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The allusive symbols crafted in The Grasshopper and the Bell Cricket by Yasunari Kawabata highlight the theme of innocence, friendship and love. Kawabata artfully tickles your senses, through the harmonious placement of symbolism. Children with colorful, vibrant lanterns lead us into a world where grasshoppers and bell crickets, give us a bashful feeling of friendship and love. Through the narrator’s eyes, the story begins with children and their bobbing lanterns. These children with their lanterns, gleefully, present the feeling of youth and innocence. “Each day, with cardboard, paper, brush, scissors, penknife, and glue, the children made new lanterns out of their hearts and minds. Look at my lantern! Be the most unusually beautiful!” (Kawabata 513) Using children in the story allows the reader to disregard the complexities of adulthood, and embrace the purity of youth. Through this m