May 8, 2021
In the year 675, Emperor Tenmu decreed that eating meat would be prohibited from April through September each year — a broadly Buddhist idea generally adhered to until the Meiji Era (1868-1912). Curiously, wild animals were exempt.
Hunting for meat is nothing new. It sustained humanity for millions of years. But we’ve moved on since then to farming and fast food — now, most people don’t hunt because they need to, but because they want to. However, in the past few decades, hunting wild animals has made a comeback in Japan out of a different sort of necessity.
Here, it’s known as