Pure Japan, Sado

Noh was established in the 14th century by Zeami (1363-1443). Feudal lords became patrons of Noh and protected the performers. Noh is the soul of stage art in Japan, and most of its programs reflect the Japanese view of life and death. Japanese have believed that the soul of people who have died with animosity in their hearts wander in this world and make others ill or cause natural disasters. There are many Noh programs which describe the process of soothing these wandering souls. This religious side of Noh has also been handed down to Kabuki, or Jyoruri, which has become more popular.

On Sado, Noh has traditionally been more loved than Kabuki. It developed independently from the original style in that both the performers and the audience are farmers. They gather and perform to please the gods and soothe the souls of the dead. This type of performance cannot be seen in other places in Japan. Every year in June, Takigi Noh, dedicated to deities, is performed on Noh stages which are attached to village shrines, a feature rarely seen in other places in Japan.

For a certain time, Sado was an island of banishment where political prisoners were sent. Zeami, who had been involved in the power struggle of Kyoto and was exiled, arrived on Sado when he was very old. It is not known whether he died on Sado or returned to Kyoto where he spent his last days. However, his soul must have been purified by the people of Sado.

The Toki is a beautiful bird with wings of a special pink color called "Toki-iro" in Japanese. This name was given to the specimen taken by the German doctor Siebold (1796-1855) who visited Japan in 1820-?. Toki were found everywhere in Japan, but after 1868, when the Edo era ended and the Meiji era began, the number of Toki decreased drastically. This was partly because the strict rule of hunting in prohibited areas established by Edo Bakufu was broken, and the Toki was excessively hunted, not for its meat but for its beautiful feathers which were exported to foreign countries. Also due to their large size, Toki pushed down the stalks of rice when they swooped down to feed in the paddies and were considered destructive birds in many places and were killed. Consequently, they became extinct. Or so it was thought.

The people of Sado had not known that Toki was considered to be an extinct species. They were not bothered by the inconvenience caused by the Toki, and they carefully plowed their small terraced paddy fields among the Tanada mountains, so the feeding grounds of Toki were always abundant. In the 1930s it was confirmed that Toki were living on Sado. At that time Japan was engaged in warfare in the Asia continent and then entered into the Pacific war. Under those circumstances there was no time to protect precious wild animals, but people on Sado protected the Toki.

But the Toki on Sado began to decrease in number. It was thought that the small creatures Toki had fed on might have declined because of herbicides used on the paddy fields. The villagers worked together to limit the use of agricultural chemicals in order to increase the food supply for the Toki. But the Toki on Sado also faced extinction. In 1980, the last wild Toki was caught on the island.

To save the Toki, China presented to the Japanese imperial family some of their own ibis birds. A captive breeding program was successful, and the Toki has increased in number. In 2008 ten Toki were set free in a Sado field with the hope that this experiment would return the once extinct Toki to its natural state. People on Sado are trying to maintain healthy feeding grounds for the birds by decreasing agricultural chemicals in paddy fields and making an environment where every creature, including the Toki and human beings, can live together.