That incident from 1916 is not very known outside of Japan. In Japan it is very well known. It happened in a remote area of Hokkaido, in the northern forests of Japan. A large bear attacked for many days villages of the area. He hunted humans as prey. He attacked families during night in their houses and committed massacres. 7 people were killed in just a few days. Kesagake (thats how the bear was named) was so smart that he started to trick people. Several hunting strategies failed and people went so desperate that they tried to lure him into a trap with the dead bodies of some of his victims. People started to believe he is a yōkai (demon). It went so bad, that the case went to the imperial palace. Even after the death of Kesagake, people left the villages there. Its ghost villages in that area now with a shrine and a small museum.
If you are interested into the case you can read about the details here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sankebetsu_brown_bear_incident
It is very interesting and a very rare event and burned into japanese public memory. What makes it even more interesting is, that some of the involved army members swear that the bear imitated human voices.
If you are interested into the case you can read about the details here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sankebetsu_brown_bear_incident
It is very interesting and a very rare event and burned into japanese public memory. What makes it even more interesting is, that some of the involved army members swear that the bear imitated human voices.