Where is the Beast Now?
The Bear’s Pelt
The Sankebetsu Incident became well-known around the area, and the next year, an actor-led theatrical performance, conceived as a benefit for the affected families, was performed in Rumoi and other cities by the Kyōei Theatrical Troupe of Onishika (promoted by Mikami Tomikazu). For those performances, the bear pelt was used. It was brought by Hayashi Taruyoshi, a member of the exterminators, who also performed in the play as an extra.
The bear pelt was used, in Onishika in particular, by the grandfather of Kawamura Jirobei, who at the time was staying in Sapporo. Kawamura, who saw the play as a child, said that it left a great impression on him. He recalls, in particular, light bulbs glowing in the bear’s eye sockets behind a screen. However, Yamamoto Heikichi and other exterminators who saw the play were apparently dissatisfied, on account of its clumsy portrayal of some essential scenes.
This play did not have a long run. It might have been because the barbarity of the subject matter could not grasp an audience, or it might have been that the theatre was advised to stop by the authorities. Even now nobody can say for sure.
Now, to touch on the whereabouts of the pelt at hand. There is an article which mentions generous compensation for the seven shooters in the exterminators. “Ten Gold for the Exterminators” was published in the Otaru Newspaper on the 29th of December: “The previously reported bear attacks in Sankebetsu have been brought to an end by a team of seven shooters from the same frontier area. They were awarded ten gold pieces (at the time, fifty yen) each in gratitude, and they plan to give their prize to those who suffered due to the bear’s attacks (at present, fifty people).”
From this it is clear that the bear was sold off. From the high price we can surmise that this included the bear’s pelt and organs. Given that the pelt was being used in a play sponsored by an industrial group, we can assume that the carcass ended up in the hands of an industrialist. What happened to it afterwards is totally unknown, but given the size of the bear and therefore the pelt, it is too big to simply misplace. It may have been lost in a fire, or passed through a series of owners and today is carefully stored in a wrapped box, its owner unaware of what he possesses.
According to one person, “it was installed by the Bureau of Hokkaidō Colonization as a cultural treasure in the museum on the grounds of the Hokkaidō University Botanical Gardens.” With somebody having witnessed this pelt with their own eyes, I contacted Professor Abe Eisuke (current head of said museum). The professor said that there was no truth to the pelt being in the museum, and that my source must have been mistaken. (A mounted bear responsible for the Okadama Incident is installed in the museum.)
If any readers have any idea as to the whereabouts of the pelt, I would deeply appreciate the information.
The Bear’s Skull
The bear’s skull ended up in the hands of the late Kamimaki Kutarō. In 1931 and 1932, Kamimaki was working away from home as a foreman. He was employed by Asahikawa National Railway (today Asahikawa Railway Bureau) to manage the extension of the Haboro and Onishika-Kotanbetsu lines. During this time he struck up a close friendship with another official staying in Kotanbetsu. Therefore, as Kaminaki later told his son (currently chief of the Asahikawa office of the Imperial Household Forestry Agency), when the official left, he gave Kaminaki the skull as a parting gift. Since it was so long ago, investigating the identity of the official is impossible. Kaminaki’s son keeps one canine from the skull as a memento, but in 1934 the skull was being displayed in Hakodate, where it was destroyed during the Great Hakodate Fire. The canine bears fractures from where the bear bit down on the hot rock.
The Bear’s Bones
A sole piece of the skeleton remains, which was passed down to the current owner.
In 1961, when I conducted my investigation, what had at the time been a swamp was now the site of the teachers’ dormitory on the grounds of the elementary school in Sankei. I had many witnesses to the fact that after the autopsy, the bear’s bones, with the exception of the skull, had been scattered into the swamp. I daresay that an excavation would likely turn up something.
The Bear’s Flesh
With the exception of a portion which was given to the injured and the families of those killed, the bear meat was boiled up in a big pot. There were those who were hesitant at first, as well as those who were eager to rip into the bear as a sort of retribution for what it had done to its victims. According to opinions at the time, it did not taste bad.
Some present licked the fresh blood from the bear’s ribcage, causing those sitting nearby to avert their eyes.
According to the son of a blacksmith from Tomamae who partook in the bear soup, when the night began the families were in a frenzy of tearing into the bear meat with their bare hands, but as time passed they started to yearn for utensils. This only added to the danger. Furthermore, their behavior was becoming hardly different from that of the bear’s. The son, distraught, went to Myōsen-ji Temple in Tomamae, where he received divining rods and the presence of an oracle to dispel the “curse of the bear.” According to the oracle, the son’s relatives should pray until dawn, then tear up a thin sheet of paper. Things should return to normal in a few days. People trembled in fear at the thought of the beast, even in death.
It was rumored that the bear’s guts were either granted to Yamamoto Heikichi, the bear killer, or distributed to all the matagi hunters and those at headquarters.