of laws. He banned traditional falconry by kuge, who had been holders of the art since the first introduction of falconry. He established restrictions on which ranks of creatures a samurai or daimyō (feudal lord) could hunt, from geese and ducks up to the more valuable swans. He also set up certain lands as takaba (鷹場), or falconry fields; practicing the sport on all other lands was forbidden. Many of these designated lands were farmers' lands; the peasant farmers were forced to provide labor for the hunt, which often took days or even weeks, and were forbidden from interfering with the prey creatures of their lands, despite the damage geese and other animals might do to crops. Goshawks, and other birds of prey, increasingly became symbols of status, and in the early Edo period, many paintings were commissioned by samurai. While the first images of hawks and eagles in Japan appeared in the 13th century, since the 14th and 15th centuries, paintings with hawks as the main subject appeared, under the influence of imported Chinese paintings. As the visibility and popularity of falconry grew, at the beginning of the Edo period, images of the hunt, of mews, of wild birds of prey, and even portraits of favored individual birds were increasingly commissioned. While common people were kept out of falconry, their interest in it gave rise to some ukiyo-e art by Hokusai, Hiroshige and Kawanabe Kyōsai. Falconry flourished throughout the Edo period, with only a short interruption imposed by Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. With the Meiji Revolution, the monopoly on falconry by samurai ended. Falconry was released to the public, but in the process of modernization, its prosperity faded. While the Imperial Household Ministry gathered ex-falconers and tried to keep their tradition, some methods were lost, and others were handed down to private enthusiasts. Hawk-eagle austringers in northeastern Japan have also emerged in the process, although their origin is somewhat uncertain. After World War II, the Imperial Household Agency suspended the practice of hawking, and the tradition of takagari is today kept by clubs formed by enthusiasts. Notes References Beatriz E. Candil, Arjen E.Hartman, Ars Accipitraria: An Essential Dictionary for the Practice of Falconry and hawking"; Yarak Publishing, London, 2007, Jameson, E.W., Jr. "The Hawking of Japan", Private publication, 1962 Morimoto, Teruo. "Japanese falconry at glance", NAFA Journal vol. 44, North American Falconers Association, 2005 Saunders, Rachel. "Pursuits of Power: Falconry and