Episode 642 – The Hunters, Part 2

How does a matagi hunt actually work, and how has matagi culture evolved over the course of the 20th century? And finally: why is it that so many today seem to think the matagi will be extinct themselves before too long?

Sources

Schnell, Scott. “Kuma Matsuri” In Matsuri and Religion: Complexity, Continuity, and Creativity in Japanese Festivals, edited by Elisabetta Porcu and Michael Dylan Foster.

Brecher, W. Puck. Loving and Loathing Wildlife in Japan: Four Animal Conservation Paradigms

A NatGeo story on the Matagi (complete with some great photos) by Alexandra Genova

Images

A kuma matsuri in the town of Oguni in Yamagata prefecture.
Photo of a successful matagi bear hunt from the 1970s.

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