Iomante (イオマンテ), sometimes written as Iyomante (イヨマンテ), is an Ainu ceremony in which a brown bear is sacrificed.
When the cub grows larger, they take it outdoors, and put it into a small pen made of logs.
After the cub reaches one or two years of age, they release it from the cell and place it in the center of the village, where it is tied to a post with a rope.
Even at the age of two years, the brown bears are quite large, and it usually takes numerous shots before they fall.
Hokkaido encouraged local governments to abolish the Iomante in 1955, but the circular notice was abolished in April 2007, because the Ministry of the Environment of Japan announced that animal ceremonies were generally regarded as an exception of the animal rights law of Japan in October 2006.