Takagari
Encyclopedia
is Japan
ese falconry
, a sport of the noble class, and a symbol of their nobility, their status, and their warrior spirit.
In Japan, records indicate that falconry began in the fourth century. According to a passage in the Nihon Shoki
(720), falconry was introduced by the Baekje
noble Sakenokimi in 359 during the reign of Emperor Nintoku
. From the outset, the central Court and local lords both enjoyed hawking, with the former trying to monopolize falconry, sometimes with banning orders. Central power, however, as seen in the repetition of prohibiting orders, had no complete control over local falconry until the 17th century. In the 13th century, hawking became popular among the rising samurai
class as well as among court nobles (kuge
). At that time, the practice of hawking was a means of resolving struggles over land ownership among lords. Buddhist temples, who were also land owners, opposed falconry based on their ideology against killing. Falconer lords, on the other hand, devised a Buddhist rationale or resorted to Shinto
justifications. Several falconry schools or styles (ryū) were formed in the process.
The falconry methods employed in Japan had originally been Sino-Korean ones. Based on Chinese texts and practice, Shinshū Yōkyō was edited in 818 as a falconry textbook. From the 13th century on, nobles left falconry texts as evidence of their authority in falconry. The establishment of the Ashikaga shogunate
in Kyoto
allowed mutual influence between kuge and samurai on the development of the sport. Samurai falconers also began to write falconry texts in the 16th century.
The sport had always been a status symbol, as a very expensive pastime, involving not only the rarity and cost of the haggards, passages and eyasses, and the costs of housing, raising, and training them, but it also required access to a large amount of space, and a lot of time and effort, things presumably denied to all but the most fortunate of the common classes. With the opening of the Tokugawa period, the wars of the Sengoku period
came to an end, and falconry became one of the primary outlets for the militaristic energies of the samurai class, along with archery
, swordplay
, and horse racing.
Tokugawa Ieyasu
enjoyed falconry very much himself, and used it as a symbol of his authority, and of his plans for the country, transforming the violence of his conquest into a peacetime system of laws. He banned traditional falconry by kuge, who had been holders of the art since the first introduction of falconry. He established restrictions on which ranks of creatures a samurai or daimyo
(feudal lord) could hunt, from geese and duck
s up to the more valuable swan
s. He also set up certain lands as takaba (鷹場), or falconry fields; practicing the sport on all other lands was forbidden. Many of these designated lands were farmers' lands; the peasant farmers were forced to provide labor for the hunt, which often took days or even weeks, and were forbidden from interfering with the prey creatures of their lands, despite the damage geese and other animals might do to crops.
Goshawks, and other birds of prey, increasingly became symbols of status, and in the early Edo period, many paintings were commissioned by samurai. While the first images of hawk
s and eagle
s in Japan appeared in the 13th century, since the 14th and 15th centuries, paintings with hawks as the main subject appeared, under the influence of imported Chinese paintings. As the visibility and popularity of falconry grew, at the beginning of the Edo period, images of the hunt, of mews
, of wild birds of prey, and even portraits of favored individual birds were increasingly commissioned. While common people were kept out of falconry, their interest in it gave rise to some ukiyo-e
art by Hokusai
, Hiroshige
and Kawanabe Kyosai
.
Falconry flourished throughout the Edo period, with only a short interruption imposed by Tokugawa Tsunayoshi
. With the Meiji Revolution, the monopoly on falconry by samurai ended. Falconry was released to the public, but in the process of modernization, its prosperity faded. While the Imperial Household Ministry gathered ex-falconers and tried to keep their tradition, some methods were lost, and others were handed down to private enthusiasts. Hawk-eagle austringers in northeastern Japan have also emerged in the process, although their origin is somewhat uncertain.
After World War II
, the Imperial Household Agency suspended the practice of hawking, and the tradition of takagari is today kept by clubs formed by enthusiasts.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese falconry
Falconry
Falconry is "the taking of wild quarry in its natural state and habitat by means of a trained raptor". There are two traditional terms used to describe a person involved in falconry: a falconer flies a falcon; an austringer flies a hawk or an eagle...
, a sport of the noble class, and a symbol of their nobility, their status, and their warrior spirit.
In Japan, records indicate that falconry began in the fourth century. According to a passage in the Nihon Shoki
Nihon Shoki
The , sometimes translated as The Chronicles of Japan, is the second oldest book of classical Japanese history. It is more elaborate and detailed than the Kojiki, the oldest, and has proven to be an important tool for historians and archaeologists as it includes the most complete extant historical...
(720), falconry was introduced by the Baekje
Baekje
Baekje or Paekche was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla....
noble Sakenokimi in 359 during the reign of Emperor Nintoku
Emperor Nintoku
was the 16th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.No firm dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign, but he is conventionally considered to have reigned from 313–399.-Legendary narrative:...
. From the outset, the central Court and local lords both enjoyed hawking, with the former trying to monopolize falconry, sometimes with banning orders. Central power, however, as seen in the repetition of prohibiting orders, had no complete control over local falconry until the 17th century. In the 13th century, hawking became popular among the rising samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
class as well as among court nobles (kuge
Kuge
The was a Japanese aristocratic class that dominated the Japanese imperial court in Kyoto until the rise of the Shogunate in the 12th century at which point it was eclipsed by the daimyo...
). At that time, the practice of hawking was a means of resolving struggles over land ownership among lords. Buddhist temples, who were also land owners, opposed falconry based on their ideology against killing. Falconer lords, on the other hand, devised a Buddhist rationale or resorted to Shinto
Shinto
or Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...
justifications. Several falconry schools or styles (ryū) were formed in the process.
The falconry methods employed in Japan had originally been Sino-Korean ones. Based on Chinese texts and practice, Shinshū Yōkyō was edited in 818 as a falconry textbook. From the 13th century on, nobles left falconry texts as evidence of their authority in falconry. The establishment of the Ashikaga shogunate
Ashikaga shogunate
The , also known as the , was a Japanese feudal military regime, ruled by the shoguns of the Ashikaga clan.This period is also known as the Muromachi period and gets its name from Muromachi Street of Kyoto where the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu established his residence...
in Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
allowed mutual influence between kuge and samurai on the development of the sport. Samurai falconers also began to write falconry texts in the 16th century.
The sport had always been a status symbol, as a very expensive pastime, involving not only the rarity and cost of the haggards, passages and eyasses, and the costs of housing, raising, and training them, but it also required access to a large amount of space, and a lot of time and effort, things presumably denied to all but the most fortunate of the common classes. With the opening of the Tokugawa period, the wars of the Sengoku period
Sengoku period
The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...
came to an end, and falconry became one of the primary outlets for the militaristic energies of the samurai class, along with archery
Kyudo
, literally meaning "way of the bow", is the Japanese art of archery. It is a modern Japanese martial art and practitioners are known as .It is estimated that there are approximately half a million practitioners of kyudo today....
, swordplay
Kendo
, meaning "Way of The Sword", is a modern Japanese martial art of sword-fighting based on traditional Japanese swordsmanship, or kenjutsu.Kendo is a physically and mentally challenging activity that combines strong martial arts values with sport-like physical elements.-Practitioners:Practitioners...
, and horse racing.
Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...
enjoyed falconry very much himself, and used it as a symbol of his authority, and of his plans for the country, transforming the violence of his conquest into a peacetime system of laws. He banned traditional falconry by kuge, who had been holders of the art since the first introduction of falconry. He established restrictions on which ranks of creatures a samurai or daimyo
Daimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
(feudal lord) could hunt, from geese and duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
s up to the more valuable swan
Swan
Swans, genus Cygnus, are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae...
s. He also set up certain lands as takaba (鷹場), or falconry fields; practicing the sport on all other lands was forbidden. Many of these designated lands were farmers' lands; the peasant farmers were forced to provide labor for the hunt, which often took days or even weeks, and were forbidden from interfering with the prey creatures of their lands, despite the damage geese and other animals might do to crops.
Goshawks, and other birds of prey, increasingly became symbols of status, and in the early Edo period, many paintings were commissioned by samurai. While the first images of hawk
Hawk
The term hawk can be used in several ways:* In strict usage in Australia and Africa, to mean any of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the genera Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks,...
s and eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
s in Japan appeared in the 13th century, since the 14th and 15th centuries, paintings with hawks as the main subject appeared, under the influence of imported Chinese paintings. As the visibility and popularity of falconry grew, at the beginning of the Edo period, images of the hunt, of mews
Mews
Mews is a primarily British term formerly describing a row of stables, usually with carriage houses below and living quarters above, built around a paved yard or court, or along a street, behind large city houses, such as those of London, during the 17th and 18th centuries. The word may also...
, of wild birds of prey, and even portraits of favored individual birds were increasingly commissioned. While common people were kept out of falconry, their interest in it gave rise to some ukiyo-e
Ukiyo-e
' is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints and paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries, featuring motifs of landscapes, tales from history, the theatre, and pleasure quarters...
art by Hokusai
Hokusai
was a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of the Edo period. He was influenced by such painters as Sesshu, and other styles of Chinese painting...
, Hiroshige
Hiroshige
was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist, and one of the last great artists in that tradition. He was also referred to as Andō Hiroshige and by the art name of Ichiyūsai Hiroshige ....
and Kawanabe Kyosai
Kawanabe Kyosai
was a Japanese artist, in the words of a critic, "an individualist and an independent, perhaps the last virtuoso in traditional Japanese painting"....
.
Falconry flourished throughout the Edo period, with only a short interruption imposed by Tokugawa Tsunayoshi
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi
was the fifth shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the younger brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna, thus making him the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu....
. With the Meiji Revolution, the monopoly on falconry by samurai ended. Falconry was released to the public, but in the process of modernization, its prosperity faded. While the Imperial Household Ministry gathered ex-falconers and tried to keep their tradition, some methods were lost, and others were handed down to private enthusiasts. Hawk-eagle austringers in northeastern Japan have also emerged in the process, although their origin is somewhat uncertain.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Imperial Household Agency suspended the practice of hawking, and the tradition of takagari is today kept by clubs formed by enthusiasts.