The Largest Grasshopper in Japan

The female Oriental Longheaded Locust is the largest grasshopper in Japan, and can be twice the size of the male. Most grasshoppers in Japan have round head, but the Oriental Longheaded Locust has a triangular head, so it can be easily identified. And bigger than anything!

In Japanese Buddhism, it is believed that the spirits of ancestors return during the summer Obon period. In some regions, there is a custom to send spirits back to the afterlife on a boat that is called "Syoryo-okuri", and it is thought that the name Shoryo-batta came from its resemblance to the shape of the boat. On the other hand, there is also the opinion that it came to be called that because it is often seen during the "Syoryo-okuri". Other grasshoppers are also active in summer, but they are larger and easier to spot, which may have made them more familiar to people in the past.