Guest guest Posted May 11, 2001 Report Share Posted May 11, 2001 http://www.asahi.com/english/asahi/0510/asahi051013.html Tokyo's strutting crows may have a point Asahi Newspaper VOX POPULI.VOX DEI May 10, 2001 Despite links dating back to time immemorial, crows now face perhaps their worst crisis ever in their relationship with humans. Following a similar move last year, the Tokyo metropolitan government embarked Wednesday on an emergency campaign to capture young crows and remove the birds' nests. The crows had it coming, Tokyo officials contend, because they started the war by daring to intimidate and even attack humans. The attacks justify the temporary recourse to strong-arm tactics as a form of self-defense, they say. Normally, the crows would defiantly assert their freedom, chanting, as someone once suggested, ``Karasu no katte desho,'' or ``Crows are free to do as they please.'' But the situation is too serious for that now. Still, crows would have a case. They would say that a Tokyo overflowing with delicacies-garbage-amounts to an open invitation. They would angrily charge that seemingly kind humans had dropped their pretense and adopted a policy of eradication when things no longer suited their convenience. They would accuse humans of being self-centered, arguing that renegades that attack people constitute only a tiny minority of Tokyo's crow population. Idyllic times of peaceful coexistence between humans and crows come to mind. The Taisho Era (1912-1926) was such a time, as demonstrated by the familiar children's song ``Yuyake Koyake'' (Sunset Glow). Uko Nakamura's lyrics include the refrain ``Karasu to issho ni kaerimasho'' (Let's go home with the crows). This and other lines in the song indicate that in those days, crows were still perceived as a creature for children to walk with as they headed home. In another Taisho children's song, ``Nanatsu no Ko'' (Seven-Year-Old Child), a parent crow croaks ``kawai'' (how cute!) and ``kawai'' again to convey its great attachment to its fledgling. Up until the end of World War II, sparrows were supposed to make the sound ``chu,'' which also means loyalty, and crows to caw ``ko,'' or filial piety. Compared with the stuffiness of these cries, the word ``kawai'' in Ujo Noguchi's lyrics seems even lovelier. In the dispute with humans, crows might also assert that they were treated as sacred birds in ancient times, referring to events documented in the mythical world of the nation's oldest history books. That would be a matter of how one interpreted history. But there is obviously no need to go that far to resolve the problem. Experts agree the Tokyo metropolitan government will have to return to the basic problem of how to clear the streets of the garbage on which the crows feed. Assuming that problem can be solved, when will we again see a time of peaceful coexistence between humans and crows? (The Asahi Shimbun, May 9) Copyright 2001 Asahi Shimbun. All rights reserved. No reproduction or republication without written permission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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