Whaling is History

An idea I came up with for an NGO/ NPO in Japan related to saving whales from annual "harvests," is one that would conduct campaigns that show whaling as a proud part of Japanese HISTORY. It's possible to honor one's history and culture but acknowledge that times have changed and old-fashioned practices (such as whaling) need not continue. I got this idea when I borrowed a CD from Prof. Pounds which features whaling and sailing songs, sung by a wonderful folk singer named Paul Clayton, whose ancestors engaged in whaling themselves. Some of the whaling/ sailing songs that he sings, he learned from his grandfather, and others he discovered in the logs from 19th century whaling ships. He found these ships' logs at a whaling museum in New Bedford, Massachusetts on the East Coast of the U.S. This town was famous as the starting and ending point of whaling expeditions. Even the author Herman Melville, the writer of Moby Dick, set out on some of his whaling journeys from there. And, surprisingly, a log from a whaling ship based in New Bedford lists a "Joseph Dias," perhaps a relative of mine from Portugal, as being the 2nd mate of a ship called "Sun." That information was made available by the New Bedford Public Library.

Here's the CD cover of the whaling/ sailing songs on the CD that I mentioned above. It's very soothing music. It seems that singing was an important part of the life and work of men who labored on whaling ships. Crew members who were good singers became popular onboard the ship and they were appreciated by the captain and officers.

So my plan is to create an NGO in Japan that would honor Japanese whaling traditions but make it clear that it is a practice that belongs IN THE PAST. It isn't suited to the modern world because it is not sustainable and there has been a long-time (since 1986) moratorium on whaling by the International Whaling Commission (IWC).