In the summer, Japanese kids and boys in particular buy big-ass beetles and keep them as pets. While I'm too old to appreciate the fun of keeping a huge bug with scary-looking pincers as a pal, I find the fact that they do this pretty cool. The appearance of the beetles and the sales of the cages they're kept in will always be imprinted in my mind as a part of summer in Japan. There's also something larger in this practice about the transitory nature of life. By taking on something that is certainly going to be short-lived as a "pet", I wonder if it helps people learn to see death as part of the cycle of life rather than a devastating conclusion.
I'll miss seeing these beetles and how they represent certain aspects of Japanese culture.
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