A heartfelt tale of a young hawk and an old falconer set in the majestic Ou Mountains as they return north. The village chief, troubled by a clever fox that has been devouring his precious chickens, asks the old falconer to get rid of it. After a fierce battle, the fox wins the first match, leaving the young hawk seriously injured. After three years of merciless hunting training, the hawk and the falconer face the old fox again... As a coupling, "Returning to the North," which features the same Takayasu dog as in Yukio Togawa's masterpiece, is also included. A heartwarming story about the bond between a matagi family living a poor but refreshing life and the Takayasu dog Taro. A masterpiece that you cannot read without crying! A massive 784 pages! Commentary by Hidetoshi Matsubara of "The Last Falconer."