26 WHALES 



sink to the bottom and only rise to the surface when decomposition gases 

 have formed. Humpbacks have been pursued since ancient times by the 

 local population, although on a small scale. 



During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries whaling was also 

 practised in other parts of the world but, with the exception of Japan, 

 where it was an important industry, only locally and on a modest scale. 

 In many respects Japan is very similar to Norway. A large part of the 

 country is mountainous and in the coastal plain every inch of fertile 

 ground must be utilized for the cultivation of staple crops - in the case 

 of Japan, rice. Unlike Norway, however, Japan is a very highly populated 

 country whose own paddy fields are inadequate to meet the population's 

 requirements of carbohydrates, let alone of proteins. Stockbreeding is 

 largely restricted to Hokkaido, the northernmost island, and milk and 

 other dairy products are regarded as luxuries in Japan. Japan therefore 

 has to look to the sea for her proteins, and there is probably no other 

 country on earth (with the possible exception of Norway) where fish plays 

 so important a part in the daily diet. 



The Japanese have probably been whale-hunters since time immemorial, 

 though the oldest records go back to no earlier than 1606, when the 

 beaten army of the Kamakura Shogunate dug in at Taiji (Central Japan) 

 and took to whaling seriously. The industry quickly spread across the entire 

 coastal belt. At first the animals were killed with simple spears and hand 

 harpoons, but in 1674 nets were introduced in Kishu, a method of whale 

 catching ideally suited to Japanese conditions. The Japanese coast is 

 studded with thousands of small islands from which spotters can alert 

 the land stations by means of smoke signals, and rowing boats, manned 

 by scores of oarsmen and carrying one or even two harpooners each, can 

 quickly set out in pursuit of their prey. The crews of these boats used to 

 stand upright facing the bows as they surrounded the whale and drove 

 it into the nets. Once enmeshed, the animals could be attacked with 

 spears and harpoons. When the whale was clearly exhausted, one of the 

 sailors climbed on to it, drove his spear straight into its heart and tied a 

 rope through the blow hole. The carcass was then pulled ashore. The 

 Japanese generally hunted Biscayan Whales (which also occur in the 

 North Pacific), Grey Whales and Humpback Whales. Occasionally they 

 would also capture a Fin Whale. 



The Japanese recorded their experiences in a number of books and on 

 some exquisite prints. The oldest books date from 1774, and this is very 

 old indeed, for Japan is a country with few relics older than i 700. The 

 earliest books are rice-paper scrolls kept in beautiful wooden chests. Text 

 and plates illustrate all the different species of whales frequenting Japanese 

 waters to this day. Single prints, which are generally no more than a 



