“Can we ever hope for a Natural History with colored plates that will show us how the world appears to the faceted eyes of a dragon-fly?”
― Lafcadio Hearn, A Japanese Miscellany: Strange Stories, Folklore Gleanings, Studies Here & There

“..and Umétsu remembered that goblins were wont to assume feminine shapes after dark, in order to deceive and destroy men.”
― Lafcadio Hearn, A Japanese Miscellany: Strange Stories, Folklore Gleanings, Studies Here & There

“A most extraordinary device for catching dragon-flies is used by the children of the province of Kii. They get a long hair, - a woman's hair, - and attach a very small pebble to each end of it, so as to form a miniature "bolas"; and this they sling high into the air. A dragon-fly pounces upon the passing object; but the moment that he seizes it, the hair twists round his body, and the weight of the pebbles brings him to the ground.”
― Lafcadio Hearn, A Japanese Miscellany: Strange Stories, Folklore Gleanings, Studies Here & There

“A very successful method of dragon-fly-catching..is to use a captured female dragon-fly as a decoy. One end of a long thread is fastened to the insect's tail, and the other end of the thread to a flexible rod. By moving the rod in a particular way the female can be kept circling on her wings at the full length of the thread; and a male is soon attracted. As soon as he clings to the female, a slight jerk of the rod will bring both insects into the angler's hand. With a single female for lure, it is easy to capture eight or ten males in succession”
― Lafcadio Hearn, A Japanese Miscellany: Strange Stories, Folklore Gleanings, Studies Here & There