Enough already, you think were soft here in Sushi-ville? Oh, New York, so tough. And Chicago, chi town, don’t mess. No, you folks are way off. There is one thing every so called “tough” city in this ever loving globe of ours lacks that makes Tokyo just that much tougher. The Tokyo Crow..
Oh, you say, oh Lyle, you silly. We have crows right here in California, they’re noisy little pack animals on wings..
The animal you call a crow is a laughable, mere Karen Carpenter like version of the crows of Tokyo. This animal first came to my attention as a baleful cry on a deserted early October morning in my first days here. I thought it was a cat fight, and though it is true that Tokyo streets are swarming with the feral spawn of un-neutered felines this echo from the streets above caused me to inquire to Yoshiko what it could be. She was surprised that I had no afore knowledge of the Crow, and though it would be days later before I would truly behold the winged beast, it’s haunting cry in our early jet lagged wanderings would leave me curious..
In the days coming up to my first sighting I found more disturbing information on the Crows. They invaded the streets ripping apart trash cans and tearing plastic bags with ease, strewing garbage across the normally tidy Japanese streets. Some objects that were taken from garbage cans were frighteningly large, leading me to believe I was dealing with a sort of uber-crow. Yoshiko informed me to take caution on trouncing through the local parks as it has been reported that Crows attack people from above, drawing blood and inciting fear in the hearts of early morning joggers..
Finally, it was my turn to witness the beasts. It was when I first moved in to my apartment on garbage day. The crows gather in teams and call out where the good morsels are easiest to render and plunder. These crows are about the size of a hawk, with large squared heads and beaks a raven would be envious of; big and scimitar like. The calls of the crow can range from the cry of an infant to the sound of an ambulance call horn. Because there are no rivals to the winged menace, they walk the street like sinister pigeons, unafraid of you coming within feet of them..
Though I had heard stories of the crow’s viciousness, I took the risk of riding my mountain bike through the trails carved into the slopes by the homeless folk, who camp out in Yoyogi park. The tree tops and leaf covered embankments were filled with crows calling at me and each other upon my appearance. They were loath to move and bobbed around or hovered close as I passed. But though I was intimidated, I found that crows save their most vicious nature for each other. What I believe to be alpha male struggles are to put most other animal species to shame. The crows rip and rend each other while grabbing with their claws causing feathers to fly and total loss of control while the other crows gather around and squawk their approval and place their bets. The most dramatic battle pitted to especially big fellas who tumbled down the slope of a hill in a death grip. The slope ended with a ten foot brick wall which the two tumbled off of and fell to the sidewalk below, neither yielding as blood feathers and shreaking caught the attention of even the most self absorbed salary man walking by. Then the two flew off still nipping at each other, neither giving ground..
Attached is a drawing, as the crow is one of the inspirations that I have found in my time here so far..
| Tokyo Crow | 
Here are some other artwork of Lyle's, including his strip Badland. |
| |
| Badland |
|
| Pen and Ink |
|
For what Lyle has been doing as of late please check out his site below.
|