The Japanese Culture of Mourning Whales
The Japanese Culture of Mourning Whales

Author: Mayumi Itoh

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-12-05

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 981106671X

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This book provides an in-depth study of Japanese whaling culture, emphasizing how the Japanese have considered whales and whaling in relation to their understanding of nature and religion. It examines why and how the Japanese have mourned the deaths of whales, treating them as if they were human beings, and assesses the relevance of this culture to nature conservation and management of sustainable use of natural resources. It also sheds new light on Japanese whaling, one of the most controversial issues in the contemporary world, by highlighting the hitherto unknown aspects of Japanese beliefs about whales and whaling, which constitute an integral part of their core concept of how they should coexist with nature. Through cross-examining previous studies of Japanese whaling, as well as analyzing new documents and conducting field research on location, this book presents a comprehensive survey of Japanese whaling culture and memorial rites for whales and offers viable insights on how the Japanese whaling culture can be applied to solving current global issues, including nature conservation, management of sustainable use of natural resources, and protection of wildlife and its habitats.

The Gods of the Sea
The Gods of the Sea

Author: Fynn Holm

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2023-07-31

Total Pages: 235

ISBN-13: 1009305549

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Japan is often imagined as a nation with a long history of whaling. In this innovative new study, Fynn Holm argues that for centuries some regions in early modern Japan did not engage in whaling. In fact, they were actively opposed to it, even resorting to violence when whales were killed. Resistance against whaling was widespread especially in the Northeast among the Japanese fishermen who worshiped whales as the incarnation of Ebisu, the god of the sea. Holm argues that human interactions with whales were much more diverse than the basic hunter-prey relationship, as cetaceans played a pivotal role in proto-industrial fisheries. The advent of industrial whaling in the early twentieth century, however, destroyed this centuries-long equilibrium between humans and whales. In its place, communities in Northeast Japan invented a new whaling tradition, which has almost completely eclipsed older forms of human-whale interactions. This title is also available as Open Access.

Death and Funeral Practices in Japan
Death and Funeral Practices in Japan

Author: Hannah Gould

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2024-07-08

Total Pages: 153

ISBN-13: 1040119220

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This book provides a clear and comprehensive introduction to the past, present, and future direction of death rituals and deathcare systems within Japan. As Japan heads toward a precarious future shaped by its super-ageing society, secularisation, and economic stagnation, the socioreligious structures that once organised death and funeral practice are becoming increasingly unstable. In their place, new social structures, technologies, and rituals for the farewell of the dead, handling of cremains, and commemoration of the ancestors have begun to emerge. The work is informed by the authors’ extensive research within Japan’s funeral, cemetery, and memorialisation sectors and the latest Japanese data sources and academic publications, many of which are not currently available in English. Providing readily accessible and contextualising information, this book will be an essential reference for graduate students and academics, as well as international policymakers and deathcare practitioners.

When Death Falls Apart
When Death Falls Apart

Author: Hannah Gould

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2023-12-11

Total Pages: 214

ISBN-13: 0226829006

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Through an ethnographic study inside Japan’s Buddhist goods industry, this book establishes a method for understanding change in death ritual through attention to the dynamic lifecourse of necromaterials. Deep in the Fukuyama mountainside, “the grave of the graves” (o-haka no haka) houses acres of unwanted headstones—the material remains of Japan’s discarded death rites. In the past, the Japanese dead became venerated ancestors through sustained ritual offerings at graves and at butsudan, Buddhist altars installed inside the home. But in twenty-first-century Japan, this intergenerational system of care is rapidly collapsing. In noisy carpentry studios, flashy funeral-goods showrooms, neglected cemeteries, and cramped kitchens where women prepare memorial feasts, Hannah Gould analyzes the lifecycle of butsudan, illuminating how they are made, circulate through religious and funerary economies, mediate intimate exchanges between the living and the dead, and—as the population ages, families disperse, and fewer homes have space for large lacquer cabinets—eventually fall into disuse. What happens, she asks, when a funerary technology becomes obsolete? And what will take its place? Gould examines new products better suited to urban apartments: miniature urns and sleek altars inspired by Scandinavian design, even reliquary jewelry. She visits an automated columbarium and considers new ritual practices that embrace impermanence. At an industry expo, she takes on the role of “demonstration corpse.” Throughout, Gould invites us to rethink memorialization and describes a distinct form of Japanese necrosociality, one based on material exchanges that seek to both nurture the dead and disentangle them from the world of the living.

Japan's Withdrawal from International Whaling Regulation
Japan's Withdrawal from International Whaling Regulation

Author: Nikolas Sellheim

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2023-12-11

Total Pages: 195

ISBN-13: 1003827314

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This book examines the impact and implications of Japan’s withdrawal from the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW), which came into effect in July 2019. In 1982 the International Whaling Commission (IWC) adopted a moratorium on commercial whaling which has been in effect ever since, despite the resistance of some countries, first and foremost Japan, Norway and Iceland, that engage in commercial whaling. As one of the key contributors to scientific research and funding, Japan’s withdrawal has the potential to have wide-ranging implications and this volume examines the impact of Japan’s withdrawal on the IWC itself, on the governance of whaling, and on indigenous and coastal whaling. It provides backgrounds and commentaries on this decision as well as normative and legal discussions on matters relating to sustainable use of resources, and philosophies surrounding whaling in different IWC countries. The consideration of other international environmental regimes, such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), is also examined in order to determine the international ripple effect of Japan’s decision. The book reveals that this is not just a matter of whaling but one which has significant legal, managerial and cultural implications. Drawing on deep analyses of IWC structures, the book addresses core philosophies underlying the whaling debate and in how far these may influence environmental governance in the future. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of environmental law and governance, biodiversity conservation and sustainable development, as well as policymakers involved in international environmental and conservation agreements.

Fathoms
Fathoms

Author: Rebecca Giggs

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Published: 2020-07-28

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 198212069X

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Winner of the 2020 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction * Finalist for the 2020 Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction * Finalist for the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award A “delving, haunted, and poetic debut” (The New York Times Book Review) about the awe-inspiring lives of whales, revealing what they can teach us about ourselves, our planet, and our relationship with other species. When writer Rebecca Giggs encountered a humpback whale stranded on her local beachfront in Australia, she began to wonder how the lives of whales reflect the condition of our oceans. Fathoms: The World in the Whale is “a work of bright and careful genius” (Robert Moor, New York Times bestselling author of On Trails), one that blends natural history, philosophy, and science to explore: How do whales experience ecological change? How has whale culture been both understood and changed by human technology? What can observing whales teach us about the complexity, splendor, and fragility of life on earth? In Fathoms, we learn about whales so rare they have never been named, whale songs that sweep across hemispheres in annual waves of popularity, and whales that have modified the chemical composition of our planet’s atmosphere. We travel to Japan to board the ships that hunt whales and delve into the deepest seas to discover how plastic pollution pervades our earth’s undersea environment. With the immediacy of Rachel Carson and the lush prose of Annie Dillard, Giggs gives us a “masterly” (The New Yorker) exploration of the natural world even as she addresses what it means to write about nature at a time of environmental crisis. With depth and clarity, she outlines the challenges we face as we attempt to understand the perspectives of other living beings, and our own place on an evolving planet. Evocative and inspiring, Fathoms “immediately earns its place in the pantheon of classics of the new golden age of environmental writing” (Literary Hub).

Ichthyology in Context (1500–1880)
Ichthyology in Context (1500–1880)

Author: Paul J. Smith

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2023-12-28

Total Pages: 777

ISBN-13: 9004681183

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Ichthyology in Context (1500–1880) provides a broad spectre of early modern manifestations of human fascination with fish – “fish” understood in the early modern sense of the term, as aquatilia: all aquatic animals, including sea mammals and crustaceans. It addresses the period’s quickly growing knowledge about fish in its multiple, varied and rapidly changing interaction with culture. This topic is approached from various disciplines: history of science, cultural history, history of collections, historical ecology, art history, literary studies, and lexicology. Attention is given to the problematic questions of visual and textual representation of fish, and pre- and post-Linnean classification and taxonomy. This book also explores the transnational exchange of ichthyological knowledge and items in and outside Europe. Contributors: Cristina Brito, Tobias Bulang, João Paulo S. Cabral, Florike Egmond, Dorothee Fischer, Holger Funk, Dirk Geirnaert, Philippe Glardon, Justin R. Hanisch, Bernardo Jerosch Herold, Rob Lenders, Alan Moss, Doreen Mueller, Johannes Müller, Martien J.P. van Oijen, Pietro Daniel Omodeo, Anne M. Overduin-de Vries, Theodore W. Pietsch, Cynthia Pyle, Marlise Rijks, Paul J. Smith, Ronny Spaans, Robbert Striekwold, Melinda Susanto, Didi van Trijp, Sabina Tsapaeva, and Ching-Ling Wang.

Sacred Sendoffs
Sacred Sendoffs

Author: Sarah A. Bowen

Publisher: Monkfish Book Publishing

Published: 2020-04-12

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 1948626608

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2023 IPPY Gold Award Winner | Animals/Pets An elegant manifesto for improving life―and death―for all beings on sacred Mother Earth "If there is one book you choose to read about how to enjoy and improve your relationships with animals and fully appreciate who they truly are, this is the one." ― MARC BEKOFF, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals and other books; Professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder Combining humorous anecdotes and thought-provoking research, Sacred Sendoffs explores human relationships with beloved pets, wild creatures, animal astronauts, marine life, farmed animals, and other sentient beings. Along the way, animal chaplain Sarah Bowen shares insights for sustaining their lives, honoring deaths, and managing the emotions that arise when we lose an animal we love. While many books focus exclusively on pet loss, animal welfare, or environmental issues, Bowen’s ever curious and playful style takes on all three, revealing their unavoidable entanglement. Sacred Sendoffs helps animal lovers uncover practical actions and everyday opportunities for helping the more-than-human world thrive. “Bowen covers a great deal of ground here, creating a new paradigm for thinking about the way we treat our closest companions and fellow beings. And she offers hope for the future, reminding us that learning to value animals in life and death may be the first step toward saving our beloved planet.” ― Book Review, Spirituality & Health Magazine

International Marine Mammal Law
International Marine Mammal Law

Author: Nikolas Sellheim

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-01-28

Total Pages: 245

ISBN-13: 3030352684

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International Marine Mammal Law is a comprehensive, introductory volume on the legal regimes governing the conservation and utilisation of marine mammals. Written as a textbook, it provides basic overviews of international conservation law, which enable the reader to understand the greater implications of governance of a specific group of species. Paired with biological information on some marine mammal species, the international regimes for whales, seals and polar bears are explored — either as part of global regimes of international environmental governance or as regimes that were specifically designed for them. The book concludes with outlooks on the future of international marine mammal law, particularly in light of Japan’s withdrawal from the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling in July 2019.