翻訳 65 (w)
The Ueno Zoo black leopard incident (上野動物園クロヒョウ脱出事件, ueno dо̄butsuen kurohyо̄ dassо̄ jiken) occurred early on the morning of July 25, 1936, when a female black leopard escaped from Ueno Zoo [1][2][3]. The black leopard was captured around 12 and a half hours later, and her escape resulted in no major damage [1]. The incident had a significant impact on the public, and occurred in the same year as the so called “Abe Sada incident” and the February 26 attempted coup [1][2][3]. The incident is said to have influenced the subsequent culling of animals at Ueno Zoo during World War Two [4][5].
1 Incident
1.1 Background
1.2 Incident
1.3 Discovery and capture
1.4 Causes
1.5 Reaction
1.6 Ramifications
1.7 After the incident
Background
The female black leopard in question was captured in the wild in Siam (later the Kingdom of Thailand) [1][3][6]. She was gifted to Japan after an economic mission to Siam headed by businessman Yasukawa Yūnosuke, and on May 18, 1936, she landed in Kawasaki and was transported by truck to Ueno Zoo [1][5][6]. She was 1.3 meters long, weighed 52.5 kg and was six years old. She was placed in the wild animal enclosures at Ueno Zoo [1][2][3][6]. As she was gifted soon after she had been captured, the black leopard was unfamiliar with humans and artificial environments, and as a result she would often remain in a dark corner of her sleeping area and did not venture out for exercise [1][2][3].
Ten days prior to her escape, in the severe heat of July, the black leopard is said to have displayed poor appetite [3][6].
Incident
On July 24, anxious about the condition of the black leopard and with the idea that she might emerge from the sleeping area during the night, Ueno Zoo Chief Engineer and zoo keeper Koga Tadamichi left the partition door to the outside space open for the first time [1][2][3][6]. Koga was on duty that night [3] and noted no peculiar observations on his 2am patrols.
By 5am patrols the next morning, the black leopard had disappeared [1]. In response to the situation, around 100 members of staff were immediately enlisted to search for the black leopard, though this proved unsuccessful, and the decision was made to temporarily close the zoo [1][6].
Ueno Zoo reported the black leopard's escape to Ueno police station and the Ueno Kenpeitai (military police) [1]. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Emergency Service Unit, which also went by the name “Shinsengumi,” was deployed, and two dogs from the First Military Dog Training Center in Akabane and The Association for the Preservation of Japanese Dogs were also used in the search [1][4][6]. The search was also joined by hunting club firearm units and civil defence units, and became a large-scale operation involving over 700 people. It was said to have been the biggest disturbance since that created by the Shо̄gitai elite samurai shock infantry in the Boshin War of 1868-1869 [1][6].
The general public were denied access to Ueno Zoo, and the search continued under a state of high alert [6]. What was thought to have been a black leopard footprint was discovered close to the zoo and nearby art school (that later became Tokyo University of the Arts), near the entrance of where the Senkawa Canal enters an open conduit from a closed conduit [1]. Search efforts focused on parts of the closed conduit located inside Ueno Zoo, and work to open each manhole cover one by one began [1].
Discovery and capture
At 2.35pm the same day, under a manhole on a path in a plaza called Nihon Sugihara housing Tokyo Prefectural Art Museum (later Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum) and the Park Office, Ueno Zoo staff saw the glint of the black leopard's eye shining in the darkness [1][3]. With this discovery, the capture operation began. An obstacle was installed under the next manhole in order to cut off any potential escape route.
The team concocted a plan to corner the black leopard by making a kind of shield out of boards to fit the size of the conduit and using tokoroten jelly [1][3]. Their strategy was to drive out the black leopard with the smoke of an oil torch that was inserted into a hole in the center of the shield [1][3]. The job of pushing the shield fell to Harada Kunitarо̄, Ueno Zoo boiler engineer.
An article in the July 26 edition of the Yomiuri Shimbun described Harada as having won first prize in a contest to ride and pacify a wild and unruly horse when he was in the heavy artillery unit in Yokosuka, and also having attained the second highest rank of Ōzeki in Yanaka district's amateur sumo wrestling league [1][3].
The cover was removed and a pen with a net over it was set up at the manhole where the black leopard had been discovered [1][3]. Harada accessed the conduit from the entrance where the footprints had been discovered and walked further in while pushing the shield. Having lost any method of escape and subjected to the smoke, the black leopard jumped out of the manhole and was finally captured at 5.35pm [1][3]. Despite around 12 and half hours having passed from the time her disappearance had been discovered and her recapture, no harm came to either the black leopard or any people [1][3].
Causes
Akiyama Masami, author of “Shо̄wa Era History of Zoos,” was at the time in first grade at elementary school, and traveled from where he lived in Shibadaimon to Ueno Zoo many times to see the black leopard [8]. According to Akiyama, the black leopard herself was nowhere to be seen the first few times he visited, despite a sign reading “Black leopard” on the iron railings [8]. Akiyama did not give up and continued to visit Ueno Zoo, finally being able to confirm the black leopard's existence on one visit when he glimpsed the rear of the black leopard partially hidden near the entrance to the outside enclosure [8].
Akiyama happened to see the black leopard again occasionally on further visits [8]. He described how the black leopard crawled onto a concrete-made rock, and there almost entirely stopped moving. While Akiyama watched on, she climbed to a place high up near the ceiling of the enclosure, and as if suspended in mid-air, was again motionless [8]. Akiyama said, “In retrospect, the zoo staff should have noticed a little earlier that the black leopard wanted to climb to high up places” [8].
The wild animal enclosures at Ueno Zoo have outdoor areas where no roofs block sunlight [8]. Instead, a combination of radiating extending iron rods provide full cover above the outdoor area in place of a roof [8]. There were gaps of various widths between the iron bars of the “ceiling,” which included one gap big enough for the black leopard's head to fit through [1][8][6]. Black fur was found in several areas nearby, and it was confirmed that this was where the black leopard escaped from [2][8]. It was also later established that the iron bars used for the ceiling were slightly thinner than the iron bars used in the outer circumference of the enclosure [8][6].
Reaction
The black leopard's escape was reported in all newspapers the day after on July 26. The Yomiuri Shimbun published the story in its social section under the headlines, “High drama! Live capture of a black leopard // After the labors of heat and water // A hero emerges // A victory of the tokoroten strategy and its superhuman strength” [3]. The Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun went with, “Black leopard escapes // A midsummer thrill in the capital!” and devoted the majority of its social section to the story [5]. The headlines in the Tokyo Asahi Shimbun were, “Fear ripples through the capital // Black leopard from Ueno Zoo breaks out of its cage and escapes // Two companies of Shinsengumi deployed,” and so on, with the incident being a major story in every paper [1][3][5].
Ueno Zoo ran an apology notice in the same July 26 newspapers.
“Apology
In the early morning of yesterday, the twenty fifth, a black leopard (female) being kept at Ueno Zoo escaped. We apologize to all citizens for the deep concerns this raised. The black leopard was discovered hiding inside a drain in the zoo and was captured unharmed the same day at 5.35pm and returned to its cage. Please rest assured.
Ueno Zoo, City of Tokyo
To all citizens [1][3][6]”
Ueno Zoo also published a letter of apology in the official bulletin of the City of Tokyo on August 1 in addition to this apology notice [6]. The letter of apology expressed gratitude to the public over the incident and stated that they would take all possible measures in the future [6].
The writer Yoshimura Akira was in the third grade at elementary school at the time of the incident [5]. He was born in Nippori, not far from Ueno Zoo, and was still living there in 1936 [5]. July 25 was the first Sunday of the summer break, and news of the black leopard's escape spread across town quickly [5]. Radio broadcasts stressed the ferocity of the black leopard and repeatedly warned people to be vigilant [5][9]. This resulted in uproar in the local area, and all neighborhood associations set about giving people advice to fasten their doors and refrain from going outside. Although Yoshimura was in such a house with its storm shutters fastened, he was terrified of the prospect of the black leopard bursting through the door at any moment [5].
News finally came that the black leopard had been captured, and Yoshimura ventured outside [5]. Neighbors also expressed relief when they heard the news [5]. For a long time, Yoshimura believed that the black leopard had been discovered in a cavity in the elevated tracks of the Keisei Electric Railway between Nippori and Uguisudani [5]. Years later, Yoshimura re-read a copy of the Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun published at the time and realized he had misremembered events [5]. Yoshimura said that this discovery made him “grasp the uncertain nature of memory” [5].
Sawada Yoshiko, who worked at Ueno Zoo for many years, recorded the memories she had of experiencing this event as a girl [9][10][2]. At the time, the Sawada family lived very close to Ueno Zoo. On the morning of the incident, Sawada's father said that something strange had happened, as the back gate of the zoo that was normally open was closed [2][9]. A short time later, zoo staff visited the house to inform the family of the black leopard's escape, and her father, who was chairman of the neighborhood association, got to work contacting people in the neighborhood [2][9].
As time went on, more people were aware of the need to be vigilant [9]. As Sawada's sister talked of how she had to prepare the evening meal ahead of time that day and it was essential to keep the shutters closed even if it was hot, they received news of the black leopard's capture [2][9]. As evening began, zoo staff who lowered the Ueno Zoo paper lanterns visited the house. Staff visited houses in the area to offer apologies to residents until late into the night[2][9].
Komori Atsushi, author of “Another History of Ueno Zoo,” said, with regards to this incident, “When asked about their memories of that time, the majority of people said they felt scared and kept their storm shutters closed for around a week” [1]. Even if it was explained that the disappearance only lasted 12 and a half hours, there were still people who claimed that this had not been the case [1]. Komori went on to say, “This is a true indication of the size of the incident's impact on the consciousness of the public” [1]. The escape of the black leopard is referred to as one of the “three major incidents of 1936,” alongside the February 26 attempted coup and Abe Sada case [1][2][3].
Ramifications
A deer escaped from Ueno Zoo on July 30, only five days after the escape of the black leopard [1][3]. The female deer had been donated in January of that year, and at 11am on July 30, escaped from the entrance to the sleeping area. She ran around Ueno Zoo, and got as far as a clothing store in Ueno Hirokо̄ji before being seized among a crowd of people [3]. Fukuda Saburо̄, acting director at Ueno Zoo, took custody of the deer at Yamashita police box, but while transporting her to Ueno police station, at 11.40am, the deer suffered a heart attack and died [3].
Koga Tadamichi, Chief Engineer and zookeeper, informally tendered his resignation in a move to take responsibility for the successive escape incidents [3]. Koga was not dismissed, although he was issued with a penalty fine of five yen as an administrative measure on October 31 in accordance with City Regulation 89, article 2 [2][3]. Koga's annual salary at the time was 1,800 yen [3]. Acting director Fukuda was officially reprimanded on October 30, while the zookeeper in charge of deer was penalized with a 30 day two tenths of a yen (or twenty sen in old money) reduction in daily wages on November 15 [3]. This was the first time that administrative penalties had been issued against a zookeeper for an animal's escape [3]. For his efforts in the black leopard's capture, Harada Kunitarо̄ received a special bonus on October 30 of five yen [1][2][3].
Inoshita Kiyoshi, section chief for public parks, submitted a written report to Tokyo Mayor Ushizuka Toratarо̄ on July 26 [6]. Construction of emergency facilities was subsequently carried out at a cost of 8,570 yen [6]. This included a complete set of alarm equipment, three mobile floodlights, installation of an additional eight electrical outlets and lock modifications [6]. The wild animal enclosures gained 430 square meters of wire mesh [6].
After the incident
The black leopard lived for approximately another four years after the incident, and died on May 12, 1940, of a tumor on her lower jaw [2].
The incident is said to have had an impact on the subsequent culling of animals at Ueno Zoo during World War Two [4][5]. On August 16, 1943, Ōdachi Shigeo, Administrator of Tokyo, ordered the slaughter of animals in zoos, including Ueno Zoo [11]. Ueno Zoo complied, culling 27 animals of 14 species, including elephants, lions, tigers, bears, leopards and poisonous snakes [11].
On hearing of the cull, Yoshimura Akira understood how it would be dangerous if the animals escaped during an air raid, recalling the panic caused by the black leopard's escape, though when he later learned of the failed attempts to poison the elephants and their eventual starvation, Yoshimura found the events intolerable [5].
After World War Two, several Indian elephants escaped from enclosures in 1967 and 1977, and on June 1, 2010, a Japanese macaque escaped [12]. Animal escape counter-measure training takes place at Ueno Zoo and Tama Zoological Park every other year [12].
