Matagi

<h2 id="etymology-and-language">Etymology and language</h2>
<p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/Matagi_dialect/sm8bq5VY">Matagi dialect</a></p>
<p>There are multiple theories on the origins of the word Matagi. One notable theory is that it is derived from the <a href="/facts/T%C5%8Dhoku_dialect/PSSVSSw2">Tōhoku</a> word <i>yamadachi</i> (山立, "hunter"). It is also hypothesised that the word "matagi" originates in the <a href="/facts/Ainu_language/CsYQnHv0">Ainu language</a>, from <i>matangi</i> or <i>matangitono</i>, meaning "man of winter" or "hunter".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> The latter theory is also supported by the existence of specialised hunting vocabulary in the <a href="/facts/Matagi_dialect/sm8bq5VY">Matagi dialect</a> which contains a number of <a href="/facts/Ainu_language/CsYQnHv0">Ainu language</a> words.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a>
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<h2 id="ethnic-origin">Ethnic origin</h2>
<p>According to Lee and Hasegawa, the Matagi are the historical descendants of Ainu-speaking hunters and fishermen who migrated down from Hokkaido into parts of Honshu. They also contributed several Ainu-derived <a href="/facts/Toponymy/YgVWDQW3">toponyms</a> and loanwords, related to geography and certain forest and water animals which they hunted, to the local Japonic-speaking people.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a>
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<h2 id="hunting-practices">Hunting practices</h2>
<h3>Spirituality</h3>

<p>The Matagi have a unique culture that centers around their belief in mountain gods and distinct law. For them, hunting is a way of life, and not a form of sport. The animals hunted are perceived as gifts from the mountain gods, and the Matagi have a certain way to butcher and prepare the animal. After the animal is killed, it is praised, and the spirit comforted. Then, to recompense for the loss of life, everything, from the fur to the internal organs, is used. Emphasis is put on the act of taking an animal's life through ceremony and reflection, which is then passed along to future generations of Matagi.
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<h3>Present-day Matagi</h3>
<p>The Matagi live in small hamlets of the mountain <a href="/facts/Beech_forest/9LMa0wKB">beech forests</a> of Tōhoku and engage in agriculture during the planting and harvest season. In the winter and early spring, they form hunting bands that spend weeks at a time in the forest.
</p><p>In the modern day, some Matagi have come into conflict with environmental activists, due to concerns over deforestation and the depletion of certain animal species.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> The Matagi no longer hunt the <a href="/facts/Japanese_serow/LTLSXv0r">Japanese serow</a>, which is protected, but continue to hunt bear by special license.
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<h2 id="literary-references">Literary references</h2>

<p>Matagi are referenced and described in the biographical novel <i>Dog Man: An Uncommon Life on a Faraway Mountain</i> by Martha Sherrill, alongside descriptions of a real modern day Matagi named Uesugi, who was a friend of the main characters who helped preserve the <a href="/facts/Akita_(dog)/9kFdKxpw">Akita</a> breed of dog, which they used extensively for hunting.
</p><p>Matagi figure as primary characters in the novel, <i>The Girl with the Face of the Moon</i> by Ellis Amdur.
In the manga series <i><a href="/facts/Golden_Kamuy/rn0dWlGR">Golden Kamuy</a></i> a Matagi hunter named <a href="/facts/Golden_Kamuy/rn0dWlGR">Tanigaki Genjirou</a> is prominently featured, as well as Ainu culture in general. <i><a href="/facts/My_Deer_Friend_Nokotan/PqnEkUfc">My Deer Friend Nokotan</a></i> also features a Matagi character named <i>Souichirou Kumatori</i> who attempts to hunt the main character, a deer, for a procession of a local festival in his hometown in <a href="/facts/Hokkaido/kwacDkYD">Hokkaido</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a>
</p><p>The main character, Hitomi, of the comic book series with the same name by HS Take and Isabella Mazantini is said to be a Matagi.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a>
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<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li>Banji Banzaburō</li>
<li>Sanka (ethnic group)</li></ul>
<h2 id="notes">Notes</h2>

<h2 id="bibliography">Bibliography</h2>
<ul><li>後藤 Gotō, 興善 Kōzen (1989). <i>又鬼と山窩 Matagi and Sanka</i>. Japan: 批評社 Hihyōsha. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 4826502893.</li>
<li>工藤 Kudō, 隆雄 Takao (2020). <i>マタギに学ぶ登山技術 Learning from the Matagi - Mountain climbing techniques</i>. Japan: ヤマケイ新書 Yamakei Shinsho. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 4635040836.</li></ul>

<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Matagi.

<ul><li><a href="https://visitshirakami.com/about/coexist/">Visit Shirakami</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>Formed from the component words 'mata', "winter," with connotations of "men's work" or "hunting," and 'tono', "sir, leader." However, note that tono is in fact a loanword from the Japanese language. <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>Masaki, Kudō (1989). Jōsaku to emishi. Kōkogaku Library. Vol. 51. New Science Press. p. 134. <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>Tanigawa, Ken'ichi (1980). Collected works. Vol. 1. pp. 324–325. <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:4"><p>de Graaf, Tjeerd (18 March 2015). Documentation and Revitalisation of two Endangered Languages in Eastern Asia: Nivkh and Ainu. <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:5"><p>Schnell, Scott (14 March 2010). Matagi: Hunters as Intermediaries Between 'Wild' and 'Domestic.'. Japan Anthropology Workshop. <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:6"><p>"My Deer Friend Nokotan". TV Tropes. <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/MyDeerFriendNokotan" target="_blank">https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/MyDeerFriendNokotan</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:7"><p>Garofalo, Daniele (22 September 2023). ""Hitomi": una storia di vendetta e samurai". Lo Spazio Bianco (in Italian). <a href="https://www.lospaziobianco.it/hitomi-una-storia-di-vendetta-e-samurai/" target="_blank">https://www.lospaziobianco.it/hitomi-una-storia-di-vendetta-e-samurai/</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
</ol>

Matagi open-in-new

Matagi