Falconry: Tradition and Acculturation

抄録

Falconry is one of the most traditional co-hunting styles of Japan. Public patronage began in the 4^th century; it was the exclusive preserve of nobles and feudal lords until the 19th Century. The culture especially flourished in the 17^th to 19^th centuries under the family of the Tokugawa shogun. Some 1,600 km² of Edo (presently Tokyo) served as a falconry preserve (Otakaba). Because all hunting of animals was prohibited inside of it, Otakaba also served the role of game preserve. After the Meiji Restoration, the Otakaba system lapsed and falconers lost their jobs. As the Edo area developed, new foreign customs changed the Japanese life style. The Imperial Household Ministry (presently Imperial Household Agency) preserved falconry as a time-honored art on the wishes of the Emperor Meiji. Falconers trained hawks and falcons, and worked at duck netting preserves (Kamoba). But following World War II, all this traditional hunting has ceased. On the other hand, private falconry activity is opening up. After his retirement from the Imperial Household Agency, Mr. Kaoru Hanami was invited by his pupils to become the president of The Japanese Falconers Association. He taught them to carry on the art of falconry that had been handed down to him, the Suwa hawking school, which is one of the most traditional styles. In his school, the hawk was considered to be an avatar that should be respected, but modern people did not understand or think that way. Because of his concern about the tendency of the people to look down on hawks as pets or mere hunting tools, he propounded a coined expression, “Jinyoh-Ittai” (man and hawk as one) to build a relationship of equality. There are other schools and dedicated groups that are trying to do sports falconry, and many clubs organized by pet owners in Japan. Also, in recent years, development of telemetry systems promises to make falconry more efficient.