Tamba Sasayama
The city of Tamba Sasayama is a former castle town in central eastern Hyogo. Like many Japanese cities and towns, it called a Little Kyoto in tourism campaign because of its preserved historical townscape strongly influenced by nearby Kyoto. But there are many “little Kyoto”s so why visit this one?
By 663highland via Wikimedia Commons
Japanese Boars
The city home to home to a creature that strikes terror into the hearts of all that encounter for it is one of most dangerous animals in Japan. This creature is the wild boar or Inoshishi in Japanese.
By Mariomassone via Wikimedia Commons
Their similarity in appearance with docile domestic pigs may lead to be they are harmless but that is not the case. They are extremely aggressive and territorial, capable of growing to massive sizes and have sharp tusks that can disembowel a person. However, their dangerousness is counteracted by one key fact, they are delicious.
Photo by Lowell Silverman via Wikimedia Commons
Eating of Japanese Boars
The plethora of nearby mountains coupled with the isolation of the city make it the perfect breeding ground for boars so it one of the few places in Japan that have developed a culture around eating boar. In the past, wild game was eaten by peasants who used game as a supplemental source of food especially during times of food scarcity.But officially, the consumption of meat was banned by the Japanese government for hundred of years because of doctrines Buddhism which forbid the killing of living things. In addition, the “modernization” of Japan which made food more secure meant less people needed to rely on game meat for survival. But for the people of Tamba Sasayama, the eating of boar meat endured despite the challenges.
Photo by Autumn Snake via Wikimedia Commons
Thankfully, cities like Sasayama help keep alive the tradition of eating game meat. Recently, game meat is Japan is marketed with the French name Gibier to dissociate from negative connation of it as “country food” and to transform it into a sophisticated food. Having low-fat content and being less resource intensive when compared to livestock make it popular among the health and eco conscious urbanites of Japan.
Photo from Japan Gibier Promotion Association
Boar eating culture of Tamba Sasayama
The most famous boar dish is Botan Nabe, a boar meat hot pot and is the most well-known dishes from Tamba Sasayama. Nabe is the Japanese word for hot pot.Boar meat was called Botan or Peony flowers because consumption of meat was banned in the until the start of the Meji period(1868) and had to eaten and sold in secret. Boars were also called Yamakujira or land whales because eating fish which whales were considered as was alllowed under buddhism. Horse meat was known as Sakura or cherry blossoms and venison was Momiji or maple tree leaves. It said in the early 1900s the dish spread from Tamba Sasayama to other parts of Japan by soldiers stationed there who wanted to bring the dish to their hometowns.
Botan Nabe is a popular winter dish that is sold at many restaurants in Tamaba Sasayama. You will have no trouble finding a place to try it during your visit. The boar eat nuts, mushrooms, and other food in the mountains near Tamaba Sasayama to pack on fat for winter. It is said their diet and the sudden and dramatic changes in seasons in Tamaba Sasayama are the reason for their meat being so delicious. The meat was so popular it was served in school lunches and shipped all over Japan up until the 1970s when overhunting significantly reduced the local boar population.
By woinary via Wikimedia Commons
Japanese Boar festival in Tamba Sasayama
There used to be a festival that celebrated boars and boar dishes in Sasayama. There was even a race with baby boars that was the highlight of the festival. Unfortunately, the event was canceled because of the difficulties of getting the baby boars as hunters are aging and the desire to take the festival in a different direction. But I have not found an alternative festival in my research but I do hope there is something to celebrate boars and their importance to the city.
By Hajotthu via Wikimedia Commons
I would like to see the return of the festival that focuses on showing respect for the boars and highlighting their importance to the city without the use of live animals. Instead, there could be stands with dishes made sustainably from boars and ones selling boar themed crafts. There could also be art exhibitions made by local schools on these fierce beasts of the forest. Overall, the city of Tamba Sasayama shows us that boars don’t need to be feared and can help us in modern times move towards environmentally friendly and healthy forms of meat consumption.
Access
Tamba-Sasayama can be reached from Osaka in about an hour by train.
A fascinating article and one I really enjoyed along with the illustrations (especially that lovely print). The picture of the baby boars has the “aah” factor in spades and almost made me forget how dangerous the wild beasts can be. Thanks again.
Thank you! Yeah, I thought that wood block print was really cool. It shows a bit of what Tokyo(Edo back then) was like a few hundred years ago. There is a park I go to sometimes that has signs everywhere warning about boars and fencing to keep them out. I think I rather encounter a bear than a boar in the wild haha. Bears are not nearly as agressive or stubborn.
I’m glad that you mentioned the “mountain whale” aspect. There were all sorts of names and false classifications to get around the bans on eating meat. Hares were classed as birds, so were also “not animals”.
The cute little piglets are known as “uribo”, literally “gourd children” or “gourd priests” because their markings evoke the image of the Trichosanthes cucumeroides.
The way people got around the edicts that banned meat is fascinating. As well as what was and wasn’t considered meat. I read they were called Uribo and the english translation was melon children but I think gourd makes more sense. Thank you!
The way animals are named is really interesting. For example, giraffes and Taipirs being named after yokai. Or how there is no distinction between mice and rats or bees and wasps.
I have a blog about the giraffes and tapirs, and some evidence that the yokai was influenced by the real animal!
Really? Ill check it out!
Also, the melon/gourd thing is a matter of terminology. Uri (瓜) is a gourd or a melon, depending. Some examples are pumpkin (南瓜), cucumber (胡瓜), bitter gourd (苦瓜) and watermelon (西瓜).
Another fascinating and well-written post! We had planned to go to Japan this year, but you know, the pandemic persists. I look forward to introducing my son to my Japanese friend’s and the country itself. Until then, I can only visit (or revisit) Japan through your posts.
Thanks! Yeah , unfortunately it looks like it going to be a while before international travel resumes to Japan, Omicron stopped the lossening of travel restrictions. Since I can’t travel abroad, its been a good chance to write some posts about interesting places in Japan and to do some local travel . I have upcoming trip to Kyushu and im excited to do some cool things like see migrating cranes in Kagoshima, visit a town famous for Kappa in Fukuoka, and visit the famous hells in Beppu.
We need some boar eating cities in Texas. There are lots of dangerous wild hogs here too
They are invasive species in Texas, right? Yeah, eating the meat of invasive species like boars could help a bit with the problem.