Hunting Fireflies in Cool Breeze

Children and young adults hunting fireflies on a cool summer evening along a river or in a garden — the tiny insects' bioluminescent glow serving both as quarry and as the ambient illumination for the scene. Shotei renders the catching of fireflies as a summer ritual activity, the figures moving through the twilight with nets or jars, their silhouettes framed by the small moving lights of the insects. The subject was beloved in Japanese art for its combination of childhood innocence, summer heat, and the eerie beauty of living light.