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Paper short abstract

This paper explores how matagi bear-hunting lore frames mountains as sacred boundaries where crossing into the bear’s realm demanded ritual reciprocity. These narratives blur human–nature divides and speak to Anthropocene concerns over survival, fragility, and ecological transgression.

Paper long abstract

This paper examines how Japanese bear-hunting traditions narrate the mountains as both a physical and spiritual boundary, one that hunters repeatedly crossed in pursuit of survival and meaning. The semi-professional hunters (matagi) of northeastern Japan regarded the mountains not merely as terrain but as a realm governed by deities, spirits, and strict ritual codes. Entering this space required purification, prayer, and adherence to taboos, for to cross into the bear’s domain was to engage with a world both dangerous and sacred. Bear lore reflects this duality. Tales often portray the bear as a “mountain god” incarnate, blurring distinctions between prey and deity. Successful hunts depended not only on skill but on ritual reciprocity: offerings of rice or saké, words of apology to the slain bear, and prayers of gratitude. These practices framed the act of hunting as a crossing that was never casual but always morally and cosmologically fraught. With the decline of matagi culture during modernization, such boundaries have been redrawn. Yet mountains as liminal zones remain central in cultural memory, symbolizing both ecological fragility and continuing human attachments to the “natural” environment. Examining matagi lore through the lens of boundary-crossing shows how Japanese folk traditions blur human–nature divides and foreground Anthropocene concerns about survival, reciprocity, and the costs of exceeding ecological limits.