KYOTO -- After an unusually hot summer, nothing is more welcome than the arrival of autumn breezes. Fall evenings in Kyoto are made even more pleasant by the bright moon shining overhead as the air is filled with a symphony of seasonal insects.
One particularly associated with this season is the bell cricket, Hemoeogryllus japonicus, called suzumushi in Japanese. Among Kyoto's estimated 1,700 temples is one -- Suzumushi-dera, in Nishigyo Ward -- named after this cricket. Although its real name is Myotokuzan-Kegonji Temple, the 278-year-old place of worship is renowned for its bell crickets.