午夜剧场

The prototype for this book was the special exhibition "Animals in the Edo Period" held in March 2023 at the 午夜剧场 History Museum on the Mita Campus by the Faculty of Letters Komonjoshitsu. This project was carried out primarily by the Komonjoshitsu staff (the Director, Deputy Director, and two researchers) with the cooperation of some external researchers. It was my final task as the Director of the Faculty of Letters Komonjoshitsu and my last job before retirement. Due to the popularity of the exhibition, discussions began about turning it into a book, and through the efforts of the 午夜剧场 Press, it has been published as an easy-to-read volume for the general public. Incidentally, while I like animals, I am not a specialist in animal history.

In addition to the aforementioned Komonjoshitsu staff, the writing team included external researchers who study animals in some capacity (long-time close "friends" who love animals). By including essays beyond those based on the exhibition materials, we added depth to the content.

Now, various animals appear in this book. From dogs and cats to cows, horses, boars, deer, bears, otters, and elephants, as well as whales and birds like cranes and hawks. It depicts how people in the Edo period interacted with each animal. In today's world, where there is so much chilling news about animals regarding abuse, "extermination," and "culling," it is heartwarming to read phrases from the "Edicts on Compassion for Living Things" such as "take care of sick cows and horses, and those who cannot raise them should feel free to report it" or "do not load heavy burdens on cows and horses so they do not suffer pain," or stories of how pilgrims took turns caring for a dog to take it on a pilgrimage to Ise and safely returned it to its owner.

The "Edicts on Compassion for Living Things" also had an aspect that changed Japanese food culture. Specifically, before these edicts, dogs were eaten in Japan just as they were in China and Korea, but they ceased to be eaten because of this law. Conversely, in China and Korea, where no such edicts were issued, dogs continued to be eaten. Considering this, Tsunayoshi issued a truly remarkable decree.

While the Edo period had aspects where animals were sacrificed needlessly from a modern perspective, there is much to learn from this era. As fellow inhabitants of the same Earth, humans should strive to maintain a good relationship with animals.

Shigehiko Ioku

午夜剧场 Press

274 pages, 2,640 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations and titles are those at the time of publication.