Japan's Whaling: The Politics Of Culture In Historical Perspective Hogei Mondai No Rekishi Shakaigaku. English

Is Japanese whaling based on national culture and tradition? Sociologist Hiroyuki Watanabe challenges this question by examining the history of whaling in modern Japan and looking at the wide range of arguments within the country over the decades. The book provides a detailed account of anti-whaling disturbances organized by fishermen in the early 20th century, presents successful attempts to designate whales as protected species in pre-war years, and shows regional differences in whale-meat eating practices. Through a sober and critical analysis of the 'cultural' defense of Japan's whaling industry, the book reveals that whaling has often been linked with Japanese expansionist policies overseas. Watanabe also explores the relations between human beings and whales and offers practical proposals. Hiroyuki Watanabe investigates how the numerous relationships between people and whales in Japan become reduced to the single relationship of killing whales for their meat. He argues that from the introduction of Norwegian whaling technology at the end of the nineteenth century, through the Russo-Japanese War and Japan's windfall acquisition of the Korea-based Russian whaling fleet, to the end of the Second World War, Japanese whaling was closely bound to Japanese imperialism. He questions the assertion that whaling is 'traditional Japanese culture' and demonstrates how the same whaling discourse that in the past drove some whale species to the brink of extinction, today continues to fuel the rhetoric of the Japanese whaling debate Translator’s Preface Preface Conventions adopted in this book Prologue: The Aim of this Book 1 Workers and the Introduction of Technology 2 Disturbance as an Interlacing of Experience: Analysis of the riot incident at the same station of the Toyo Whaling Company 3 The Designation of Whale Species as Natural Monuments: How far does industrial use come into consideration? 4 The Promotion of Whale Meat in Early Modern Japan 5 In Search of the Logic of Overfishing: An Analysis of Whaling Discourse 6 The Politics of the Representation of ‘Culture’ Postscript Notes Appendix Bibliography Index Hiroyuki Watanabe ; Translated By Hugh Clarke. Translation Of: Hogei Mondai No Rekishi Shakaigaku. Tōkyō : Tōshindō, 2006. Originally Presented As The Author's Thesis (ph. D.). Includes Bibliographical References (p. 196-211) And Index. xvi, 222 p. : 23 cm Translation from the Japanese Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral)--cf. translator's preface Includes bibliographical references (p. 196-211) and index