Glowing Organisms and Other Essays

What really shines in a dark sea? In these two essays, Japanese biologist Kanda Sakyō leads readers beyond ghostly fires and familiar land fireflies into a world of luminous fungi, plankton, worms, shellfish, and deep-sea animals. His account joins scientific curiosity with an irreverent challenge to superstition and human self-importance.

The second essay enters his own laboratory. Sea fireflies must be collected before dawn, dried under uncertain autumn skies, and painstakingly prepared for experiments. Their light raises questions about water, heat, oxygen, and the interaction of two substances. Kanda describes both successful tests and a conclusion he openly retracts, alongside his disagreements with the American investigator Newton Harvey.

First published in 1919 and 1921 and subsequently revised, these essays record an ambitious moment in the study of bioluminescence. This complete English translation preserves the original classifications, experimental reasoning, later additions, and hopes for efficient artificial light. Twenty-four notes explain terminology, measures, historical references, and scientific claims in their period context.