Hunting Japanese Cranes in modern Japan : A case involving Japan and the Korean Peninsula

Abstract

The Tancho, or Japanese Crane (Grus japonensis) which inhabits Japan, has been on the brink of extinction because of intense hunting activity, and loss of habitat, since the Meiji Era. In modern Japan, the hunting targeted at the Japanese cranes is still active. The Japanese cranes are dazzling targets for hunting and are used to make valuable products. Japanese hunters at that time lacked the forethought of wildlife protection, and their intense hunting became a threat to the cranes' survival. The Japanese hunters tracked cranes not only in Japan, but also on the Korean peninsula. The Japanese cranes were important for industry and thought of as a special product of the Korean Peninsula, especially for Japanese people. Even on the Korean Peninsula, poaching was rampant after the Hunt Rule was established. These cranes were a connecting point of importance to the Japanese people. The value of the cranes caused an increase of pressure to hunt them. In addition, it can be thought that these factors, which include the development of hunting techniques, the imperialistic expansion, and the hunters' sense of ethics, overlapped to cause a sharp decrease of Japanese cranes in modern Japan and the Korean Peninsula.