I have heard of these but never seen them. They are apparently Chinese or Japanese in origin. They were supposedly one of the first in-home security systems. Crickets were kept in these little cages about the house. As anyone who has ever had a cricket in their house knows, once they hear your step they stop chirping. They can however become accustomed to the footsteps of the household members. If the crickets stopped, it was an alert that an unfamiliar person may be in the vicinity. Anyway, if they really do exist, I wondered what they looked like and where I could either get one or better still a pic so I can build one. Any ideas or did I dream it?
Here ya go! (Google is your friend.)
I had one as a kid. Mind looked very different from the one in Tuckerfan’s link. it was cute and rectangular; maybe 3"x2"X2". Made out of very thin pieces of bamboo. In mine you could clearly see in it, much like a jail cell (in the link it looks like that’s not really the case). Looked just like a very small hamster cage, but out of wood. The door on the end was maybe 3/4" wide and slid up along bamboo tracks.
Catching a cricket to put in it was half the fun.
I was told that they were for good luck, noone ever said anything about being a burgler alarm, but I have 0% certainty that information is accurate.
Around here (Massachusetts) one often sees these at flea markets with other Asian stuff like brass incense burners, fake “ivory” elephants, fans, etc. They’re the ones like Bill H. describes. Rectangular bamboo things, sometimes with a pagoda-like look to them.
Around here (Massachusetts) one often sees these at flea markets with other Asian stuff like brass incense burners, fake “ivory” elephants, fans, etc. They’re the ones like Bill H. describes. Rectangular bamboo things, sometimes with a pagoda-like look to them.
My daughter had one when she was about 6, it was rectangular. I, too, heard it was for good luck. So being the wonderful mother, I caught a cricket for her and put it in the cage. She was so mad, she wanted the cage because it was cute, but she did not want some ugly bug in it. 
Yeah we use them for holding bait. A cricket is a great lure for bream and perch!
IIRC
There once was a holy man who walked through China preaching. He spoke only the truth. His sermons angered some powerful people, who sent soldiers to kill him. The gods spared the holy man’s life by transforming him into a cricket. Thus crickets are good luck and should not be killed, for they speak only truth.
Now if we could only understand what they’re saying. . .
I once heard a story in my Renaissance art class that might be of interest. Can’t provide a cite, though, as this one’s from memory.
Workers were in the final stages of construction on the duomo in Florence. Michaelangeo, who was near the end of his life, wandered into the area and stood regarding the dome, which was having a small row of arches (arcade) added as a final decorative element. The builders, recognizing the old master, paused and waited for his verdict on their work. After staring at the arcade for a moment, Michaelangelo declared “it looks like a cricket cage”, and left. Construction stopped immediately.
To this day, the arcade has never been finished. View this photo to see the finished and unfinished portions.
Crickets are raised in Shanghai and then fought like gladiators. Big bets ride on 'em. Kids raise the crickets. My wife and daughter have half a dozen ceramic little pots, each with a cricket. There are also some special little shot glass sized spots for the eggs.
They chirp pretty loudly. I dunno about the recognizing footsteps thing. Hasn’t happened yet, they still go quiet at night when I get up for a glass of water
I was just reminded of the long-lived cricket in its little ceramic container in the movie The Last Emperor.
Boy emperor Pu Yi is given the gift of a cricket which kowtows to His Majesty. He hides it behind the imperial throne in the Forbidden City. Almost sixty years later, after revolutions, wars, and prison time, Citizen Pu Yi is an old man and sneaks back into the Forbidden City with a kid, pulls out the cricket container from behind the throne, and opens it to show the kid. The cricket is still alive.