Photo/Illutration Three bears caught in Minami-Uonuma, Niigata Prefecture, on Dec. 9 (The Asahi Shimbun)

“The Three Bears,” an illustrated fairy tale written by Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), is about a girl who stumbles across a cottage while trying to find her way in the woods. Seeing that nobody is home, she goes in, sits in a chair, helps herself to a bowl of soup, then lies down on a bed and falls asleep.

The cottage belongs to a family of three bears, who find the sleeping girl when they return from their walk.

In almost all children's picture books, bears are presented as cute and cuddly creatures. But in this Tolstoy book, a Japanese edition of which was released by Fukuinkan Shoten Publishers Inc., the bruins look quite menacing with their googly eyes and red tongues. I presume this depiction was intended to teach children that these are savage beasts capable of attacking humans.

A recent incident in the city of Minami-Uonuma, Niigata Prefecture, presented a situation reminiscent of the fairy tale, except that the human and ursine roles were reversed.

Three bears--apparently a family of one adult and two cubs--were discovered in a storehouse of a local clinic. They were lying together in a tight huddle, suggesting they had perhaps gone into hibernation.

Not only in Niigata but also around the nation, a number of bear sightings have been reported this year, including cases where people were attacked and injured.

Acorns, upon which bears feed, are in dire shortage this season. This is believed to be driving pre-hibernation bears into foraging for food near human habitation. Another explanation for the increase in sightings is that the activity range of bears has expanded because copses of untamed vegetation have been taking over undeveloped woodland near human communities.

Last month, I found a minted expression, “shin-sedai kuma” (new-generation bears), in a story in The Asahi Shimbun’s Niigata edition.

According to Hideo Miguchi, a professor ecology and forestry at Niigata University, these are bears that are born, and live permanently, near human communities. Unlike traditional bears in the wild, they are not really afraid of humans.

Perhaps it’s time for us humans to reassess our relations with them.

“Kuma,” Japanese for “bear,” can be written either in kana phonetic letters or kanji. Depending on which the word is written in, the animal presents very different images.

The bears we run into today are desperate for survival. We need to--um--bear that in mind and remain alert.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Dec. 11

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.