DAISEN, Akita -- While the Akita dog breed and Hinai-Jidori chickens of northern Japan's Akita Prefecture have long been famous, large, locally bred rabbits are also gaining more attention across the country and even in other countries.

The 37th national jumbo rabbit festival was held in Daisen, Akita Prefecture, on Oct. 27 to pay tribute to the beauty and size of the animal, which is native to the prefecture. In conjunction with the size competition, an auction was held, with one giant bunny fetching a record-high price of 50,000 yen (about $330), 11,000 yen higher than last year. For the first time, people from China also participated in the auction.

The rabbit festival has been held to promote the preservation and improvement of the Akita breed, which can grow to nearly 10 kilograms. This year, rabbits from the prefecture's city of Daisen and town of Misato, where breeding is thriving, as well as Tochigi, Aomori and Hiroshima prefectures were exhibited in the contest. There was also a new participant from Hokkaido. Judges carefully evaluated the condition of the fur, ears and legs of the 57 rabbits in total.

This year, due to the extremely hot summer, only two rabbits were able to enter the "jumbo class" for ones weighing at least 8 kg. Benisayaka, a female rabbit that was born in spring two years ago and has grown to weigh 9.1 kg and is 55 centimeters long, was awarded the highest honor for the second year in a row. Kazuhiro Tobori, 60, who lives in Daisen and raised Benisayaka, said, "I kept her in a cool place as much as possible during the hot summer so that she did not lose her appetite. I'm blessed with good rabbits."

Forty-five of the animals were auctioned, with the minimum prices set at 6,000 to 13,000 yen (approx. $40 to $85) depending on the weight. People from China living in east Japan's Kanto region bought a total of four rabbits. They looked surprised, with one in his 50s saying, "In China, it is customary to eat rabbits around Sichuan province, but they are not this big." He continued, "I found out about this festival through an internet search as I wanted to keep rabbits. The small rabbits I had bought in the past cost about 5,000 yen (roughly $33) each, so I think this is a reasonable price for such a large rabbit."

Rabbits have traditionally been raised for their meat in this area of Akita, but demand has been increasing in recent years, especially from outside the prefecture. One breeder said, "I have received inquiries about Akita rabbit meat from people in Nara, Tokyo, Saitama and Niigata." There are apparently some people who express an interest in keeping them as pets, and the breeder added, "I think it is good for the organizers that jumbo rabbits are attracting attention in various ways and that interest in the festival is growing."

(Japanese original and video by Akira Kudo, Akita Bureau)