Memorable Rabbits Part 11 Matsuzaka

Matsuzaka was legendary rabbit on Ohkunoshima

The color of each eye was different

He was not able to stand up the night before he passed.

9/5/26

The rabbit known as Matsuzaka-san.

He was a male—a beautiful rabbit with one blue eye and one green eye—and I heard he was named after the actress Keiko Matsuzaka because he resembled her.

Matsuzaka-san had fathered a great many offspring and was a long-lived rabbit who had reached the age of five. He lived life at his own pace within his own territory and wasn't particularly accustomed to humans; however, during his final year, he was frequently challenged and chased by younger rabbits. Please read ”Matsuzaka, victim of tourism” in the blog for the details of his passing; his life story illustrates the current reality of Okunoshima.

Tourism and the lives of the rabbits: these two things are fundamentally incompatible. The more tourism flourishes, the more the rabbits' lives are whittled away.