[Food Trek] Kochi Celebrates its Whale Cuisine and 400 Years of Whaling
Visit Cape Muroto in Kochi and learn more about living with whales at the museum, then sample delicious local whale cuisine at friendly local restaurants.
Visit Cape Muroto in Kochi and learn more about living with whales at the museum, then sample delicious local whale cuisine at friendly local restaurants.
“It is important not to lose our food culture” says Professor Takashi Matsuishi, adding that whale should be used “sustainably based on scientific evidence.”
“We give thanks that we were able to make the catch without incident. We can’t forget our gratitude for the gift of another life” ー Taiji whaling captain.
Japanese whalers of the Edo period made huge fortunes from an ocean resource that belonged to no one. Other groups stole some meat but weren’t punished.
Practiced in Japan as far back as 4000 BC, and humans are still chasing whales 6,000 years later, largely for a spiritual reward not measured by economics.
The whaling economy was preceded by a battle to overcome a giant creature which, more than profits and losses, required a spiritual vitality.
Whales were resources that swam slowly through the sea. Once brought up onto land, their massive bodies were divided and used until there was nothing left.
As an exchange student, some discriminatory remarks were directed at her simply because Japanese people eat whale meat, Mori admitted. Then she started research using a vast range of resources.
~~ ~ Interview Series Part 1: A Conversation with YouTuber Asana Mori Asana Mori, a popular YouTuber, is the centerpiece of website Kujira Town‘s first interview in a new series with people who love whales. She shares the best methods of cleaning and preparing seafood such as whale meat andContinue Reading
While they are free to believe that “all whales” should be protected, perhaps what they are actually trying to protect is the fantasy of the symbolic wild animal. If they genuinely intend to protect “endangered species,” then the actions required to do so do not involve a ban on whaling. Science is meant to be utilized to solve real-life problems, not fantasies.
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