Kyo sukashi Historically thousands of Greater White-fronted Geese (Magan) and Lesser White-fronted geese (Karigane) migrated from Siberia to Japan where they wintered, September to March. Goose meat was a prized food of the aristocracy. Over-hunting with guns (previously geese had only been taken with arrows, traps or snares) beginning in the Meiji Period coupled with habitat conversion nearly wiped them out. Since the 1970s the population has rebounded
Karigane, the Lesser White-fronted Goose, appear in folklore, various arts, poems and song (even lullabies) and of course, sukashi tsuba where they often link other component features together.

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