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{{Short description|Traditional winter hunters in Japan}}
{{more citations needed|date=November 2025}}
{{Expand Japanese|マタギ|date=November 2025}}
{{Other uses}}
[[File:八木沢マタギ「集落最後のマタギ 佐藤良蔵 」山の主 巨熊射止める.jpg|thumb|Matagi with a killed [[Japanese black bear]], in 1966 at [[Kamikoani, Akita]]]]

The {{nihongo|'''Matagi'''|マタギ||or less often {{lang|ja|又鬼}}}} are traditional winter hunters of the [[Tōhoku region]] of northern [[Japan]], most famously today in the [[Ani, Akita|Ani]] area in [[Akita Prefecture]], which is known for the [[Akita dog]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dias |first=Anura |date=2023-08-30 |title=Matagi: Local Protectors of the Forest in Northeastern Japan |url=https://www.japanrailclub.com/matagi-local-protectors-forest-northeastern-japan/ |access-date=2025-09-17 |website=JAPAN RAIL CLUB |language=en-US}}</ref> Afterwards, they spread to the [[Shirakami-Sanchi]] forest between [[Akita, Akita|Akita]] and [[Aomori, Aomori|Aomori]], and other areas of Japan. Documented as a specialised group from the medieval period onwards, the Matagi continue to hunt [[deer]] and [[bear]] in the present day, and their culture has much in common with the [[bear worship]] of the [[Ainu people]].

With the introduction of modern firearms in the 19th century, and mass-production of [[handloading|reloadable]] [[Cartridge (firearms)|cartridge]]s beginning with the [[Murata rifle]], the need for group hunting for bear has diminished, leading to a decline in Matagi culture.

Matagi hamlets are found in the districts of [[Nishitsugaru District, Aomori|Nishitsugaru]] and [[Nakatsugaru District, Aomori|Nakatsugaru]] ([[Aomori Prefecture]]), [[Kitaakita District, Akita|Kitaakita]] and [[Senboku District, Akita|Senboku]] ([[Akita Prefecture]]), [[Waga District, Iwate|Waga]] ([[Iwate Prefecture]]), [[Nishiokitama District, Yamagata|Nishiokitama]] and [[Tsuruoka, Yamagata|Tsuruoka]] ([[Yamagata Prefecture]]), [[Murakami, Niigata|Murakami]] and [[Nakauonuma District, Niigata|Nakauonuma]] ([[Niigata Prefecture]] and [[Nagano Prefecture]]). Well-known Matagi villages frequented by tourists can be found in [[Ani, Akita|Ani]] on the western slopes of [[Mount Moriyoshi]] in [[Akita Prefecture]], and a few hamlets on the eastern slopes of [[Mount Chōkai]] in [[Akita Prefecture|Akita]] and [[Yamagata Prefecture|Yamagata]] prefectures.

== Etymology and language ==
{{Main|Matagi dialect}}
There are multiple theories on the origins of the word Matagi. One notable theory is that it is derived from the [[Tōhoku dialect|Tōhoku]] word {{Nihongo3|"hunter"|山立|yamadachi}}. It is also hypothesised that the word "matagi" originates in the [[Ainu language]], from {{Transliteration|ain|matangi}} or {{Transliteration|ain|matangitono}}, meaning "man of winter" or "hunter".{{efn|Formed from the component words {{Transliteration|ain|'mata'}}, "winter," with connotations of "men's work" or "hunting," and {{Transliteration|ain|'tono'}}, "sir, leader." However, note that ''tono'' is in fact a loanword from the Japanese language.}} The latter theory is also supported by the existence of specialised hunting vocabulary in the [[Matagi dialect]] which contains a number of [[Ainu language]] words.<ref>{{cite book|first=Kudō |last=Masaki |date=1989 |title=Jōsaku to emishi |series=Kōkogaku Library |volume=51 |publisher=New Science Press |pages=134}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Tanigawa |first=Ken'ichi |date=1980 |title=Collected works |volume=1 |pages=324–325}}</ref>

== Ethnic origin ==
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 [[Toponymy|toponyms]] and loanwords, related to geography and certain forest and water animals which they hunted, to Japonic-speaking people.<ref>{{cite book|first=Tjeerd |last=de Graaf |title=Documentation and Revitalisation of two Endangered Languages in Eastern Asia: Nivkh and Ainu |date=18 March 2015}}</ref>

== Hunting practices ==
[[File:マタギマキリ（八木沢マタギ狩猟用具）.JPG|thumb|''Makiri'' a traditional Matagi hunting knife]]
=== Spirituality ===
The Matagi have a unique culture that centers around their belief in mountain gods and distinct law.{{sfn|Schnell|2020|p=166}}{{sfn|Blacker|1997|pp=178–179}} For them, hunting is a way of life, and not a form of sport.{{sfn|Schnell|2020|pp=171–172}} 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.{{sfn|Blacker|1997|p=179}} 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.<ref name="matagiheritage">{{cite web |url=https://world-natural-heritage.jp/en/article/shirakami-culture/ |title=Learn about the traditions of the Matagi, who live in harmony with the forest of Shirakami-Sanchi |publisher=Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau |series=World Natural Heritage in Japan |access-date=October 3, 2025}}</ref>

Through history mainstream Japanese society viewed the Matagi as outside of ritually clean society due to eating many animals thought to be ritually polluting.{{sfn|Blacker|1997|p=179}} In {{lang|ja-latn|makimono}} scrolls held by many Matagi families they record stories of the ancestor of the Matagi being given special permission to hunt and eat these animals due to the ancestor rendering special service to the mountain goddess Yamanokami in a time of distress.{{sfn|Blacker|1997|pp=179–180}}

=== Present-day Matagi ===
The Matagi live in small hamlets of the mountain [[beech forest]]s 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.<ref name="matagiheritage"/>

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.<ref>{{cite book|title=Matagi: Hunters as Intermediaries Between 'Wild' and 'Domestic.' |first=Scott |last=Schnell |publisher=Japan Anthropology Workshop |date=14 March 2010}}</ref> The Matagi no longer hunt the [[Japanese serow]], which is protected, but continue to hunt bear by special license.

== Literary references ==
Matagi are referenced and described in the biographical novel ''[[Dog Man: An Uncommon Life on a Faraway Mountain]]'' 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 [[Akita (dog)|Akita]] breed of dog, which they used extensively for hunting.

Matagi figure as primary characters in the novel, ''The Girl with the Face of the Moon'' by Ellis Amdur.
In the manga series ''[[Golden Kamuy]]'' a Matagi hunter named [[Golden Kamuy#Genjirō Tanigaki|Tanigaki Genjirou]] is prominently featured, as well as Ainu culture in general.<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Nicholas Vazquez |last=Nanda |date=13 April 2025 |title=Matagi - The Forest and the Bear |url=https://www.yokogaomag.com/editorial/matagi-hunters-japan |magazine=Yoko Gao}}</ref> ''[[My Deer Friend Nokotan]]'' also features a Matagi character named ''Souichirou Kumatori'' who attempts to hunt the main character, a deer, for a procession of a local festival in his hometown in [[Hokkaido]].

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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Garofalo |first1=Daniele |title="Hitomi": una storia di vendetta e samurai |trans-title="Hitomi": A Story of Revenge and Samurai |url=https://www.lospaziobianco.it/hitomi-una-storia-di-vendetta-e-samurai/ |website=Lo Spazio Bianco |language=it-IT |date=22 September 2023}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Banji Banzaburō]]
* [[Sanka (ethnic group)]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

=== Works cited ===
* {{cite book |last=Blacker |first=Carmen |date=1997 |chapter=The Mistress of the Animals in Japan: Yamanokami |title=The Concept of the Goddess |editor1-first=Sandra |editor1-last=Billington |editor2-first=Miranda |editor2-last=Green |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0203456385 |doi=10.4324/9780203456385 |pages=178–185}}
* {{cite journal |last=Schnell |first=Scott |date=22 September 2020 |title=Kuma Matsuri: Bear Hunters as Intermediaries between Humans and Nature |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/jrj/9/1-3/article-p165_6.pdf?srsltid=AfmBOopF3hFHyW-4RYy4bDQZof1dtfmV4WqYOucsfC1vRZYYBD-bvFu9 |journal=Journal of Religion in Japan |volume=9 |number=1–3 |doi=10.1163/22118349-00901001 |pages=165–194}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |last1=後藤 Gotō |first1=興善 Kōzen |title=又鬼と山窩 Matagi and Sanka |date=1989 |publisher=批評社 Hihyōsha |location=Japan |isbn=4826502893}}
* {{cite book |last1=工藤 Kudō |first1=隆雄 Takao |title=マタギに学ぶ登山技術 Learning from the Matagi - Mountain climbing techniques |date=2020 |publisher=ヤマケイ新書 Yamakei Shinsho |location=Japan |isbn=978-4635040839}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Matagi}}
* [https://visitshirakami.com/about/coexist/ Visit Shirakami]

{{Ethnic groups in Japan}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Matagi| ]]
[[Category:Society of Japan]]
[[Category:Obsolete occupations]]
[[Category:History of Akita Prefecture]]
[[Category:Japanese hunters]]
[[Category:Ainu culture]]
[[Category:History of Hokkaido]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Japan]]
[[Category:Indigenous peoples of East Asia]]