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