Bringing Whales Ashore
Subtitle: Oceans and the Environment of Early Modern Japan, 1600-1900
Contributors: Kuriyama, Shigehisa; Gordon, Andrew; Miller, Ian J.; Howell, Davide
Published: 2014
Language: eng
Description: Whales are an enigma. It is difficult to pin them down because they straddle categories. Whales were difficult not just because of their extraordinary size, but rather because they were peculiar sorts of fish, with meat more like wild boar than tuna. In the same way that they existed at the intersection of classifications, with features of land and sea creatures, whales also were a nexus in a web of linkages between the ocean and the shore. By focusing on whales and the boundaries they straddle, this dissertation highlights the often surprising interconnections between coastal activities and inland life in early modern Japan (1600-1900).
Notes: Keywords: environmental history, Japan, marine environmental history, whales, whaling.

Thesis Ph.D. Harvard University 2014