'The Lost Wolves of Japan'

When did the last wolf roam Japan? Officially, many would say late January 1905. That is when hunters along the Takami River in Nara Prefecture killed a male wolf chasing some deer. They discarded the corpse, but recovered it when they heard that an American was in the area collecting animal specimens. Today a bronze statue near the river commemorates that wolf as the last of his kind, caught forever in frozen howl.

During the 19th century, wolves were pushed toward extinction in Japan, as in other countries. The difference, argues Brett L. Walker, is that once many in Japan revered, even worshiped, the creatures. How did the wolf once...