Hunting with Reverence for Life and Nature

Where We Call Home.

The mountains of Miyazaki Prefecture are at the heart of Japanese mythology.

Living here, this woman is a budding hunter.

Antonia Schult, from Germany.

In recent years, the need to remove wild animals that cause damage to local crops is on the rise.

I'd like to contribute to the region
in whatever way I can.

But Antonia's training requires more than honing her skills.

Animal's lives are like ours.

Taking a life is no simple matter.

She must understand and follow an important core principle of hunting in Japan.

Taking life with reverence for nature.

Let's tag along with Antonia on her path to becoming a hunter.

The Kirishima mountains count over twenty volcanoes.

In Japanese mythology, the region is said to be where the grandson of the sun goddess descended to earth from the heavens.

Located at the foot of the mountain range is Kobayashi City.

Throughout history, people here have been partaking of the blessings of nature through farming and hunting.

Deep into the forest is a modest little shrine.

It is dedicated to the god of the mountain.

Local hunters gather here to request permission from the deity before they venture into the woods.

German-born Antonia Schult has been hunting for two years now.

Japanese Shintoism worships the gods that reside in the trees in mountains and forests, in rocks and ponds, in every element of nature.

This involves a variety of ceremonies and rituals.

I was raised a Christian.

Shintoism believes there are gods
in trees and plants.

And even someone like me..

can feel their presence somehow.
It's very humbling.

Morning!

- How've you been?
- Very well, thanks!

- Let's do our best!
- Yes!

Murakawa Hideki is a veteran huntsman with fifty years under his belt.

He's a mentor to Antonia.

Hunting is done in a group.

A party of six has gathered today.

Hunters are divided into two functions.

Some take position and wait for a chance to shoot the quarry.

Others work with dogs to seek and draw out the animals.

A good spot.

This time, Antonia and her loyal canine partner have been assigned to chase the animals out.

She looks for deer and boars.

She's studied their behavior extensively.

A boar was here.

It was looking for food.

Deer tracks.

However...

Up there?

She's lost her way.

Because she still has little experience in the field, she's unfamiliar with the terrain.

Before she knows it, she's out of the woods.

I desperately lack
a sense of orientation.

That was unfortunate.

Murakawa offers a word of consolation to his apprentice who came back empty handed.

The path ahead is long.

Antonia has been a coordinator for international relations for the city of Kobayashi since 2019.

Her work involves translating government publications and organizing cultural exchange events in schools.

She's created a quiz for children to learn about German culture.

Where are the German carrots?
On the right.

Kids are frank.
It's easy to tell when they're bored.

They go like this.

- What's your impression of Antonia?
- My impression?

I'm embarrassed.

Like a traditional Japanese.

She's so polite and thoughtful.

She's good at sensing the mood
and reading between the lines.

Antonia says it was the natural scenery that drew her to Japan.

This is my favorite view.

When she first saw a mountainous Japanese landscape in a photo while in middle school, she was immediately captivated.

In Japan, rural areas near mountains where people live in harmony with nature are called "satoyama."

Over generations, people have built a delicate balance between themselves and the local wildlife.

Eager to experience life in countryside Japan, Antonia made the big move three years ago.

It's unlike anything in Germany.

The rural landscape
with mountains in the background...

shows the harmony between
people and nature. I love it.

However, the region now faces a serious issue.

Local wildlife has been causing damage to crops.

This has been costing farmers in Miyazaki around four hundred million yen - over three million US dollars - annually.

The declining human population has had a negative impact on the balance between people and nature, causing wild animals to intrude into the residents' properties.

Antonia who loves Japanese dog breeds was approached by an acquaintance to try hunting with her four-legged friend, and found her calling.

She studied on her own to obtain a hunting permit.

Farmers who've been suffering
damage from wildlife...

don't see deer and boars
as 'lovely animals.' I truly hope I can contribute,
even if only a little.

Tonight, Antonia has been invited to join a little get-together of local hunters.

Good evening!

Murakawa and the other seasoned huntsmen are putting their hopes into their young German trainee.

- You know, I'm eighty years old.
- Really?

Since I was five, I've been going
in the woods at the end of the year.

I tended a fire all night
and came back at sunrise...

with some turtle doves I'd caught.

There are fewer hunters.

When I started fifty years ago,
there were around 600.

Now, only 100.

- 120.
- 120 hunters.

There're so few of us.

Fewer hunters means fewer opportunities to form hunting parties.

Instead, they've had to rely more and more on the use of snares.

The wire is tensed.

Something's caught.
It's dead.

A deer got caught.

It was meant to be captured alive, but it was found too late, and didn't survive.

Poor thing must've suffered.

It's dead.

We can't eat it.

Because time has passed since the animal died, the meat has already begun to go bad.

To a hunter like Murakawa, this feels like a life wasted.

He offers a heartfelt prayer to the animal.

Rest in peace.

Today, Murakawa invited Antonia over to his home.

Using a boar caught by other hunters, he's having her study how to dress an animal.

This is Antonia's very first time to cut up a boar.

She carefully cuts along the bones.

Game meat is a precious gift from the mountain.

None of it must go to waste.

- Very good for a beginner!
- Thank you.

You've got potential.

They then perform an important hunters' ritual that's been passed down for generations.

We skewer the tip
of the heart like this, and...

- stick it in the radish.
- I see.

In gratitude to the mountain for the life it nurtured, they bless a piece of the boar's heart with shochu liquor as an offering to the god.

Cooked in a hot pot of miso, boar is a local delicacy.

This sacred life taken from the mountain is a blessing.

All of the meat must be eaten.

It's delicious.

We've taken a life.

So we eat all the meat
in the animal's honor.

If we eat all of it without waste,
it'll find eternal rest.

All life is of equal value,
human or animal.

When I cut up the boar,
I felt it was the same as us.

It was a hands-on reminder
that all life eventually ends.

That's what I kept in mind
as I was eating.

The cool breeze of autumn.

Once again, Antonia takes part in the hunt.

All must work together to help reduce damage to crops.

I'll go to the spot where someone
once caught six animals.

Antonia, go to a spot a bit closer.

- Something'll definitely come out.
- 100% sure.

We'll catch something.
I can feel it.

This time, Antonia will be one of the shooters.

They'll come out here.

The dogs will chase them toward us.

The dogs' barking will be a sign their quarry is near.

They found something.

Get to the vantage point.

Preparing herself for when the dogs draw out the animal, she readies her rifle.

And then...

Something came out.

Were they successful?

They head to where the shots were fired.

I shot them but they got away.

- Any blood?
- I went to check. No traces of blood.

It was an inexperienced hunter who took the shots.

He found three boars but missed his mark.

No catches today.

Hunting is difficult work indeed.

It's by learning from both successes and failures that one can become a full-fledged hunter.

Antonia has invited some German friends over to share some of the boar meat she received from Murakawa.

Beep, beep, beep!
We all love each other. Bon appétit!

Antonia wants to share some of what she's learned since she's become a hunter.

Through hunting, the connection between
killing and eating meat...

becomes very clear.

Because you look at the animal
right in the eye.

It's tasty.

Really? Good!

From now on, when I eat meat...

I'll put more consideration
on the lives of the animals.

Human or animal - life is precious.

Wishing to help restore the harmony between humans and nature, Antonia continues along the hunter's path.

I've barely started learning
to become a hunter.

I've learned much,
and still have much to learn.

And there are so many things
I want to do in the future.

I think the most important...

will be to learn more and more
about this region and its people.

Hi! Welcome!

I'm Tommaso Puntelli, a luthier.

I treat instruments like patients
who've lost their beautiful voices.

I breathe new life into them.

Ochanomizu, Tokyo.

10:30 a.m.
work starts.

So now that you have the coffee, we can actually get ready to begin.

Tommaso's workshop is located
on the 3rd floor of a music shop.

Today, he's checking a crack
in a Japanese-made violin.

So, we are now going to make the surgical repair.

So, of course, we have first to take everything apart.

These are very important tools: kitchen knife.

These are kitchen knife, but of course, I shape them the way I like.

He gently taps to find
where to open the violin.

Okay, this will be a good starting point, I think.

Opening an instrument, it's really like a surgery for the violin, so you have to be very careful...

and listen to the wood.

This is a very good sound.

OK.

You...

This crack, if you can see it.

Then I will have to dig here and replace it with a new wood.

Good afternoon!

Something sounds wrong with the attack.

I'll give it a thorough check.

He adjusts the angle of the sound post,
which transfers sound through the violin.

Try it.

Yes, that's it!

Good.

Tommaso regularly sees Sayaka perform,
and watches her progress as a musician.

After learning violin making in Cremona
and Milan, he trained throughout Europe.

In 2008, he was invited to Japan
by a fellow artisan.

The passion of Japanese musicians
pushes him to perfect his skills.

Watanabe is the most connected to my style and the closest thing to a pupil I have in Japan.

I'm lucky Tommaso came to Japan.

He's an expert in all the techniques
of violin repair and maintenance.

He can show me and teach them
to me over a long time.

Tommaso often tells me to be patient.

Tommaso puts more time in his work
than many other artisans.

We put time in our work, so clients too
must be patient, like us.

So, everybody says it:
'This work requires patience.' 3:00 p.m.
A pro violinist and regular client comes by.

As you can see, it's...

It's filthier than usual.

Before the concert, one of the strings came loose. Bridge moved.

OK, I'll do something very gentle, just cleaning a little bit. And make it nicer.

This is a special thing for him.

Wow. It's gone.

I want to just to straighten slightly the bridge.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

He really cares about any instrument.

I've had a lot of instruments fixed by him.

Any repair, it will last for a long time.

It's responding.

I found this blade inside the soil in Cremona, but I knew this was a blade for knives for violin makers. So, I shape it.

So, I made a handle for this blade from olive wood from my family garden.

And, it became my favorite knife.

With it, he's set up the bridge
of thousands of instruments.

And I see the customer happy, or a musician that plays my violin, making nice music and being happy with the violin, this gives me a lot of joy.

So, I think not many people are as happy as I am, as lucky as I am.