130
submitted 3 months ago by schizoidman@lemm.ee to c/world@lemmy.world

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/38982154

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] EgoNo4@lemmy.world 23 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

What the fuck is up with the Japanese and whaling? Do they eat that much whale meat? Or what?

[-] Drusas@kbin.run 4 points 3 months ago

It's often (but not always) available at supermarkets, but it's not commonly eaten. Hopefully the tradition will die off with the older generations.

[-] tal@lemmy.today 3 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

I think that it's been a thing for a while. Japan's an island nation, and harvesting sea life has been important. Probably some people who want it just for tradition.

kagis

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_whaling

The oldest written mention of whaling in Japanese records is from Kojiki, the oldest Japanese historical book, which was written in the 7th century CE. This book describes whale meat being eaten by Emperor Jimmu. In Man'yōshū, an anthology of poems from the 8th century CE, the word "Whaling" (いさなとり) was frequently used in depicting the ocean or beaches.

One of the first records of whaling using harpoons is from the 1570s at Morosaki, a bay attached to Ise Bay. This method of whaling spread to Kii (before 1606), Shikoku (1624), northern Kyushu (1630s), and Nagato (around 1672).

Kakuemon Wada, later known as Kakuemon Taiji, was said to have invented net whaling sometime between 1675 and 1677. This method soon spread to Shikoku (1681) and northern Kyushu (1684)

Using the techniques developed by Taiji, the Japanese mainly hunted four species of whale: the North Pacific right, the humpback, the fin, and the gray whale. They also caught the occasional blue, sperm, or sei/Bryde's whale .

In 1853, the US naval officer Matthew Perry forced Japan to open up to foreign trade. One purpose of his mission was to gain access to ports for the American whaling fleet in the north-west Pacific Ocean. Japan's traditional whaling was eventually replaced in the late 19th century and early 20th century with modern methods.

https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/big-fish-history-whaling/

People have been whaling for thousands of years. Norwegians were among the first to hunt whales, as early as 4,000 years ago. The Japanese may have been doing so even earlier.

[-] tiredofsametab@kbin.run 3 points 3 months ago

It's not the most popular but it is eaten. My local supermarket sells it.

this post was submitted on 07 Aug 2024
130 points (97.8% liked)

World News

39026 readers
1257 users here now

A community for discussing events around the World

Rules:

Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.


Lemmy World Partners

News !news@lemmy.world

Politics !politics@lemmy.world

World Politics !globalpolitics@lemmy.world


Recommendations

For Firefox users, there is media bias / propaganda / fact check plugin.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-bias-fact-check/

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS