July 17th – July 21st, 2025 is Summer – End of SHOSHO (Lesser heat)-33rd KOU “Hawks learn to fly.”
It’s just the time when young TAKA learn to fly. Why only TAKAs are featured?
TAKA have been considered sacred creatures and have been worshiped at shrines.
Falconry was a symbol of power, so feudal lords in the Edo period seemed to enjoy it. The NEZU family, who served SANADA NOBUYUKI, the lord of the MATSUSHIRO Domain, had a book on hawks, which described how to raise TAKA and method of falconry. The book was presented to successive TOKUGAWA SHOGUNS.
This is the season when not only TAKA but all living creatures prepare to leave the nest.
I often see herons, ducks, and crows. They are playing (teach how to live?) with their young. The nest where the swallows’ young were begging for food until recently is now empty.
