Facts on screen — Thirty-Three Cranes
Every number and claim the film shows or the narration says, with an official or authoritative source and the wording quoted.
| On screen | Claim | Source | Quoted wording |
|---|---|---|---|
| Board, rows 1–2: 「1952 年冬 · 第一次清點：33 隻」 / "Winter 1952 · first count: 33 cranes" | The first Hokkaido-wide count, at the winter feeding sites, found 33 cranes (survey of 29 Nov 1952) | Ministry of the Environment, Red Data Book 5th ed., Tancho: https://www.env.go.jp/nature/kisho/5th-rl-2026/BI0134_RDB5th.pdf ; MOE press table (2002): https://www.env.go.jp/content/900525768.pdf (release https://www.env.go.jp/press/3180.html) | 「1952 年の冬に 33 羽が確認された。」 ("In the winter of 1952, 33 birds were confirmed."); 「33羽 S27.11.29」 ("33 birds, 29 Nov Showa 27 [1952]"); 「昭和27年からタンチョウの冬期給餌所において毎年実施しており」 ("carried out every year since Showa 27 [1952] at the cranes' winter feeding sites") |
| Board, rows 3–4: 「2025 · 1,927 隻」 / "2025 · 1,927 cranes" | Winter distribution survey of 22 Jan 2025 (Hokkaido Government, commissioned by MOE): 1,927 birds in all, 38 of them kept in captivity | Hokkaido Government: https://www.pref.hokkaido.lg.jp/ks/skn/tantyou.html ; MOE RDB (above) | 「令和7年（2025年）1月22日（水）」 ("Reiwa 7 (2025), 22 January (Wednesday)")「総數1,927羽（成鳥1,694羽、幼鳥162羽、不明33羽、飼育個體38羽）」 ("1,927 birds in all (1,694 adults, 162 juveniles, 33 unknown, 38 captive)"); 「2025 年 1 月下旬の調査では 1,927 羽が確認された。」 ("The survey in late January 2025 confirmed 1,927 birds.") |
| Paper notice 「易危 Vulnerable」 struck; seal 「近危 / Near Threatened / 2026.3」 | MOE 5th Red List (17 Mar 2026) moved the crane from VU to NT, out of the threatened categories | MOE press release, 17 Mar 2026: https://www.env.go.jp/press/press_03312.html ; Hokkaido Shimbun, 17 Mar 2026: https://www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/article/1288160/ | 「絶滅危懼Ⅱ類（VU）から準絶滅危懼（NT）にカテゴリーが１段階引き下げられ、絶滅危懼種から除外された。」 ("the category was lowered one step, from Vulnerable (VU) to Near Threatened (NT), and it was removed from the threatened species."); 「■1952年に33羽→2025年は1927羽に」 ("33 birds in 1952 → 1,927 in 2025") |
| The feeding field and its corn | Feeding first succeeded in Akan and Tsurui in 1952 | MOE species page: https://www.env.go.jp/nature/kisho/hogozoushoku/tancho.html | 「【昭和27年】阿寒町及び鶴居村にて給餌に成功。」 ("[Showa 27 (1952)] Feeding succeeded in Akan Town and Tsurui Village.") |
| Four prints of the field (no numbers shown) | Bird counts per print follow the survey trend: 33 (1952), 172 (1965), 458 (1995), 1,927 (2025); drawn at 3 / 13 / 46 / ~300 birds as an illustration | MOE press table (2002): https://www.env.go.jp/content/900525768.pdf | 「172羽 S40.12.4」「458羽 H7.12.5」 ("172 birds, 4 Dec Showa 40 [1965]", "458 birds, 5 Dec Heisei 7 [1995]") |
| The Setsuri river at Otowa Bridge, steaming, unfrozen, cranes roosting in it | Spring-fed, it does not freeze in midwinter; a known roost | Japan National Trust with Tsurui Village, 11 Dec 2025: https://ntrust.or.jp/index/press20251211.pdf ; MOE RDB (above) | 「鶴居村を流れる雪裡川は、真冬でも川が凍らないため、國の特別天然記念物タンチョウの貴重なねぐらとして有名です。」 ("The Setsuri river flowing through Tsurui Village does not freeze even in midwinter, so it is famous as a precious roost of the tancho, a Special Natural Monument."); 「音羽橋がかかる雪裡川は、豊富な湧き水のおかげで真冬でも凍らず」 ("the Setsuri river, spanned by the Otowa Bridge, does not freeze even in midwinter thanks to its abundant spring water"); 「冬は不凍の河川でねぐらをとり」 ("in winter it roosts in rivers that do not freeze") |
| Red crowns; the pair calling together | The red crown is bare skin; mated pairs give a unison call | MOE RDB (above); International Crane Foundation: https://savingcranes.org/species/red-crowned-crane/ | 「頭頂は皮膚が赤く裸出している。」 ("The crown is bare, red skin."); "A duet performed by a pair, to strengthen their bond and protect their territory." |
| The volcano row to the north (not named on screen) | The Akan range is seen from Tsurui | Tsurui Village guide: https://www.vill.tsurui.lg.jp/material/files/group/6/p1.pdf | 「阿寒連峰を望みながら、お食事ができます。」 ("You can dine with a view of the Akan mountain range.") |
Invented for the film: the board and its wording, the pasted notice and the seal, the plate and dial thermometer on the bridge pier (the bridge's name is real), the thermometer reading as a typical January dawn there, the layout of the valley, and how many birds stand in each print.
Narration
| Narration | Claim | Source | Quoted wording |
|---|---|---|---|
| 這裡是北海道東部的溼地 | In Japan the crane lives mainly in the wetlands of eastern Hokkaido | MOE species page: https://www.env.go.jp/nature/kisho/hogozoushoku/tancho.html | 「國內では、北海道東部の溼原を中心に分佈している。」 ("In Japan it is distributed mainly in the wetlands of eastern Hokkaido.") |
| 溼地一片片被開墾，它們差點沒了家 | Its wetland habitat was developed on a large scale and shrank | MOE Red Data Book 5th ed.: https://www.env.go.jp/nature/kisho/5th-rl-2026/BI0134_RDB5th.pdf | 「生息地の溼原が大規模に開発されて減少した」 ("its wetland habitat was developed on a large scale and shrank") |
| 那年起，人們開始餵它們。鶴一年比一年多 | Feeding succeeded in 1952; winter feeding raised the numbers | MOE species page; RDB 5th ed. (above) | 「【昭和27年】阿寒町及び鶴居村にて給餌に成功。」 ("[Showa 27 (1952)] Feeding succeeded in Akan Town and Tsurui Village."); 「冬期の給餌により個體數は増加し」 ("winter feeding increased the population") |
| 不再算瀕危了，但還得有人守著 | Removed from the threatened categories; risk judged smaller but still to be watched | MOE press release 2026-03-17: https://www.env.go.jp/press/press_03312.html ; RDB 5th ed. | 「絶滅危懼種から除外された。」 ("it was removed from the threatened species."); 「現時點では絶滅の危険度は小さくなったと考えられるものの…今後も注視が必要である。」 ("although the risk of extinction is now thought to have become smaller … it still needs to be watched closely.") |
| Board, the 2025 date: 「2025 年 1 月 / January 2025」 | The 1,927 count is the survey of 22 Jan 2025 | Hokkaido Government (see table above) | 「令和7年（2025年）1月22日（水）」 ("Reiwa 7 (2025), 22 January (Wednesday)") |
| 回想一九五二年冬天，整個北海道，一共只找到了三十三隻丹頂鶴 / in all of Hokkaido, only 33 cranes were found | The 1952 winter figure is for all of Hokkaido | MOE Red Data Book 5th ed. (above) | 「北海道の個體數は、1952 年冬に 33 羽が確認されただけで」 ("the Hokkaido population: only 33 birds were confirmed in the winter of 1952") |
| 到了二零二五年，已經數到了一千九百二十七隻 / By 2025 the count had reached 1,927 | Survey of 22 Jan 2025; the total includes 38 captive birds | Hokkaido Government (above) | 「総數1,927羽（…飼育個體38羽）」 ("1,927 birds in all (… 38 captive)") |
| 保護級別…從易危，降到了近危 / from Vulnerable to Near Threatened | VU to NT in the 5th Red List, March 2026 | MOE press release 2026-03-17 (above) | 「絶滅危懼Ⅱ類（VU）から準絶滅危懼（NT）にカテゴリーが１段階引き下げられ」 ("the category was lowered one step, from Vulnerable (VU) to Near Threatened (NT)") |
Names
| On screen | Claim | Source | Quoted wording |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plate 「音羽橋 / Otowa Bridge」 | The real name of the bridge over the Setsuri river at Tsurui, kept in its Japanese form | Japan National Trust with Tsurui Village, 11 Dec 2025: https://ntrust.or.jp/index/press20251211.pdf | 「音羽橋がかかる雪裡川は、豊富な湧き水のおかげで真冬でも凍らず」 ("the Setsuri river, spanned by the Otowa Bridge, does not freeze even in midwinter thanks to its abundant spring water") |
"雪地裡的精靈 / spirits of the snow" is a figure of speech, not a claim.