The Light - An Alumni Publication Fall 2014 | Page 19

REFLECTIONS

Photo courtest Adam Lau/Knoxville News Sentinel/AP

It was a warm, moonless June evening when the
Kashimas beckoned me outside their farmhouse and
toward the narrow, rocky Koto River in search of
fireflies. For this event, we brought no food or drink.
We simply walked away from the house, toward the
river, into the darkness.
“Look,” I said, a little surprised at the glittering
lights I could see through the trees.
“Uh-huh,” they said, sounding unimpressed.
“Come on.”
We walked to a small bridge that spanned the
river, and suddenly all around us were hundreds,
maybe thousands of fireflies. I began counting but
soon gave up. They were in the rushes, along the
grassy banks, in the grove of trees, in the air above
us. They blinked on-off-on-off, as fireflies do. Most of
them blinked in unison.
It had been years since I had seen fireflies in
the United States, and against my expectations, I
was amazed. It was as if there were a leader in
this cloud of insects saying, “Sei, no—on! … Sei,
no—off!” I laughed to myself, thinking that Japanese
fireflies, like Japanese people, have a tendency
toward a group-oriented culture. As a conspicuous

foreigner in this relatively homogeneous land, I felt
a kinship with the few bugs I saw blinking on the
offbeat.
The five of us, representing two countries and
three generations, watched the show. Naoko’s
grandmother looked a little disappointed.
“The numbers are down this year,” she said.
We all stood quietly in the dark and watched.
And that is when I began to understand Japan’s
tradition of nature viewing. It is not merely about
looking at a natural phenomenon; it is about sharing
an experience. It is not simply about seeing fireflies,
looking at the moon, watching the snow fall or
appreciating blossoms; it is about giving people an
opportunity to be together, to find community.
After a while, Naoko elbowed me out of my
reverie.
“Look up,” she said. “Millions of fireflies.”
I moved my gaze from the riverside grasses,
through the trees, to the treetops, to the star-filled sky.
This essay, written when Sarah Coomber was teaching
English in Japan, was originally published February 15, 1996,
in The Christian Science Monitor.
YFU

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