Photo by Shinji Ono. ©Sankei
There was a time when whale meat was so common in Japan that we almost expected it to be a part of every meal. But this changed from the late 1980s, when the International Whaling Commission (IWC) placed a moratorium on commercial whaling. Since then the overall whale market has declined.
In 2019, Japan left the IWC and restarted commercial whaling for the first time in 31 years, but a long road remains for the revival of this part of our food culture.
In the city of Minamiboso in Chiba Prefecture, home to the closest active whaling port to Tokyo, a whaling company and whale restaurants are working to build stable businesses and popularize whale delicacies once again.
Organized whaling in Minamiboso has a long, proud history, dating from the 17th Century in the nearby town of Katsuyama (now part of the town of Kyonan). “It’s a small-scale business, but people should know that there is still a world where we hear ‘Delicious!’ when we divvy up the meat for people to eat. We want to keep going somehow,” said Yoshinori Shoji, the president of Gaibo Whaling.
Baird’s beaked whales were not actually part of the IWC moratorium, and had been caught locally before Japan exited the organization and revived commercial whaling. But demand for the whales is limited to the Minamiboso region.
The Boso Peninsula region has a unique personality of a type not seen in the city. I hope you can make the journey.
Read the article in Japanese at this link.
RELATED:
- New Whale Meat on Plates in Taiji as Fishermen Adjust to Whimsical Kuroshio Current
- INTERVIEW | Fishmonger Asana Mori: ‘Whale is Delicious so First, Give it a Try’
- Whaling Nations Should Take A Stand As ‘Activists’ Meddle with Food Culture
(This article is published in cooperation with the Institute of Cetacean Research in Japan. Let us hear your thoughts in our comments section.)
Author: Shinji Ono
