This is to explain the change of animal life of our country which has taken place since old times up to the present.
Before the Meiji era our country was small, and there were only a few savage beasts and venomous snakes. We may give as savage beasts, the Japanese Black Bear, the Japanese Wolf (died out at the end of the Meiji era), and as for the large-sized mammal, though they can not be called savage beasts, the Whit-moustached Boar, the Japanese Serow, the Japanese Deer may be mentioned. As to the venomous snakes, there was only the Japanese Pit-viper. Therefore, if the birds and beasts of large size and of splendid colour came over from foreign countries, they were enough to give a surprise to the Japanese; and animals and birds of that kind had been coming actually since very old times. But the coming of those animals and birds never threw the Japanese fauna into confusion.
As one of the remarkable instances that men gave to the fauna a change artificially, there was in the Edo period the slaying of the Wild Boar of Tsushima. During the eras of Genroku and Hoei, the Wild Boar did men so much harm in Tsushima that Mr. Suyama, magistrate of Tsushima feudatory made a great resolution to slay them out, and succeeded after ten years' hard effort-from the 13th year of Genroku down to the 6th year of Hoei (1700-1709).
During the Edo period, some birds and animals came over from foreign contreies or were brought into Japan from Korea, and they have been settled in our country. For example, the Korean Ringnecked Pheasant, the Korean Magpie, the Rik Kiu Grey Musk Shrew and the Bed-bug are remarkable among them.
As stated above, the curious birds and beasts which had not been found in Japan came over frequently from abroad since old times. Especially, since the intercourse between Japan and Holland, and other countries was commenced during the Edo period, curious animals began to come over in succession from India and Malay. The Asiatic Elephant which came over in the 13th year of Kyoho (in 1728) and the One Humped Camel in the 4th year of Bunsei (in 1821) were most famous and had a great influence on Japanese culture.
The great change Restoration, however, caused the Japanese fauna a remarkable change for forty or fifty years thereafter. In extreme cases, the tribes which spread to a great extent, such as the Yezo Wolf Canis lupus hattai in Hokkaido and the Japanese Wolf Canis lupus hodopylax in Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, met with the misfortune of being slayed out completely.
Among the birds which suddenly disappeared from Japan proper after the Meiji period were large-sized ones. There are only two places now in Japan where Cranes always come over in winter. Their kinds, too, are only the Hooded Crane and the White-naped Crane. Siberian White Crane Grus leucogeranus which once came over to Japan together with those two and was not rare in Kyushu has somehow never been seen since the Meiji period. There is only one mounted specimen in Japan, but the very one does not seem to be Japanese-bred. Japanese Stork Ciconia ciconia boyciana and Japanese Crested Ibis Nipponia nippon are all but being extinct in Japan.
