Appreciation for the bear was shown in some odd ways though. One of the most prized things was a bear cub. When one was captured, the bear cub would be raised among the people, usually left in the care of a woman of the tribe, and it would be brought up almost like family, becoming fully accustomed to the people around it. When the bear reached around 3 years of age, it would be sacrificed, its flesh consumed, and its various parts such as skin and bone made into items of great symbolic power.

The Ainu ritual of “iomante” involved the public sticking of a bear. Since it was believed that the bear was a powerful god, it was thought that the only way to return it to heaven was through torment and death. Yeah, it’s tough to be a god for a brown bear apparently.

Anyway, I don’t want to get off topic, but I thought you might appreciate that information since you asked about the bear and the Ainu.

Hope you enjoyed this article on the Hibagon!

The whole cultural phenomena with the Hibagon specifically started in the 70s. There have always been somewhat similar folkloric mountain creatures in Japan, but these sightings of what was supposedly a very real animal, by ordinary folks in a modern context, right in their own backyards, sparked off the whole Hibagon craze in the public eye. There may have been folkloric traditions of similar creatures in this area before then, but the appearance of the Hibagon marked the first time that the area had ever had what in the view of the general populace was seen as an apparently real, flesh and blood mystery animal. It also marks the first time any creature was specifically called a “Hibagon,” so as far as the creature called Hibagon goes, there is no folklore before the 70s that I am aware of. If you are interested in the relation to this animal in how it pertains to other folkloric or possibly cryptid animals before the 70s, I think as Loren mentioned, it is a good idea to look at this regional animal within the big picture.

Some other little things I’d like to address to the other posters so far.

Dogu4- A few other things on hunting in Japan. In a lot of rural mountain areas, what often goes on is hunting for wild boar. This is not always sport hunting, but rather hunting for food. Wild boar is a prized food source in many mountain locales and some areas have seen an increase in such hunting in recent years. And no, it doesn’t taste bad at all. Deer hunting is somewhat popular in some areas too, and like I said before, Japanese law specifically allows for hunting rifles so that people can pursue this.

DWA- I forgot to mention the road sign you mentioned. I don’t think it is as tongue and cheek as the “sasquatch crossing signs” you mentioned. Some of these areas in Japan with their own local cryptids such as Hibagon, Kappa or Tsuchinoko, actually seem to take pride in the creatures as a sort of symbol of the area, and use their images to promote the locale. Although the sign features a rather cartoonish depiction of the Hibagon, this is just the way Japanese sometimes present the animals and I don’t believe it is any sign of any disrespect.

Another thing to mention about the bears you mentioned. The Japanese black bear’s originally habitat is central Japan. It is thought that their habitat then gradually extended from sub-alpine, coniferous forests to warm temperate broad leaved forests. Sadly, the population of black bears in Japan has dropped quite significantly, and they are no longer found in many areas they used to inhabit. As I said, Japanese black bears have become confined to a few scattered isolated populations and they are on red lists of some local governments. On Honshu (the big island), Japanese black bears are found only in a few isolated pockets in Western Honshu, with their numbers being a bit healthier in Eastern Honshu (the only place where they are in any sort of abundance). The population on the Southern island of Kyushu is extinct, and the one on the island of Shikoku is critically endangered. It isn’t as if the Japanese black bear is particularly widespread or numerous in modern times. In fact, the bears could even face extinction not too far in the future at this rate.

Anyway, the particular area in which the Hibagon was sighted does not have a known population of black bears. That is why I speculate it may have been escaped bears. That or bear populations expanding out from other areas which would actually be good news since the bear population and their habitats in Japan is actually shrinking.

Dogu4- I suppose it is certainly possible that a Japanese macaque could display giganticism. Since it would be a rare occurrence, that could explain the reports concentrated in one area and over a somewhat short span of time. The only problem I find with that is that the descriptions of the creature vary in some reports, so that would imply there was more than one macaque with giganticism. Anyway, it would be a huge macaque.

Hunting still goes on in some areas of Japan and is actually quite popular in rural mountain areas, which is where the Hibagon was sighted. As a matter of fact, the strict gun laws in the country only allow the purchase of hunting rifles for civilians.

DWA- The Japanese black bears Ursus thibetanus japonicusare actually a subspecies of the Asiatic black bear Ursus thibetanus. I suppose I should make it more clear what I meant by an escaped Asiatic black bear. Japanese black bears are found on Honshu island, but they have been reduced to a few isolated sub populations and are not found all over their previous range. The black bear is not really known in area where the Hibagon was sighted, or rather they are not believed to presently be found there. So if this was a bear, it was either an escaped one or it was a sort of cryptid in its own right. Also, many Japanese do not regularly see black bears in the wild, as they are rare in many areas. Most exposure to black bears is in zoos with the American variety, so seeing the Asiatic variety might be surprising since they differ from the American black bears they are used to seeing.

About the bipedal locomotion, please remember I said “stints” of bipedalism, not long walks. I’ve personally seen black bears shamble along for short distances, especially when they are curious about something (like a Hibagon curious about a human in its habitat?). But you are right, it is hard to imagine a bear fitting the descriptions given of Hibagon running, walking, and even hopping.

I see what you are saying about the lack of sightings before the 70s, and that was my initial reaction as well. It still is somewhat of a point of contention. However, Loren has a point. Japanese folklore is full of creatures that could be at least passingly be compared to the Hibagon. The mountain areas in particular have their share of stories of various mountain demons, goblins, and trolls in addition to the ones Loren mentions, some of which could compare with the Hibagon. So for example one man’s Oni could be another man’s Hibagon.

The reason I didn’t imply a larger context is because I just wanted to focus on this particular case on its own merit, and give as much information on it as possible in a post of reasonable length without delving into all of the potential folkloric elements or connections. As you say, my intent was to show the range and describe the creature in question. However, the direction you and Loren have taken the discussion is also of great interest to me.

As far as the range, nearly all reports come from the areas in Hiroshima surrounding Mount Hiba. Sightings are scattered, but it is not so much a considerably wider area than you might suppose. There are other regional names for the creature, but the whole phenomena occurred in a relatively concentrated area in Japan. The map I provided marks the official eyewitness sightings in red, and the footprints that were found in blue. They are all clumped into Northern Hiroshima prefecture, where Mt. Hiba is located, and Mt. Hiba is ground zero for the outbreaks of sightings.

Anyway, I agree that it is definitely interesting how all of these sightings and photos are concentrated in the 70s and early 80s.

But that is certainly not stated, nor is it implied by either the blog title or much of its text, particularly that first paragraph, which compares the Hibagon directly to other generically reported hairy hominoids. It is also rumored to come from a considerably wider area than its namesake mountain. A fair way to summarize the blog is: Japan’s counterpart to the sasquatch or yeti, the Hibagon, appears to have the following range and characteristics.

It certainly sounds like no Kappa to me.

Consistency is important in science. If the Hibagon is of a piece with other Japanese hairy hominoids (the Mu Jima for instance), their general absence from the blog raises eyebrows.