‘Kitchen Car’ Whale Cuisine: New Dishes for a New Generation
2022-08-29
“It makes me really happy when someone tries whale for the first time and says ‘this is really good!” ーRajiku chef Takatoyo Itahana.
INTERVIEW | Hirohiko Shimizu: Managed Well, Whales Will Sustain Us Over the Long Haul
2021-09-15
“We’ve eaten countless numbers of chickens, pigs, and cows. Whales are another living thing, but the blessings a single whale can provide are much greater.”
Beyond Murakami: Norway and Japan’s Shared Tradition of Whaling and Whale Cuisine
2021-03-22
“Whales are a gift of nature and have been an important part of the Norwegian diet for many years,” says first-class chef Lars Helge Hansen in Funen.
Oshika Whale Land: Tribute to Whales and Whaling, Rebuilt after the Tsunami
2020-11-06
Tomiji Saito is the Representative Director of the Ayukawa Town Planning Association, which operates Whale Town Oshika. He was born in Ayukawahama, where he still lives and works today. In July 2020, two momentous events converged to highlight the whaling history of the tiny coastal community of Ayukawa that sitsContinue Reading
Kamogawa Sea World at 50: Building on the past, a new commitment to animal welfare
2020-10-06
Hiroshi Katsumata was born in 1962 in Kamogawa City in Chiba Prefecture. He began working at Kamogawa Sea World in 1987, and became Director of Zoological Operations in 2016. He is a former rugby player. Kamogawa Sea World is now celebrating its 50th anniversary. The venue located in Kamogawa inContinue Reading
Storms and Protests During the First Month of Taiji’s Dolphin Hunts, Minus the Foreigners
2020-09-30
Jay Alabaster is a Ph.D. student at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism in Arizona State University. He currently lives in Taiji, Japan, where he is working on a book and his dissertation. You can find him on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/alabasterjay. His email is jay.alabaster(at)asu.edu. It’s September again! Perched onContinue Reading
History of Japanese Whaling: Transition to a Modern Whaling Nation
2020-09-18
This is the second of a two-part series on the history of Japanese whaling. Part 1: The Birth of Traditional Whaling in Japan Shigeo Nakazono is a scholar and author engaged in the research of cultural assets and sociology, and curator of the Ikitsuki Island Museum (Shima no Yakata) inContinue Reading
History of Japanese Whaling: The Birth of Traditional Whaling in Japan
2020-09-07
This is the first of a two-part series on the history of Japanese whaling. Part 2: Transition to a Modern Whaling Nation Shigeo Nakazono is a scholar and author engaged in the research of cultural assets and sociology, and curator of the Ikitsuki Island Museum (Shima no Yakata) in Hirado,Continue Reading
OPINION: Whaling Criticism is Often Melodramatic Japan-bashing
2020-02-11
I have sided with China and North Korea in the past. I was staying at the Friendship Hotel when I taught in Beijing, then suffering from the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square massacre. I heard that their restaurant was going to serve dog meat. As I went to look atContinue Reading
Japan Whaling Guru: Sustainable Whaling Is the Ideal Option
2019-12-20
In the interview, Dr. Ohsumi emphasized that “sustainable whaling” with responsible human management of the whale resources is the ideal option, if one considers the overall issues in the global environment. Discussing Japan’s withdrawal from the IWC, he elaborated on the organization’s future