鷹匠 松原英俊
Falconer : Matsubara Hidetoshi

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11.training of the hawk 1.
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I have been using hawk eagles for hunting mainly. The hawk eagle is the biggest kind of hawk with 80cm in length, 150cm of wings from tip to tip and it weighs as much as 3kg. It is brave and strong, but on the other hand, very sensitive. It takes you a long time and great patience to train the hawk eagle. It is basically different from teaching tricks to other animals. You have to make the hawk eagle bring back it’s wild nature as well as make it take to you. The way of training the hawk eagle has been handed down from ancient times. It is very complex, and so very difficult to describe it. But I will try to give you an outline of the way to train the hawk eagle
The training starts about one and a half months before the hunting season (around mid-November). The training must be done every year. The hawk eagle is in its wild state and never perches on your arm before the training, no matter how long you and the hawk eagle live together.

First is teaching your hawk to perch on your arm in a dark room where light is completely shut out. In the darkness, even a wild hawk becomes quiet. You have to spend most of your time sitting still with your hawk on your arm for several days. Some hawks may take more than a week. 

When your hawk has calmed down on your arm in the darkness, light a small candle and make your hawk recognize you. And make a room lighter little by little. Until your hawk becomes quiet on your arm in the light, you need more than 20 days even if spending 10 hours a day.

Then you go outdoors with your hawk on your arm to make it accustomed to the outside world. First, in the middle of the night not to excite your hawk. And then, take it into the street in the daytime where lots of people pass by. The important thing at this stage is to walk without shaking your arm. The hawk eagle is heavy, so that it is very hard to do so

If your hawk stays still while you walk outside in the daylight, you are to start training for hunting. First, you have to teach your hawk to return to your arm from far away.

                                Continued   

                             Matsubara Hidetoshi