The Story of the Bear Hunters

To put it simply, Matagi are those who make lives from hunting. But it is their tradition and faith that make them different from just 'hunters'. Their history goes far back to the Heian period (794-1184). As Japan still boasts that about 70% of the country's land is covered by forest and mountains, Matagi has run through from the north to the center of Japan. 

"Do you want to try the most expensive medicine?", Mr. Nakazawa asked with grinning. What was offered was a thick sword called Nagasa, with the meaning of Mountain Knife, and a dry dark green thing looking like buds. The powder that Me. Nakazawa scraped with familiar hands was the taste of screaming. Very strong bitterness paralysed our tongues and it feels like that someone carefully and repeatedly condensed the bittier Yomogi plants over years. That was terrible. Even after swallowing, my tongue gets numbing and the smell remains from the tip of my nose to my head. Seeing our frustrated faces, Mr. Nakazawa smiled with joy, saying, "good medicine tastes bitter, right?” 

Matagi believes that the mountain is a place where the gods of the mountains rule and the bear is a gift from the gods. But at first glance the act of eating precious and sacred things seems contradictory. The predecessors chose to resolve such contradictions was their own faith in honoring the mountains. "In Japan, the god of the mountain is said to be female, and our area is also no exception", says Mr. Nakazawa. "No one should make the goddess angry. She is said particularly ugly and jealous, so no women are allowed in the mountains, it’s absolutely forbidden. It is not permitted for Matagi to enter the mountain after touching a woman, and they even bring dried ugly Okoze fish to please the goddess. Also you need to use special Matagi words when speaking in the mountain, which are completely different from the one used in the village. The word Matagi is from the special language so we don’t know what it really means. It’s a message to the Gods that we respect the mountain as a sacred place and think it’s absolutely different from people’s land".

In the hearth room, known as Matagi Zashiki, there is a smell of tickling appetite. Soft and rich flavor of miso is coming on they way. It is the Ani region’s sepecialite bear hot pot, Kuma Nabe, which is the same pot as the Matagis are eating. Mr. Nakazawa tells, “bears naturally have so strong odors that it can be hard to eat for tourists who are not used to the tastes of bears. So we try to make it softer taste". When the soup come into my body, a small voice of relaxation come out from my mouth. The soft and deep taste are formed by hint of Doburoku, unrefined Sake. However, it also has a strong and strong flavor of meat. The bear's meat is elastic and strong. Every time you bite, its oil comes out and full the mouth. It plays a delicate harmony with the bitterness of the wild mountain vegetables, also taken from the same mountains, which washes away the strong flavor of bear meat. The blessings of the nature are poured to this bowl. 

There are men who isolate themselves in the harsh snowy mountains for days, praying for the god of the mountain. The fact gives me wonder how healed they were by this warm steam and hot pot. Of course, we do not understand the harshness of the mountain in the exactly same way as Matagi feel. However, it feels that the bear pot gave us the same appreciation to the nature.