Unvolved Cases/Incidents Tuesday — Sankebetsu Brown Bear Incident (三毛別羆事件)
Note: the following is compiled from my past Tweets (7/19/2022)
Write as “Sanketsubetsu Higuma Jiken(三毛別羆事件)” and widely recognized as the worst animal hazard that erupted in Japan, 1915(Taisho 4), from December 9th to 14th, in Tomaecho(苫前町), Hokkaido.
Seven dead, three badly injured. Here’s the timeline. A strayed brown bear sneaked into Saburo Ohta(太田三郎)’s house and instantly killed his wife Mayu(マユ) and adopted Mikio(幹雄) on the 9th, before sunset.
There was a big hole in Mikio’s head. The bear dragged Mayu’s body and disappeared. On the morning of the 10th, a search party was formed and immediately encountered the bear. Only one shotgun could fire. The bear fled.
Later, the search party found Mayu’s torn foot and her partial cranial. On that night, Mayu and Mikio’s funeral was held. Nine family/relative members participated. Then, around 8:30pm, the bear trespassed.
The bear crushed the coffins and dispersed the body parts. Under the chaotic situation, the participants successfully escaped. Then, the bear headed to the Myoukei(明景) family’s house just 500 yards distance.
12 people including Take Saito(斉藤タケ, 34)’s fetus were present in the house. The bear mercilessly attacked them.
Kinzo Myoukei(明景金蔵, 3), Take’s sons Gen(巌, 6), Haruyoshi(春義, 3), herself, and her fetus were massacred. According to the witnesses, at 8:50pm, Take begged mercy not to kill her fetus. Yet, the bear ate her alive.
Take’s stomach was torn, and her fetus was hauled. Yet, no trace of bear attacks. When the neighbors with shotguns fired warning shots, the bear escaped and disappeared into dark forests.
A total of 5 people were killed in a single night. The Myoukei family’s Yayo(ヤヨ, 34), Umekichi(梅吉, 1), and a male caregiver Youkichi Nagamatsu(長松要吉, 59), were severely wounded.
On December 12th, Hokkaido Prefectural Police Department(北海道警察) went down to the village of Sankebetsu(三毛別), now Tomaecho(苫前町), to “Hunt.”
Since the bear relished the taste of human flesh, the Hokkaido police begged the bereaved to use the family members’ remains to lure the bear. Yet, the bear didn’t go off its guard. No results were made on the 12th.
All 40 people of the Sankebetsu village were evacuated. On the 13th, 8 houses without a human were violated by the bear. 30 members of the 28th Infantry Regiment(歩兵第28連隊) were additionally deployed.
Wounded, the bear was finally hunted on the 14th. A total of 600 punitive force members, 10+ guard dogs, and 60 guns were employed in 3 days.
When its dissection began by the villagers, a violent storm suddenly hit the village. They called it “Kumaarashi(熊嵐)=the bear storm.” As the dissection progressed, they discovered pieces of human flesh and cloth.
Despite its horrific nature, the incident was quickly forgotten and nearly buried. Yet, Moritake Kimura(木村盛武), a nonfiction writer from Sapporo, gathered evidence and sources. He interviewed 30 people concerned.
1965, Kimura integrated his research and published a detailed article about the incident in Asahikawa’s local magazine “Kantairin(寒帯林).” It was the first time exposure of the incident to a broader audience.
Kimura edited his research and published a nonfiction book in 1994, titled “The Valley of Shrieking, the Worst Atrocious Bear Attack in Hokkaido(慟哭の谷 北海道三毛別・史上最悪のヒグマ襲撃事件).”
Due to its dense quality, Kimura’s book in 1994 helped raise the recognition of the incident nationwide. Now, the Sankebetsu incident is often picked by TV special programs focusing on Japan’s horrific happenings.
Tonight got a lot to go with just a single animal hazard incident. Now, Tomaecho(苫前町) features the historical museum of the incident. If you have a chance to visit Hokkaido, challenge these spots by walking alone.
