Straddle

The name of hunters (Karyudo) of Tohoku mountain villages who made a living by hunting large mountain animals such as bears and antelopes in groups. They generally lived in their own settlements deep in the mountains, engaged in farming and mountain work, but from winter to spring they ventured deep into the mountains and devoted themselves to hunting while living in temporary lodgings. Several hunting companions (Matagi groups) were formed under a leader (commander) called Sukari, and each group engaged in group hunting using traditional methods, mainly "Makiyama" (Makigari) and "Anatori" (Bears). The former is a hunting method that drives out mountain animals through valleys and kills them on ridges, while the latter is a unique hunting method that aims for bears that are "secluded in an ana" in early spring. Firearms were introduced to Matagi long ago, and the manufacturing methods of old-fashioned bullets have been followed, but old-fashioned hand spears (Yari, Tate) were also used. However, the old form of bow and arrow hunting is almost nonexistent. To survive in the deep snow, Matagi hunters were equipped with unique clothing, footwear, and a snow spatula called a "nagae" for wading through the snow. Matagi hunting is full of taboos rooted in the belief in the mountain god, and there is a strict "purification" ritual for "entering the mountains." In mountain life, they use unique taboo words called "yamakotoba" (water = wakka, rice = kusanomi, etc.). There are unique rituals for butchering the prey, such as "kematsuri" (hair festival) and "kebogai" (hair festival), and there are also various rules for the distribution of the prey (such as the special distribution of the fatal shot). Many messages called "yamadachikonpon no maki" have been handed down in "Matagi groups," and the "sukari" preserve these and in the past would carry them with them when living in the mountains. The story explains the origins of Matagi hunting, and how the founder of the profession was granted the privilege of hunting in the deep mountains through the grace of the mountain god. There are two schools of Matagi, the Nikko school and the Koya school, but both show the "history of the profession" in which the hunters were free to hunt in the deep mountains and valleys governed by the mountain god, and were given special permission from the mountain god to kill, and this was later modified with the involvement of Shugendo monks. For a long time, these traditions of the founder of the profession, which were linked to the belief in the mountain god, were sufficient to guarantee the freedom to hunt in the "ownerless land."

[Toshimi Takeuchi]

"Matagi" by Toshio Goto (1982, Akita Shobo) "Matagi - A Record of the Vanishing Mountain People" by Yuji Ota (1979, Suiyosha Pensées)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

クマ、カモシカなど大形山獣の集団猟を業としてきた東北山村の狩人(かりゅうど)の称。おおむね山奥に独自の集落生活を営み、農耕、山稼ぎにも従事したが、冬から春にかけては深山に分け入り、仮泊の生活を続けながら狩猟に専念してきた。スカリとよぶ頭目（指揮者）のもとに数名の猟仲間（マタギ組）がつくられていて、各自伝統の手法で集団猟に従事するが、「巻き山」（巻き狩り）と「穴捕り」（クマ）が主で、前者は谷を巡って山獣を追い出し、尾根筋でしとめる猟法、後者は春先「穴ごもり」のクマを目ざす特異な猟法である。マタギへの鉄砲の導入は古く、古式の銃丸の製法なども踏襲されてきたが、一方、古風な手槍(てやり)（ヤリ、タテ）なども併用された。しかし弓矢猟の古い形はほとんど残っていない。深雪の山間行動に耐えるため、マタギの狩り支度には特異なくふうが加えられ、毛衣や足ごしらえ、あるいは「長柄」という雪中徒渉の雪べらなど、注目すべきものが多い。マタギ猟には山の神信仰に根ざす禁忌伝承が多く、「山入り」には厳しい「浄(きよ)め」の作法があり、山中生活では「山ことば」という特異の忌みことば（水＝ワッカ、米飯＝クサノミなど）を用いた。獲物の解体処理にも「毛祭り、毛ボガイ」など特異な儀礼があり、また獲物の配分方式にもいろいろな「得分(とくぶん)」の決まりがあった（致命弾の射手の特殊配分などについてである）。「マタギ組」には「山立根本巻(やまだちこんぽんのまき)」という伝書が多く伝えられていて、「スカリ」はそれを保存し、古くは山中生活にも携えて行く例であった。その内容はマタギ猟の由来を示し、その職祖が山の神の恩寵(おんちょう)により深山における狩猟かせぎの特権を得たというもの。日光派、高野(こうや)派の2種があるが、いずれも山の神のつかさどる深山幽谷に自在の狩猟を行い、殺生を事とすることを山の神から特免されたという「職の由緒」を示すところで、それがのちに修験(しゅげん)の徒の関与で修飾された態のものである。「無主の地」における自在の狩猟を保証するには、山の神信仰にちなむこうした職祖伝承で久しく事足りたのである。

［竹内利美］

『後藤俊夫著『マタギ』（1982・秋田書房）』▽『太田雄治著『マタギ――消えゆく山人の記録』（1979・翠楊社〈パンセ〉）』

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