Story and photos by Linny Folau

Matangi Tonga Online photo-journalist Linny Folau was a 2008 Sasakawa Pacific Islands Journalism Fellow. This story is the second in a series of articles written while she was in Japan on her Fellowship.

Despite international pressure opposing whaling practices, this traditional whaling village located near the south end of Japan's Kii Peninsula is determined to fight on and preserve its whaling culture. The fight, enthusiastic villages say, is nothing short of trying to protect their cultural identity.

The beautiful coastal town of 3,500 residents is fiercely proud of its centuries-old tradition of whaling. This was evident everywhere when one goes in Taiji, from its monuments to whales and lost fishermen and historic sites linked to whaling to its Whale Museum, which is the biggest of its kind in Japan.

Confrontation

But when visiting the town we were informed by the town council to be aware that a group of overseas activists from the group 'Sea Shepherd' was in town the day earlier and became embroiled in a confrontation with local fishermen.

Mr Yoji Kita, the Superintendent of Taiji Board of Education, said villagers could not understand why these activist groups are targeting Taiji since local fishermen follow the fishing quota set by the Government of Japan.

"Why can't our fishermen have the liberty to operate since we are doing it according to thee terms and within our own sovereignty," Kita asked.

"People in the town need to make a living, and we need whales to sustain our life and I think environmental groups are emotionally out there promoting that the killing of marine mammals like whales is an evil thing," he said.

Dolphins harvest

One of the confusing points in Taiji's "whaling" debate is that the Japanese use "whales" to also refer to dolphins. Taiji stopped whaling, as it would be commonly known elsewhere, in 1987 after Tokyo recognized the International Whaling Commission's moratorium on commercial whaling, but the village's fishermen still hunt dolphins, which are fished for their flesh.

The practice has led some foreign reporters to cover the story with hidden cameras filming the local fishermen during their dolphin harvest, Mr Kita said. He noted that the stories usually portray the Taiji people as among the worst in the world.

International scorn

Taiji is comprised of majestic mountains and dense forestry with an amazing coastline view. It is a tight knit community enriched in this unique tradition, and most of its inhabitants have been fishing families for many generations. But it has faced its share of international scorn in regards to its dolphin drive fisheries, which it began 28 years ago.

Such is the strength of the village's fishing culture that the chairman of Taiji Town Council, Mr Katsutoshi Mihara, calls Taiji Japan's Japanese Tibet.

"Historically we are a coastal whaling town and over 400 years ago our ancestors began to organise themselves towards whaling since there was scarce land for agriculture. This was the beginning, and this is how our living has been kept," Mr Mihara said.

He also emphasised that no matter how strongly the environmentalists and activists condemn them, "we will not give up whaling because it is our culture."

Whaling heritage

Observing the two elderly men both in their 60s made clear to me an outsider, their pride in its whaling heritage, and their strong sense of community identity affiliated with it.

Through their accounts it was clear that residents of Taiji are proud of their legacy of being the birthplace of the Japanese whaling industry. That was in the 17th Century when the founding father of Taiji, Yorimoto Wada, organised the first whaling expeditions in waters off the village. Wada and those early whalers took to the sea because there's little arable land in Taiji, where mountains slope directly to the coastline.

The historical background gives some hints as to why the villagers consider themselves to be whaling people. "We are proud of our own heritage and want to hand it down to the next generations," said Mr Kita.

The town is more than an historical oddity. Its leaders stay current on the international whaling debate. Indeed, Taiji currently participates in International Whaling Commission meetings to try to make clear that is has indigenous whaling traditions, and that the commission should recognize its history and culture.

Minke whales

It is understood that the IWC has continuously denied Taiji's request for a quota of 50 minke whales and the number of people living in the whaling villages of Japan have been substantially reduced since the imposition of the whaling moratorium.

As a result of its traditional source of income (and protein) being lost, Taiji's leaders some years ago made the decision to try to market the hamlet as a tourist destination. This led to the creation of its Whaling Museum.

It receives about 150,000 visitors annually, and last year the town acquired 4 million yen ($86,246 pa'anga) in earnings from the museum.

Taiji's whaling past is evident everywhere in the village. There are whale signs and pictures seemingly everywhere, and there is even a big replica of a huge humpback whale on the entrance to the town welcomes visitors.

Although Japan is one of the world's most advanced industrialised nations, there are still small communities that are still dependent on traditional subsistence activities like whaling, and Taiji is one such community. "And we want it to remain that way," said Mr Kita.