People who could not afford candles or lamps used to catch fireflies to give some light in their dwellings in summer. While it is unlikely that Suemichi himself was ever in this position, he is imagining a poverty-stricken past in the poem.
People who could not afford candles or lamps used to catch fireflies to give some light in their dwellings in summer. While it is unlikely that Suemichi himself was ever in this position, he is imagining a poverty-stricken past in the poem.