Bull Fighting: Tradition and Acculturation

抄録

In this paper, I consider bullfighting in Nanyo (the southern region of Ehime Prefecture) from the point of view of tradition and acculturation. The tradition of bullfighting originated in the encounter between Misho Ushi (Cows produced in the Misho region) and people in the Minami Uwa region, who hit upon the idea of turning grazing bulls into objects of amusement. Bullfighting in earlier times was a simple pastime that farmers enjoyed by themselves. They would bring their bulls to a spot between hills, a dry river bed, or the like, where they could enjoy this activity. With the objective of easing the economic burden on the bull owners, farmers began charging an entrance fee for spectators and would give the owners “fight money”. This occurred in the latter half of the 19^th century. It was the beginning of bullfighting shows. Bullfighting became a rather popular sport, similar to Ozumo (Professional sumo wrestling). It also became an increasingly lucrative business. However, the decline of agriculture from 1952 on caused a reduction in this activity. Bulls used for fighting lost their function as work cows, whose numbers decreased sharply, because of their use in the sport. Bullfighting also declined gradually, due to the fact that keeping bulls only for sport was limited to the wealthy. However, thanks to a tourism boom in the 1960's, it made a bit of a come back. The government of the Uwajima district considered bullfighting, which became famous with the help of the mass media, a tourism resource, and also labored for its reorganization and improvement. A bullfighting dome constructed in 1975 became the symbol of Uwajima's “Bullfighting Street”. On the other hand, the people of the Minami Uwa district, who have maintained bullfighting in their own independent organization, don't abide by Uwajima's tourism policy. They continue with close local relationships. In conclusion, there is a difference between the Uwajima district, where the customs have changed to favor tourism, and the Minami Uwa district, where management has remained private in order to maintain tradition. In general, the future of bullfighting in Nanyo (the southern region of Ehime Prefecture) has many problems, such as a lack of fighting bulls and successors. It is for this reason and many more that the outlook for the sport is very dim.