Taiji is known as a birthplace of Japan's traditional community/shore-based whaling. Wada and five other fishing clans started shore-based whaling and later developed a method so-called Net-Whaling around 1675. This continued almost 200 years until a whaling accident more than 100 village's young male (1878). The cause of the accident is believed to be the greed that underestimated the warning signs for the disastrous weather. This disaster triggered search for works outside of Japan and many Taiji fishers went to Australia (Thursday Island, Broom) as well as San Francisco as shell divers. Today Taiji is a sister city of Broom (since 1981), now also known for its Shinju (Pearl) Festival initiated by Taiji divers in 1968. In 2008 six Taiji Junior High school students visited Broom as the first reciprocal exchange.
For environmentalists, Taiji is known for its dolphin chase. 24 fishers on 12 licensed boats operate the hunt as a team during the season (Sept-March until they reach the quota). There has been a number of conflicts between the fishers and the protesters, who often take confrontational approach. Taiji has a number of important whaling-related cultural heritage (whale festival, boat/craft making, rituals and ceremonies) that inform us a sustainable human-nature relationship. Cultural activities - It is easy to condemn the cruel nature of the hunt, for which alternatives would evolve certainly but gradually.
Taiji: 2.5hrs from Wakayama by express (Kuroshio) on JR Kiihonsen
http://www.town.taiji.wakayama.jp/
0 件のコメント:
コメントを投稿