05_ Kanzan Jittoku (Maizuru City)
- 4 days ago
- 8 min read
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Introducing producers from Tango
Maizuru City
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05_ Kanzan Jittoku
He accept the gray area.
The lifestyle that Hanshan and Shide aimed for:
living within one's means.
A delicacy made from venison that you trap, butcher, and age yourself.
*This article contains photographic records of hunting and butchering sites.
Please be aware that this documentary records the unvarnished reality of a workplace where lives are at stake.
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In the mountains early in the morning in mid-April
It was a mid-April morning, and the wind blowing across the mountains carried a faint chill of morning air.
Bright sunlight streamed into the foothills of Maizuru, and the trees were beginning to glow with the freshness of new leaves.
Stepping over the wet grass beneath my feet, I followed behind the hunter, Yusuke Shimizu.
Crawling my way up the slope, I found a trap—the kind that hooks around the ankle—that had been precisely targeted and set a few days earlier.
One of them had a small deer caught in it.
Mr. Shimizu uses a "shackle" to capture them.
I found a fawn in the trap I had set, having determined it by looking at the footprints on the fence and the brown, overgrown animal trails.
Shimizu san picked up a blunt instrument and, with confident movements, knocked the deer unconscious.
The deer let out a small cry.
He pinned the deer down, held its head down, and grabbed it by the neck with a knife.
Along with the overflowing blood, the body heat of the living creatures returns to the mountains.
The body that had been moving until the very end became still, and the small, wide-open pupils...
It quietly signaled the end of its life.
It proceeds steadily.
"Someone has to do it."
Shimizu san murmured softly and skillfully scattered bait to lure in the next deer. As a trapper, he enters the mountains and is in the midst of this reality every day. However, the deer he killed today will not become "food" that ends up on our plates.
It was small in size and had been damaged.
Only about 25% of a deer's body is usable as meat for humans. Deer that are too small, or those with deep wounds from being caught in traps that have reduced meat quality, cannot be processed into high-quality meat and are taken to incinerators. He drives his car without turning a blind eye to this reality. There, one finds the quiet reality of hunting, a practice that cannot be dismissed with platitudes.
The bait isn't scattered just anywhere; it's used in specific, targeted locations. The deer, still warm from the outside, are then taken to the incineration facility.
To confirm whether the captured animal is eligible for government subsidies, supporting documents are submitted. The tail is cut off as it serves as evidence.
According to the regulations of the local hunting association in Maizuru City, the processing of captured animals must be carried out by two people.
The hunting site I witnessed clearly showed the harsh reality of life and death that we often pretend not to see in our daily lives. He calmly accepted this scene and transformed it into something tangible within himself. Watching him, I pondered what it truly means to create our own way of life with our own hands. I spoke with him about the philosophy he embodies through his work as a hunter.
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A ten-year journey of living within one's means, which began with a desire for revenge.
It was about 10 years ago that Shimizu san and his family moved to this area. After dropping out of university, he saved money by working as a temporary employee, underwent a year of agricultural training, and after many twists and turns, he finally arrived here. However, it wasn't from a noble cause or a spirit of environmental protection that motivated him from the beginning. The trigger was an extremely personal "desire for revenge" against those who had ruined the crops he had carefully cultivated.
The damage caused by wild animals to Japanese farmers is so severe that some people bitterly lament, "If it means protecting our crops, we'll do whatever it takes to reduce the number of wild animals." Faced with crops brutally destroyed overnight, he felt indignant as a victim himself, and in order to resist, he obtained a trapping license and began setting traps. That was the starting point of Shimizu san's career as a hunter.
However, as he continued to experience all aspects of "the reality of life" with all his senses—setting traps, taking lives, and butchering their flesh—his desire for revenge quietly began to change.
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When we buy pre-cut meat, the raw act of "taking a life" is removed from the process. We rarely have the opportunity to learn where the meat we eat originally came from. Furthermore, there is a certain social ethic that says, "It's cruel to kill animals," or "Isn't killing them just human ego?"
(However, the hunting environment in which Shimizu works cannot be run solely on the ethical principle of "it's cruel to kill." For farmers, pest control, which is (justified) in order to protect their livelihoods, is still an act of taking a life.)
The question, "Isn't killing an act of ego?" and the reality, "We cannot live without taking a life." Hunting, a livelihood where these two conflicting perspectives intertwine, can be described as he's "gray zone" workplace.
What Shimizu san arrived at was not to rush to a conclusion on one side or the other. Rather, she deliberately chose this ambiguous situation as the center of her life. Although she sometimes did not receive understanding from those around her, she established the only food processing facility for human consumption in Maizuru City and has remained committed to "enjoying the lives that have been given to us." I feel that this is an honest philosophy of "living within one's means and within one's reach."
In the hand that he quietly grips the blade, there is a firm "answer" that is different from societal notions of good and evil.
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Kanzan, a butcher shop in the mountains, and the finest venison aged for 10 to 20 days.
Processing plant “Kanzan”
Kanzan, the mountain butcher shop run by Shimizu san, is not just a place that specializes in butchering and selling game meat . The deer that are hunted are carefully butchered by him and aged for a long period of two to three weeks. This period dramatically changes the taste of the venison. The excess moisture is removed, and the concentrated umami and rich aroma brought out by the aging process can only be produced in this place.
The deer's antlers, organs, bones, and hide. Minimizing waste and using every part of the animal to the fullest extent possible. This is both an act of consideration for the environment and a way of acknowledging the loss of life.
The core of Mr. Shimizu's commitment: "Drying" the carcass (after skinning and removing internal organs).
The aging process at the processing plant "Kanzan" transforms the meat into a specialty product.
Shimizu san does not choose mass production aimed at a broad audience. By firmly adhering to the principle of "not producing in large quantities," he imbues each piece of meat with uncompromising value. He serves discerning restaurants, artists, and individuals who truly appreciate the essence of this meat. This small business, conducted within a network of personal relationships, embodies not just sustainable management, but the aesthetic of an independent craftsman.
Processed venison. Some of this is also used in "venison chili oil" and "venison miso."
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Hanshan and Shide: A "gray area"
The inn "Shide" is located just a short drive from the processing plant "Kanshan." This unusual name is derived from two legendary and eccentric monks, Kanshan and Shide, who lived during the Tang Dynasty in China.
Hanshan and Shide: Hanshan and Shide are two legendary figures from the Tang Dynasty in China, who are said to have lived at Guoqing Temple on Mount Tiantai, performing odd jobs and cleaning. They were known for their unusual appearance, and for repeatedly using words and actions that were incomprehensible to ordinary people. Hanshan's poems, which criticize the secular world and the corrupted Buddhist world, still exist. Later, their unconventional lifestyle and rebellious spirit came to be revered in the world of Zen, and they became popular subjects in East Asian painting.
Source: ColBase/National Institutes for Cultural Heritage Integrated Search System/ https://colbase.nich.go.jp/collection_items/tnm/TA-148?locale=ja
Accessed: 2026.06.20
Shimizu san did not choose this name simply for aesthetic reasons. He chose the "gray" realm of life, which cannot be definitively classified as good or evil, as the core of his life. He stepped slightly outside the ethical framework that society speaks of—that is, the manualized framework that tries to resolve things in a simple black and white way, such as "Is killing good or evil?"—and continued his daily life of trapping, butchering, and eating animals, drawing parallels between his own demeanor and that of those eccentric monks who once turned their backs on conventional wisdom.
Another location to which Shimizu san returns after finishing his hunt: the inn "Jittoku".
A space nestled in a quiet rural area, where folk art comes into play.
There's a reason why he accepts hunting experiences at her inn and gives interviews to the media. He's not trying to loudly proclaim, "Get to know me!" He simply feels that a small "window to the outside world" is necessary in the way she lives.
Valuable things are neither completely closed off nor open to everyone. Their brilliance increases precisely within that sense of distance, where they are sometimes visible and sometimes invisible. The key is ambiguity, like "gray," which is neither black nor white.
I don't quite understand what he's doing, but I'm intrigued. To those who come to him out of such curiosity, He quietly opens his doors. Rather than explaining, he encourages them to first touch with their own hands, think, and feel with their own feet. To breathe the air of the place. He knows that the experiences gained in this way convey a truth that transcends words.
It seems that Hanshan and Shide are home to independent individuals who don't value simply being part of a group, and who help with practical experience, soy sauce making, and other activities. This comfortable atmosphere, which is relaxed yet based on a solid sense of trust, is born from the foundation of "gray" experiences filtered through him.
Well-worn tools and simple handcrafted items still possessed a beautiful vitality, even after the passage of time.
The warm light emanating from the lampshade, which is said to be made from deerskin, is striking.
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A scene of a rich life, savoring every moment.
Shimizu san's gaze was already fixed on the next scene.
They rely on food obtained through hunting, sake brewed from their own rice, and salt sourced from this land.
Meat, alcohol, and salt.
These are the most fundamental and romantic elements necessary for human survival.
"I don't think it's the right thing to do according to societal norms. But I don't want to go against them either. I'll just continue doing what I can, and it'll be fine if it reaches only those who empathize with me."
His calm and composed words convey a gentle strength that only those who have overcome harsh realities can possess. He fears the "gray" world, touching and consuming life with his own hands.
With each bite, the flavors of the land and his philosophy slowly unfold. The meat from "Hanshan Shide" adds a small, luminous richness to our daily lives. It's not about what is right, but how to live. With that question in mind, Shimizu san continues his work today.
(Left) Shimizu san of Kanzan Jittoku, whom we interviewed. (Right) Various products. Excellent items that can be enjoyed as a specialty.
Interview date: Mid-April 2026
Interview destination: Kanzan Jittoku [Mountain butcher shop "Kanzan"], [Farmer's guesthouse "Jittoku"]
Information:
Kanzan Jittoku
780 Nishihoji, Maizuru City, Kyoto Prefecture 624-0118