Felicity Jane Greenland    Department   Kyoto University of Foreign Studies  Department of British and American Studies, Faculty of Foreign Studies    Position   Professor
Date	2012/07
Presentation Theme	Attitudes and Practices in Japanese Whaling Songs
Conference	ICAS (International Conference on Asian Studies)
Conference Type	International
Presentation Type	Speech (General)
Contribution Type	Individual
Venue	Negombo, Sri Lanka
Details	Prompted by Japan’s cultural heritage argument in defense of its continued whaling, this paper explores both tangible and intangible artefacts of traditional whaling in Japan for information on historical attitudes and practices. Beginning with an overview of Japan’s whaling-related customs and heritage industry, the focus then turns to folksongs associated with the hand-harpoon team-whaling of the Edo period. 50 songs are scrutinized for details of historical whaling methods and for accompanying attitudes in both social and spiritual aspects. This paper may stimulate wider discussion as to how the treatment, preservation or otherwise, of such cultural heritage might affect contemporary issues.