Where do they come from?
These frogs which inhabit the rice paddies are known as Japanese tree frogs (Dryophytes japonicus), which seems a bit of a misnomer. The German-born
British zoologist Albert Günther is responsible for their scientific name. Who knows where the
common name came from.
I never see these frogs, not in the rice paddies, not in the trees, not
sunbathing on the warm asphalt. They are small (just over 3
centimeters) and mostly a dull beige color, which means they don't stand
out. But there are plenty of smaller creatures with better camouflage
that I see. Moths, for instance.
In six years I have seen just one living frog. (I have seen a few
flattened in the road.) This little guy climbed not a tree but a wall
and made himself a home in my terrace garden three floors up. He
didn't do much, just sat there under my small pine tree like a Buddhist monk
practicing zazen. He stayed for a couple of months and in autumn
disappeared.
While this breed of frog may keep a low profile during the day, they
definitely make their presence known after hours. Beginning around dusk they kick up quite a racket and
don't really let up until dawn. There must be hundreds of them, a sort
of frog convention, everyone talking at once.
But where do they come from?
An early zoological discovery for many children is the tadpole - little
fish that grow into frogs. There are dozens of mini-canals that
criss-cross Katsura, perhaps remnants of a more rural life here. These
may or may not connect to Katsura River; I've never been able to determine
this. Do the tadpoles come to the rice paddies by way of these crude
aqueducts?
The frog convention is usually over by mid-July. The rice paddies go
quiet, peace returns to the night.
Where do they go?
