Asiatic black bear is a gift from God Hunting people "Matagi" - Yahoo! News

In late November 2016, when the mountains were covered with snow, a group of sturdy men entered the mountains of Kitaakita City, Akita Prefecture. Quietly running up the slope, looking around, looking for signs of a black bear. It is the beginning of the late autumn bear hunting "Shinobi hunting". Near Lake Towada in the same Akita Prefecture, from May to June of the same year, bears attacked people one after another in the forest, killing four people. Incidents of bears harming people are notable in various places. Under such circumstances, what are the mountain hunters "Matagi" who have been nurtured in the mountains of Tohoku doing? The crumbling symbiosis of bears and humans. What are your thoughts on that flow? I visited the mountains of Akita during the "shinobi hunting" season to learn about the matagi today. (Yahoo! News Editorial Department)

Snow in the ``Birthplace of Matagi''

The Ani district in Kitaakita City, Akita Prefecture was ``Ani Town'' until the municipal merger about 10 years ago. The population of the district is over 3,300. Villages are scattered in a wide area, and each village is surrounded by deep mountains. For example, it is calculated that only 550 people live inside the Tokyo Yamanote Line.

This Ani district is said to be the birthplace of Matagi. The interview team visited one of these villages, Utto.

Hideo Suzuki (63), who greeted us, is a matagi. As he surveyed the surrounding mountains, he told me, ``All the mountains that can be seen from here have bears.

Mr. Suzuki goes into the mountains during the hunting season from autumn to spring. Even "vermin extermination" goes to the mountains. “I don’t like to call bears vermin,” he says, because he lives in Ani and has lived with bears. Still, when I go into the mountains, I chase bears with a rifle in hand.

The 9th Matagi's Shinobi Hunting

Mr. Suzuki is the 9th generation Matagi. His ancestors have been hunting bears and living with bears in these mountains and villages, probably since the Edo period. Matagi has a long history. Mr. Suzuki, who participated in his first bear hunt at the age of 15, also has accumulated a lot of time.

Bears and nature. Before listening to Mr. Suzuki's story, I want you to watch the video. "Shinobi hunting" by Suzuki et al. Sneak up on the bear without making a sound or exchanging words. Hunting of Matagi, which is rarely seen. It is always with the awe of nature.

I went to the mountains at the age of 15, and I caught my first bear at the age of 27

Mr. Suzuki says that he participated in his first bear hunt as a "Seko" to hunt down prey. In a group of matagi led by his grandfather, Mr. Suzuki is 15 years old and has just graduated from junior high school. Wearing a school uniform and a school cap, he yelled and chased the bear away.

I was 27 the first time I killed one. A traditional "makigari" where several matagi surround the bear. It is said that Suzuki was Seko at this time as well. The driven bear did not turn toward the macipa (shooter) who was waiting for him with a gun, and tried to run past Mr. Suzuki.

I shot there. whether or not you have finished did you really finish it?

When I approached a downed bear, it suddenly stood up and attacked me. Suzuki shot it in the head.

My Grandfather is an Air Thrower Tatsu

Mr. Suzuki's grandfather, Mr. Tatsugoro, was a well-known Matagi in Ani. For 31 years until he retired at the age of 72, he served as the head of the Matagi "Shikari" in the village.

One day, Tatsugoro is attacked by a bear he missed. He said it looked like he threw the bear away when he dodged at the last minute. That's why I got the nickname 'Air Throwing Dragon'.

Mr. Suzuki was taken to the mountains by his grandfather when he was a child, and after he grew up, he hunted with them. He learned more than just the art of hunting. Appreciation for mountains, reverence for life, trust in friends. Everything Matagi needed was from his "seventh generation" grandfather.

What is a Matagi? I asked Mr. Suzuki.

"I'm just doing what I have to do. Just like farm work, matagi start in autumn.It means that matagi is included in the cycle of one year of life. …I feel like I have to go to the mountains…why?

"Mountain God Faith" and Matagi

When the reporters went on a bear hunt, Suzuki-san and others took a different route from the hunting grounds. The destination is Matagi Shrine. The mountain god that the Matagi worship is said to be an ugly woman and jealous.

All the blessings of the mountains, such as bears, wild vegetables, and mushrooms, are considered the property of the mountain god. If you are in a good mood, you will be rewarded. If you're in a bad mood, you'll be in danger instead of being unhunted. Therefore, there were many contraindications (taboos) in the mountains. When conversing in the mountains, they had to use the language of the mountain, which is unique to the Matagi, and it is said that if they violated such rules, they would purify themselves by washing themselves with water.

Even now, talking about wives and lovers is forbidden in the mountains. It is said that this is because it will incur the jealousy of the mountain god. Although the language of the mountain has become obsolete and the rules loosened, for the Matagi, grace is still a gift from the gods. That's why Matagi never say they "shot" a bear. Say "I got it".

After the ``shobu'', the ``kebokai'' ritual

Matagi refer to bear hunting as ``shobu suru''. Even when it kills a bear, it calls out to its comrades by shouting, "Shoubu, Shoubu, Shoubu." “I think that matagi see humans and bears on an equal footing,” says Suzuki.

Matagi's unique view of nature also appears in the way they treat bears. Lie on your back and lie down on the north pillow, and wash your stomach with Kumazasa while speaking the chanting words unique to Matagi that have been passed down from generation to generation. It's a "kebokai" ceremony. In some areas, the stripped skin is placed over the bear's body, with the head and rump turned upside down. The bear's meat is eaten, but its soul is sent back to the mountain god through Kebokai.

Tradition from ``Ani'' to various parts of northern Japan

There are ``Matagi no Sato'' in various parts of eastern Japan. Starting with the Ani district in Akita Prefecture, Nishimeya Village in Aomori Prefecture, Oguni Town in Yamagata Prefecture, and Otori in Tsuruoka City. It is also found in Iwate, Niigata and Nagano prefectures. According to Professor Hiromi Taguchi of Tohoku University of Art and Design, a leading researcher of Matagi, there is no academic truth about ``Ani is the birthplace of Matagi''. However, it is said that there is no doubt that Ani Matagi, who migrated to hunt for prey, settled in various places and taught them how to hunt.

There are three Matagi villages in Ani district. Hitting, Hitachinai, Neko. Once upon a time there was a group of Matagi in each village, and they competed against each other. Currently, it is unified as "Ani Hunting Club". In the late 1980s, there were 130 Matagi in Ani, but now there are 35. It's the last minute for the spring "maki-gari".

Main business is a company employee or self-employed

I make a living by shooting bears and selling their meat, fur, and bear gall. Such a matagi has disappeared now. There are many reasons. Furs, which were previously sold at high prices, no longer sell. Bear gall, which used to be prized and fetched high prices, is now designated as a medicinal product under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law, and cannot be sold to unqualified ordinary people.

In any case, I can't make a living by hunting now. That's why modern matagi have a "main business". Mr. Suzuki has also made a living by working as a migrant worker and working for a forestry cooperative. Now a part-time employee of a prefectural natural park. There are matagi who work for companies and government offices, and it is said that they can only hunt on Sundays or holidays, which requires a large number of people.

"It's been handed down for generations, but it's already discontinued"

Mr. Suzuki, the 9th generation, says that the Matagi will die out in his generation. His son has already left Ani and built a family in the city. I don't even have a hunting rifle license.

"Anyway, Matagi can't be a job. I can't say I want you to take over. I've taken him to the mountains many times, but I have to choose a solid job for a living. Sorry. However"

A young man who was told to play Matagi

There is a person in the Ani district who was told to play Matagi. Yoma Funabashi (33) is a photographer from Akita prefecture. After working with flowers in Tokyo, Nagoya, and London, he turned to photography. Three years ago, he visited the Neko village in the Ani district to photograph traditional performing arts, and his life changed when he met the matagi. For photography of Matagi and others, he travels many times from his base in Akita Prefecture, and eventually moves with his family.

After immigration, Mr. Funabashi himself became a Matagi. The youngest Matagi in the Ani area.

"Hey, you (the boss) told me to play Matagi. It's better for me, an outsider, to know the tough times in the past. That's amazing. It's not something you can come from outside and say you want to be a Matagi and do it."

I can barely take pictures of my hunts now. This is because when you go hunting, you have to fulfill your duties as a matagi. Don't you want to capture the moment you kill a bear?

"I'm a matagi. I know I can't shoot even if I want to, so I'm chasing a bear with everyone. I don't think ordinary people can understand, but the moment of shobu (killing) is important. No, it's not about Matagi to say 'I'm glad I caught a bear'."

Matagi culture is "consideration for nature"

In the end, what is Matagi? Professor Taguchi, who is well versed in this field, says:

"I think that the Matagi culture is about consideration for nature. The way of thinking is different from that of ordinary hunters." For example, removing snow from roads. Normally, after work, high walls of snow stretch out on both sides. In the Matagi area, such snow removal is not done. "If a rabbit falls down there, it can't climb the wall. So every time a car comes, the rabbit desperately runs away (along the snow wall on the road side). I hate to play with animals.”

Mr. Suzuki, the ninth generation Matagi.

"I feel sorry for the bears that were trapped (in the pest control). We kill the bears, we kill them, because we walk hard in the mountains, and then with the bears. I don't like the word vermin."

[Production cooperation] Ortus Japan [Photo] Photography: Yoma Funabashi, Hirofumi Horie