Deer--and Possibly Wolves--in Japan

choi

Chester Dawson, If the Japanese Diet Included Deer, It Might Keep Wolves From the Door; As the Ruminants Run Rampant, Nation Considers Introducing Predators, Venison Lunches. Wall Street Journal, Dec 29, 2012 (front page)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB ... 59161374684432.html
("Wolf advocates submitted a petition with 94,468 signatures to the Environment Ministry in April. It urged the ministry to import and release Tibetan wolves, which are regarded as genetically close to the wolves once roaming Japan")

Note:
(a) The English surname Dawson means son of Daw, which is "a pet form of David."

(b) Yasuke HASHIMOTO 橋本 祐輔, mayor of a small hamlet Bungo-Ono

Bungo-ōno, Ōita 大分県 豊後大野市
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bungo-%C5%8Dno,_%C5%8Cita
(The city was founded on March 31, 2005 as a result of the merger between the municipalities of Asaji 朝地町, Chitose 千歳村, Inukai 犬飼町, Kiyokawa 清川村, Mie 三重町, Ogata 緒方町 and Ōno (all from Ōno District 大野郡))

* 豊後大野市
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8 ... 7%E9%87%8E%E5%B8%82
(市名は福井県大野市との同名回避のため旧国名の豊後が付いた)

translation: After the 2005 merger, the new city wanted to avoid confusion with another city 福井県大野市, by adding the province name 豊後 in front of the city name.  
* Bungo Province 豊後国
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bungo_Province
(At the end of 7th century, Toyo Province 豊国 was split into Buzen 豊前国  (literally, "the front of Toyo") and Bungo 豊後 ("the back of Toyo"))

(c) shiitake
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiitake
(section 1 Taxonomy and naming; Shiitake are native to Japan, China and Korea and have been grown in all three countries since prehistoric times. The oldest record regarding the shiitake mushroom dates back to CE 199 at the time of Emperor Chūai 仲哀 天皇 in Japan)
(d) Paragraph 1 stated, " The town is one of the country's top producers of shiitake mushrooms, but they are also popular with local deer. And that's the rub."

rub:
(vt): "ANNOY; IRRITATE"
(n): "1 c : something grating to the feelings (as a gibe or harsh criticism)
d : something that mars serenity"
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rub

(e) Japan Wolf Association (JWA)  一般社団法人 日本オオカミ協会
http://www.japan-wolf.org/

* ookami オオカミ 《狼》 【おおかみ】 (n): "wolf (carnivore, Canis lupus)"
* Paragraph 3 of this WSJ report mentioned " Canis lupus hodophilax," which is a subspecies of the wolf species Canis lupus, where "canis" and "lupus" are Latin for "dog" and "wold," respectively.
* Honshu wolf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honshu_wolf
(known in Japan as 日本狼; one of the two extinct subspecies of the gray wolf once endemic to the islands of Japan;  the smallest known wild subspecies of Canis lupus)
* chairman Naoki Maruyama  会長　　  丸山 直樹（東京農工大学名誉教授）

(f) Marutei TSURUNEN  弦念 丸呈
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsurunen_Marutei
(1940-; born Martti TURUNEN in Finland; the first foreign-born Japanese of European origin serving as a member of the Diet of Japan; a member of the Democratic Party of Japan 民主党;  currently serving in the House of Councillors  参議院)

* Click the first item in section 4 External links, adn you will see his photo.

(g) Toru Nagano, an official in the environment ministry
永野 徹 (室長補佐)/  環境省
(h) The report talked about "Japanese, or sika, deer."

Actually, "sika" is an English word whose original in Japanese is

shika 鹿 【しか】 (n): "deer (esp. the sika deer, Cervus nippon)"

(i) Regarding "Yoichi KODAMA."  The Japanese surname Kodama could be 児玉. For example, one of the noted Governor-General of Taiwan 臺灣總督 was KODAMA Gentarō 兒玉 源太郎.
(j) The report also referred to "Japan Gibier (Wild Game) Promotion Association."

* The "gibier" is a French noun (masculine) for "game" or (figuratively) prey.
(k) The Japanese surname Takeuchi is 竹内 or 武内.
(l) Wolf Children Ame and Yuki  おおかみこどもの雨と雪,  
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_Children_Ame_and_Yuki

* kodomo  子供 【こども】 (n): "child; children"  (that is because Japanese, like Chinese, does not add a suffix at teh end of a noun to signify a plural form).
* ame 雨
* to と: "and"
* yuki 雪