the girl who liked bugs

there is an ancient Japanese story about a girl who collected insects and larvae. True, the ancient Japanese might keep insects in a cage for music or to play with or as silkworms, 

but the ancient tale of a girl who liked to collect insects was about a girl who refused to conform to local customs and be feminine but worked with the street kids to collect these insects etc. 

 from wikipedia: 

 The protagonist befriends insects, names her attendants after them, and engages in poetic exchanges involving furry caterpillars, leading to laughter on the part of others. Portrayed as even more eccentric is her disregard for her physical appearance: she leaves her hair untrimmed; has unplucked eyebrows; neglects to blacken her teeth; and allows herself to be seen by men. 'Oh, how regrettable! Why does she have such a weird mind'.

the original story was probably a cautionary tale to girls who didn't want to grow up into the female passive role demanded of them at that time.

The tale is set in the Heinen period best known for it's strict asthetics and keeping women hidden (although lovers often would sneak into the bedroom at night). This was the time of the Tale of Genji. But women were limited in what they could do; 

yet this young woman seems to be the equivalent to a modern biologist or scientist, rejecting the artificial lifestyle she was expected to live.

more here.

the little princess didn't like plucking her eyebrows and didn't like pencil her eyebrows. And she disliked dyeing her teeth black, as was the custom for Japanese ladies at that time. The princess loved things as they were. She thought that it was good to be natural. So, she disliked makeup and things like that.

 

She said to her mother, "There is a purpose in pursuing the origins of something in order to gain result. Caterpillars grow up into butterflies. The silk is made by silkworms. If silkworms come out of cocoons and become imagoes, the silk yarn is not able to take it." The princess showed some silkworms and cocoons that had grown into imagoes to her mother. She was both an intelligent and a very wise young lady.>777\

KellyBrenner's website notes that this tale was one of the influences behind the anime Nausicca of the Valley of the Winds, where a girl saves her people by understanding the insects that threaten their village.