Wild Duck

Wild duck (カモ, kamo) has the longest culinary heritage of Japan's gibier species — kamo-nanban soba and kamo-nabe are classical winter dishes still on restaurant menus nationwide. The primary commercial species are mallard (マガモ) and spot-billed duck (カルガモ). Unlike deer or boar, duck hunting is seasonal and yield-limited, making wild kamo a genuinely premium ingredient that commands higher wholesale prices than farmed domestic duck. Processors are distributed across major waterfowl flyways in Niigata, Shiga, and Fukuoka.