The History Of Falconry
The first defensible record of humans using birds of prey for hunting comes from an Assyrian bas-relief dated in the early part of the seventh century, B.C.
References to falconry in China come from as early as 680 B.C. in the kingdom of Ch'u, although one Japanese work states that falcons were used as gifts to Chinese princes during the Hsia Dynasty (206-220, B.C.), encouraged by the Emperor Teng's fondness for hunting in the imperial forests with falcons and dozens of that era's finest falconers.
The first record of falconry in Japan is reported around 720, A.D. In the late 16th to 17th centuries samurai warriors received a military manual that included a section on falconry.
