Duck hunting ground

During the Edo period, these duck hunting grounds were established in areas where large numbers of ducks migrated as hunting grounds for feudal lords, and since the mid-Meiji period, they have been passed down by the Imperial Household Ministry (now the Imperial Household Agency) and private philanthropists as duck hunting grounds. Visitors are treated to food and drink (duck hunting cuisine). Currently, there are three duck hunting grounds: Shinhama, Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture; Koshigaya City, Saitama Prefecture (both managed by the Imperial Household Agency); and Musashimurayama City, Tokyo (Tokyo Metropolitan Water Bureau), with around 1,000 to 5,000 ducks caught in each hunting season. The Imperial Household Agency's duck hunting grounds are used to entertain foreign envoys and high-ranking officials, and for banding tests. European aristocrats have long operated duck hunting grounds overseas.

There are some differences in the structure of duck hunting grounds and the methods of capturing them. In Europe, trained red dogs are used to lure the ducks into wire cages, but in Japan, tame ducks are used to lure the ducks and then the ducks are scooped up with a net.

The duck hunting ground is structured in four parts: the reservoir (Odamari), the Nakanoshima (middle island), the O-nozeki (large open area), and the hid moat. The reservoir is an artificial pond of about 1-3 hectares, surrounded by dense bamboo and other plants to keep it calm and attract tens of thousands of ducks. The Nakanoshima (middle island) is one or two small islands built in the center of the pond to prevent the ducks from being unevenly distributed. The O-nozeki (large open area) is a device to look over most of the pond without being noticed by the ducks. The hid moat is a ditch about 2 meters wide, 1 meter deep, and 10-20 meters long, with about 10-20 rows of ditch lines built around the pond, and both sides of the ditch are piled up with earth to form a levee. The ducks are captured by using decoy ducks trained to enter the hid moat when feeding is given, which lures the ducks, and the hunter waits in the shade of the small bank of the hid moat and uses a net to scoop them up as they fly out. The main types of ducks are mallards, teals, and spot-billed ducks, and the ducks that are caught are served to guests after the hunt is over. The dish is a simple one, with sliced ​​breast and thigh meat marinated in soy sauce and grilled on a thick hot plate with green onions, and then eaten with grated daikon radish.

[Kunihiko Shirai]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸時代、大名の猟場としてカモの多数渡来する地方につくられ、明治中期以後は宮内省（現宮内庁）と民間篤志家が伝承してきたカモの捕獲場所。来場の客に酒食（鴨場料理）を供応する。現在は千葉県市川市新浜、埼玉県越谷(こしがや)市（以上は宮内庁）、東京都武蔵村山(むさしむらやま)市（東京都水道局）の3か所にあり、1猟期の捕獲数は1か所1000～5000羽程度。宮内庁の鴨場は外国使臣や高官などの接待と標識試験に使われている。外国では古くからヨーロッパの貴族が鴨場を経営していた。

　鴨場の構造と捕獲法には多少の差異があり、ヨーロッパには、調教した赤イヌを使役して、金網製の檻(おり)へカモを誘引してとらえる方法もあるが、日本では飼い慣らしたアヒルで誘い、網ですくいとる。

　鴨場の構造は、溜池(ためいけ)（大溜(おおだま)り）、中の島、大のぞき、引き堀の4部からなる。溜池は、周囲にタケなどを密植して静穏にし、数万のカモを集める1～3ヘクタールほどの人工池である。中の島は、溜池の中のカモの分布を不整にさせないため、中央部につくられた1～2個の小島。大のぞきは、カモに気づかれずに溜池の大部分を見渡すための設備。引き堀は、溜池の周囲に10～20条ほどつくられた幅2メートル、深さ1メートル、長さ10～20メートルほどの溝で、溝の両縁は土盛りして堤防状にしてある。捕獲法は、餌(えさ)をやる合図で引き堀に入ってくるように訓練したおとりのアヒルにカモを誘導させ、引き堀の小土手の陰に待機した猟者が、さで網などを使って、飛び立つところをすくいとる。カモの種類はマガモ、コガモ、カルガモが主で、捕獲したカモは猟の終了後、来客に供応する。料理法は、そいだ胸肉と、もも肉を生(き)じょうゆにつけ、厚手の鉄板上でネギとともに焼いた素朴なもので、おろし大根につけて食べる。

［白井邦彦］

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