Whale (Kujira)
A large marine mammal belonging to the order Cetacea that in ancient times was considered a fish
Kujira (whale) is a general term for mammals belonging to the order Cetacea. More than 80 species are known in the world. Whales are those with a body length of about 4 meters or more, and dolphins are smaller than that, but there is no taxonomic difference. Whales are roughly divided into baleen whales, which do not have teeth throughout life except during the embryonic period, and toothed whales, which do have teeth. Baleen whales include the largest animal, the blue whale (around 20 to 30 meters in length), fin whales, and sei whales. Toothed whales include sperm whales, Baird’s beaked whales, killer whales, and other dolphins. Cetaceans are homoeothermic animals that can live in water of any temperature, but their distribution is somewhat fixed by species. Most cetaceans are marine, but some live only in freshwater. Baleen whales mainly eat small crustaceans such as krill, but they also eat small fish such as sardines. Toothed whales often eat squid and fish together.
Whales have long been used for food and oil. In Japan, whales have been eaten since ancient times. Whale bones have been excavated from the remains of the Jomon and Yayoi periods. It is believed that people captured and used beached whales that wandered into the shallow waters. Although there was a tendency for Japanese, under the influence of Buddhism, to avoid meat, whales were thought of as fish, so there was no resistance to eating them. Small-scale whaling was carried out along the coasts of Kii (modern-day Wakayama Prefecture), Hizen (Saga and Nagasaki prefectures), and Tosa (Kochi Prefecture). Since whales follow schools of small fish, fishermen consider them a sign of abundant fish and regard them as sacred, calling them Ebisu-sama (the Japanese god that bring schools of fish).
Small-scale whaling has been carried out worldwide since the tenth century, but in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, fleets whaled mainly in the Arctic Ocean, and overfishing depleted resources. Whaling nations have signed the International Whale Fishing Control Treaty to prevent a decline of this resource, but the number of anti-whaling nations has increased year over year. In 1982 the International Whaling Commission decided to ban commercial whaling altogether, and Japan stopped whaling in 1988. Currently, research whaling and small-scale whaling targeting small coastal whales continues.
Related People, Things and Events
Books
Related Works
Whale bones and remains
Whaling events, etc., throughout Japan
Videos
Past Exhibitions
| Title | shusai | Place | open | close |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 佐賀県立博物館 | 2012/3/13 | 2012/4/15 | ||
| 千葉県立海の博物館 | 2005/7/2 | 2005/9/4 |
Institutions Holding Related Materials
Established in 1877, the National Museum of Nature and Science (Kahaku) is one of the oldest museums in Japan. It is also the only national museum in the country that offers a comprehensive exhibition of natural history and the history of science and technology. It collects and preserves a variety of collections, such as natural history specimens, historical objects, and scientific and technical documents, and so on.
The National Diet Library (NDL), founded in 1948, is the library which belongs to the Diet. The NDL assists the activities of the National Diet. The Library collects and conserves materials and information both from Japan and abroad, serving as a foundation of knowledge and culture and providing library services to administrative and judicial entities and Japanese citizens.
As Japan’s representative museum, Tokyo National Museum collects, preserves, displays, and researches the cultural properties of Asia with a focus on Japan, and also provides educational programs.
The University of Tokyo is promoting the construction of digital archives. The University of Tokyo Archives, The University Museum, Information Technology Center, and University of Tokyo Library System collaborate on this project.
The Tokyo Fuji Art Museum is founded on November 3, 1983, in Hachioji, a thriving university town in the western suburbs of the Japanese capital. Priding itself as “a museum creating bridges around the world” to facilitate the exchange of different cultures, our museum has forged cordial relations with art museums and cultural institutes in 32 countries and territories to date. We do so by bringing the world’s finest works of art to Japan while reciprocating in kind by introducing the finest Japanese treasures to the world through special exhibitions that showcase their beauty and wonder through a unique new set of prisms and perspectives. Our museum possesses some 30,000 pieces of artworks from various periods and cultures including Japanese, Eastern and Western works, ranging from paintings, prints, photography, sculptures, ceramics and lacquer ware to armor, swords and medallions. Especially noteworthy is its outstanding collection of Western oil paintings that spans a five-hundred-year period from the Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, and Romanticism to Impressionism and contemporary art, as well as its exceptional collection of photographic masterpieces that can give an overview of the history of photography from the birth of the photograph to the present age.
和歌山県東牟婁郡太地町にある。 鯨の生態、人との関わりについて学べる博物館。
生月町は平戸島の北西に位置する島。 江戸時代最大規模の鯨組、益冨組の資料が展示される。
長崎県南松浦郡新上五島町にある。有川湾の捕鯨、鯨の生態などの展示がある。
宮城県石巻市鮎川にある。捕鯨地として栄えた牡鹿半島の歴史や鯨に関する資料がそろう。
山口県長門市にある。国指定重要有形民俗文化財に指定された捕鯨用具を中心とした展示。
セミクジラとコククジラの全身骨格を展示。
しながわ観光協会のサイト。品川で捕獲された鯨の骨を埋めた場所に建てられた。このような鯨塚は全国にある。
External Links
国立科学博物館の標本資料データベース。海棲哺乳類の図鑑・ストランディングDB・ストランディング速報・文献DBなどイルカ、クジラ、アザラシ、アシカ、ジュゴンなどの情報。
捕鯨を取り巻く状況、鯨類の座礁・混獲、鯨類科学調査、鯨肉について、資料集のページがある。
農林水産省公式Webマガジン。2020年6月号から週刊化された。「ふるさと給食自慢」や「達人レシピ」などの連載を載せている。「鯨」の特集は2012年9月号にもあり。
国立研究開発法人水産研究・教育機構の旧組織である水産庁水産資料館所蔵の資料をデジタル化し、公開。歌川国芳画「七浦大漁繁昌之図」の錦絵3枚のうち2枚を所蔵。
大地町立くじらの博物館が運営するデジタルミュージアム。鯨の生態、捕鯨文化や歴史について詳しく解説。捕鯨絵巻もあり。
『アジア地域研究』創刊号、抜刷。インドネシア・小スンダ列島東部のレンバタ島、ラマレラ村では手投げ銛による伝統捕鯨が行われている。
References
- 日立デジタル平凡社,平凡社