xxvi. Taiji Bay (太地湾) or Taiji (太地) Part 5 (Epilogue)

Location (Semi-Nagare Monument): Taiji (near JR Line Taiji Stn.), Wakayama Prefecture; about 3.5 hours from Osaka + 45 min. walking time; or a 10 min. walk from either Ebisu Shrine or the Memorial Tower for Whales

Associated with: Sazae Oni (栄螺鬼) or the "Sea Snail Demon"

If you have followed my suggested route up to the Semi-Nagare Monument, you will have found yourself slowly circling Taiji Bay. It is out there on the ocean where we have a location which is a candidate for a rather squeamish account involving a (gasp) actual yokai.

The marine creature from which this yokai gets its name is the sazae, a type of edible sea snail that lives in a turban-shaped shell. (They sometimes make an appearance at a seaside barbecue, plonked on the grill and cooked in their shells.) It's said that such a sea snail will become a type of demon called a sazae oni once it has lived for thirty years. Another recipe for spawning this yokai is to throw a lusty woman into the ocean, where she will first transform into a sea snail. She will reappear later on a moonlit night, breaching the water as a sea snail demon.

Got that? Well in Namikiri of Kishu Domain (present day Taiji), there is the account of a band of pirates who while sailing across the bay came across a beautiful woman struggling in the water. Though the pirates were quick to rescue her, in their dark hearts they harbored an unchivalrous motive; that night each to a man had their rough way with her. It turned out, however, that they had been tricked, for the woman was a sazae oni. Later that night she transformed into a demon and bit the testicles off every pirate on the ship. The next day she ransomed their balls back to them for a tidy sum of gold.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Beyond Semi-Nagare

After the tragedy, the traumatized town found itself in a state almost beyond recovery. Taiji Kakuemon, the man who had issued the command to hunt, wrote, "Words cannot describe the wretched state of the hundreds of bereaved." In dealing with his own grief, Kakuemon distributed his estate among the families of the deceased. However, without the level of support that whaling had contributed to the economy, many of the town's young men left to look for work elsewhere.

But somehow Taiji managed to survive and piece together a new whaling fleet. Sawadayu and the survivors apprenticed new whalers, including Sawadayu's son Yasoichi, who had been too young to be a member of the fleet caught in the Semi-Nagare tragedy. The boy became a harpooner like his father, and later changed his name to Kimidayu (dayu being a special suffix attached to the names of harpooners). The invention of the whaling gun and other advances in technology made hunting safer, and Kimidayu would pass the trade onto his children. However, never would the next generation have to risk their lives out in the old chasers, setting the giant nets, or locked in the hunt. They would not understand the old saying, "On a boat, one is only an inch or two from a watery grave," in quite the same way their ancestors did. Kimidayu would be the last harpooner.

Kimidayu died at the age of 76 on June 28, 1945 just a few months before the end of World War II. Amazingly, footage exists of the old whaler. Taken in 1932, it shows the Ayaodori, a dance in which young men line up along a board placed across two traditional moso-bune boats. Kimidayu along with his friend, another old harpooner by the name of Uradayu, can be seen sitting on the bows of the boats, singing and banging the taiko.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Closing Thoughts

It has been nearly ten years since the footage for 2009's Cove was shot, but the battle still rages. With the discrimination case against the Taiji Whale Museum and Ric O'Barry's deportation from Japan just this year, there is yet to be a decisive winner. Without choosing a side though, my feeling is that Taiji will find its way much as it has always done. The town is a survivor. And while the dolphin slaughter footage is both compelling and disturbing, the fact of the matter is that the protesters have failed to meaningfully engage the townsfolk. Instead they have resorted to celebrity hype, international pressure and brute force. History has shown that in Taiji, successes as well as hardships forge a complex identity. The protesters would do well to note that the mother whale and its calf, an icon of unimaginable tragedy for the town, are eternalized in a gigantic monument that eyes visitors on their approach. So too now do the protesters play a part in galvanizing this identity.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Having been to Taiji, I do respect the protesters for putting their money where their mouths are and actually traveling and spending time there. It's possible to go straight there from Kansai airport without ever taking in a single major tourist site. Once on the ground it must be homesick-inducing, lonely and heartbreaking work. However, if the protesters really want the people of Taiji to care about their opinion, they first need to show that they understand theirs. That's not easy, but to understand is not to condone. It is the first step toward laying the groundwork for the possibility of change.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Getting Back to Taiji Station

It's a long walk back to the station, but hopefully it's been worth it. A tourist map will point out some other sites that might interest you, so keep having a wander around if you like. When you're ready, head back to the station by more or less retracing your steps. This time you can cut through the town and also take a shortcut through the mountain to save you having to walk all the way around the peninsula.

Map courtesy of Google Maps

Some Acknowledgements

Originally all I wanted to do was go see a torii made out of bones. I would have been clueless about it had it not been for Zack Davisson's article on the bakekujira at hyakumonogatari.com. That article can be read here:

https://hyakumonogatari.com/2013/05/10/bakekujira-and-japans-whale-cults/

C.W. Nicol is an author I stumbled upon horrendously late in the fifteen years I've been living in Japan. Nicol, one of the living treasures we are lucky to have among us, spent a year in Taiji doing research for his novel Harpoon. Though these days he condemns the cruelty of the dolphin hunt, he has been a defender of sustainable fishing practises, including traditional whaling. He continues to write a weekly column for The Japan Times, and his essay Taiji - Winds of Change can currently be read online here:

http://luna.pos.to/whale/jwa_taiji.html

A verse and chorus from Lament for the Fisherman's Wife are at the beginning of each main entry of this series. It's neither Japanese nor particularly old, but a tune by Scottish folk greats Silly Wizard. It appeared on their 1981 album Wild and Beautiful and with one listen you can tell that the song is both. You can find it on YouTube.

Artist Unknown, 1800s (Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, https://www.metmuseum.org/ via http://ukiyo-e.org)

Driver Gragma (yokaitourbus "at" mail "dot" com)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yokaitourbus/

The Master List (Wakayama)
http://yokaitourbus.blogspot.jp/2015/08/6-g-master-list-wakayama.html

(religion) Japanese Whale Cults (鯨崇拝)
Site: Semi-Nagare Monument/Monument to Those Lost at Sea (漂流人紀念碑)
Nearest Station: (JR Line) Taiji Stn. (太地駅)
Google Map Search: NA

xxv. Memorials for Whales (鯨の供養碑) and People (人紀念碑) or Taiji (太地) Part 4

Location (Memorial Tower for Whales): Taiji (near JR Line Taiji Stn.), Wakayama Prefecture; about 3.5 hours from Osaka + a little under 40 min. walking time; or a 3 min. walk from Ebisu Shrine

Location (Semi-Nagare Monument): Taiji (near JR Line Taiji Stn.), Wakayama Prefecture; about 3.5 hours from Osaka + 45 min. walking time; or a 10 min. walk from either Ebisu Shrine or the Memorial Tower for Whales

Associated with: Japanese "whale cults"

What force leads a man to a life filled with danger,

High on seas or a mile underground?

It's when need is his master and poverty's no stranger.

And there's no other work to be found.

But she has come down to condemn that wild ocean.

For the murderous loss of her man.

His boat sailed out on Wednesday morning.

And it's feared she's gone down with all hands.

-Lament for the Fisherman's Wife

The producers of The Cove commented in the film's final narration that they couldn't understand why the people of Taiji would construct so many monuments to whales. It is perhaps because the pursuit of no other quarry could so mimic the fickleness of the gods in the way the traditional whale hunt symbolized the potential for great prosperity as well as the promise of ruin in the face of failure. What you have then is a people who show gratitude and awe in equal parts.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Taking a right at Ebisu Shrine, I followed the curving road, encountering more spectators and race volunteers. I soon arrived in front of Tomyo-ji Temple, where an excited photographer told me to get out of the way. I did so most obediently, and while we waited for the cyclists to whiz past, I watched as he argued with a spectator and made a woman reverse away in her car. I explained to him in Japanese that I had only really come to Taiji that day as a tourist, to which he replied in booming English: "GOOD TIMING!" Bikes having flown past, I was granted permission to move along and so headed up the stone fortification of Tomyo-ji.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Such fortifications are more appropriate under things that need defending, like castles. As it happens, Tomyo-ji now sits on the old foundation of Taiji Castle, and the graceful sloping stone walls remain. At the top besides the temple itself is some beautiful statuary and also a simple stone marker, which despite its height has been dubbed in English as the memorial "tower" for whales. In Meiwa 5 (1768), right at the height of traditional whaling, Hama Hachibei (a whaler) erected the monument using materials from his family grave plot. That century had been dotted with poor catches, not to mention a tsunami in 1707 that saw most of the buildings in Taiji destroyed and the series of events that led to the construction of the whale bone bridge at Zuikoji in 1756. Here at Tomyo-ji is erected a monument to pacify the souls of departed whales and to pray for their rebirth. The Buddhist monument to the far right of the whale memorial was also erected by descendants of Hachibei.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Far off the coast of Taiji on the morning of December 25, 1878, the exhausted whaling fleet was in trouble. Having finally secured the whales to the moso-bune, they found themselves not making much headway against the west wind. Realizing that their strength would give out before they made it back to shore, in desperation they cut the whales loose and fought the wind with all their remaining might.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Sawadayu and his boat were in much bigger trouble. They were caught in a current they did not have the energy to challenge and were getting further and further away from the fleet. Unable to resist the current, the 26 men aboard Sawadayu's boat battled hunger, dehydration and hypothermia out on the open sea for a week before they finally came upon a chain of islands. As they approached one of the islands' shores, the boat capsized, killing 18 of the 26 exhausted whalers. Only eight survived, Sawadayu being one of them.

I returned to the main road encircling Taiji Bay and made my way up the sloping incline. By this time rain had started to fall and my umbrella was tottering in the wind, doing its best to keep my camera dry. I came to a short flight of stairs along the incline that took me up to the Semi-Nagare Monument, the Hyoryubito-kinenhi (漂流人紀念碑), or "monument for those who drifted away." It honors the whalers who lost their lives in the tragedy.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

The island that Sawadayu and the other survivors washed up on was Kozushima, part of the Izu Islands chain, nearly 190 miles (a whopping 300 kilometers) from Taiji and administratively part of Tokyo prefecture. It was well into the new year when Sawadayu finally returned to Taiji with the other survivors of his boat. If they were saddened to report the deaths of their fellows, they were unprepared to learn the extent of the tragedy of the fleet as it had unfolded. One of the other boats landed ashore in Atawa (more than 20 miles north along the coast from Taiji), and the crew of another boat was picked up by a passing ship. The survivors were 13 men in all. Of the remaining 100 or so men, 12 died from starvation, while the others, unable to overcome the wind and current, drifted off into the ocean never to be seen or heard from again. Fathers and sons (including apprentices as young as 10), all the siblings from the same family were known to have been lost together. The culmination of several hundred years of Taiji whaling, the people, the boats, the equipment... nearly all washed away in a single tragedy.

Comments: It's a somber end to our journey, but I'm sucker for stone poles in the ground. Time to finish what we started.

Getting There

Take a right off the main road at Ebisu Shrine. Follow the curve of the road around and Tomyo-ji will appear on your right.

Map courtesy of Google Maps

To get to the Semi-Nagare Monument, get back on to the main road and turn right. The monument is a ways up the slope on the right.

Map courtesy of Google Maps

Driver Gragma (yokaitourbus "at" mail "dot" com)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yokaitourbus/

The Master List (Wakayama)
http://yokaitourbus.blogspot.jp/2015/08/6-g-master-list-wakayama.html

(religion) Japanese Whale Cults (鯨崇拝)
Site: Tomyo-ji Temple (東明寺)
Nearest Station: (JR Line) Taiji Stn. (太地駅)
Google Map Search: "Tomyoji Taiji"

(religion) Japanese Whale Cults (鯨崇拝)
Site: Semi-Nagare Monument/Monument to Those Lost at Sea (漂流人紀念碑)
Nearest Station: (JR Line) Taiji Stn. (太地駅)
Google Map Search: NA

xxiv. INTERMISSION: The Setsugeikyo (雪鯨橋) or "Whale Bridge" (くじら橋) of Zuikoji (瑞光寺)

Location: Higashiyodogawa Ward (near Hankyu Line Kami-Shinjo Stn.), Osaka City; about 12 min. from Osaka + a little under 10 min. walking time

 

Associated with: Japanese "whale cults"

 

One might be surprised to learn the many ways in which a downed whale could be utilized. C.W. Nicol again lays it out for us:

Meat, for human consumption, was the most valuable portion of the whale, but nothing was wasted. As in the West, blubber was rendered into oil, the uses of which were many indeed. Whale oil lighted the lamps of Japan too, but besides lamps, the oil was mixed with vinegar to make a highly effective pesticide for use in the rice paddies. This oil-vinegar mixture was perfectly biodegradable, and killed off only harmful pests, with no ill effects on the edible loaches and small clams that abounded in the rice paddies of Tokugawa Japan.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Oil-rich bones were sawed up and cooked. After this first cooking they were smashed into pieces by hammers and cooked again. These bones provided excellent fertilizer, and more oil. This fertilizer was of such great value that merchants came from distant parts of Japan to make bids for its purchase.

Sinews were carefully cut out from the bone and meat, and when dried they were sold to instrument makers, armor makers and so forth. The baleen (erroneously called 'whale bone' in the West) found even more uses than it did in fashion-conscious America and Europe. It was used in myriad ways, from the tips of fine fishing rods, to beautifully polished plates, and the springs that worked the mouths of the 'bunraku' puppets [and to birthing aids].

Even the entrails were cut, washed and boiled, and were used in miso soup, or broiled on charcoal. Absolutely nothing was wasted.

-Taiji, Winds of Change, C.W. Nicol

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Clearly a whale carcass has many uses. In the previous entry we saw a set of whale jawbones being used to make a simple torii in front of a shrine. However, much further north in Osaka city there is a temple with a bridge made out of whale bones.

Such a bridge is something you'd expect to cross over on your way to hell, but that would be failing to take into account the religious overtones of traditional whaling in Japan. As we discussed in the first entry, the appearance or arrival of the whale, depending on the circumstances and timing, could be seen as divine intervention.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Tanjuzenji was a traveling priest from an Osaka temple with a long history. Over the years the temple had burned down and undergone a few name changes, but since 1729, or for the last thirty years or so, it has gone by the name Zuikoji, the Temple of Light and Luster (half-assed translation mine). And so it happened that in 1754, Tanjuzenji traveled south and came to a village in Kii Province known as Taiji. The community was in bad shape after a series of poor catches, and the people of Taiji implored Tanjuzenji for his prayers to reverse their fortune. This posed a moral dilemma for the priest; he was compelled to live by the Buddhist precept to refrain from harming living things, which is essentially what he was being asked to pray for. Tanjuzenji refused.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

The suffering of the villagers, however, made him reconsider, and despite his turmoil he prayed that their fishing nets be filled. And with the prayers came the whales.

In gratitude, the whalers of Taiji gave 30 ryo of gold to Tenjuzenji's temple along with 18 whale bones (you're welcome). As "a symbol of the value of life" and as a memorial to the whales, the bones were used to construct a bridge. The name of this bridge is Setsugeikyo (雪鯨橋), a Chinese reading of the characters for Snow-Whale-Bridge. It's commonly known though as the Kujira-bashi, a simpler Japanese reading that just means "Whale Bridge."

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

The first bridge was constructed in 1756, or two years after Tenjuzenji's visit to Taiji. Because bones wear out quicker than more sturdier materials, the bridge has been reconstructed every 50 years or so (1829, 1873, 1923, destroyed during WWII, 1974 and 2006). An increase in visitors likely accounts for the shorter time between recent constructions, and though in the past the bridge was mostly skeletal, these days it's more stone than bone. Each time, the whale bones have been sent from Taiji, who continue to honor the life-saving prayers that delivered them from collapse.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Comments: If you don't have a spare day to visit Taiji, or if spending seven hours on the train there and back doesn't appeal to you, a quick trip to Zuikoji will give you a feel for the sites to the south. These days it even has a whale bone torii. If you have a spare couple of hours one morning or afternoon, this site is very doable. It's "Taiji lite" if you will.

Getting There

Our destination is Kami-Shinjo Stn. on the Hankyu Line. If you're in the northern end of the city, the starting point on the Midosuji subway line is Umeda Stn. If you're in the south, it's Dobutsuen-mae Stn.

From Umeda:

Subway Umeda Stn. lies next to other stations, also called Umeda, operated by two train companies: Hankyu and Hanshin. From subway Umeda Stn. (or Osaka Stn. if you've come via JR), follow the signs directing you to the Hankyu Line. There are a few lines that leave from Hankyu Umeda, and Kami-Shinjo is on the Kyoto Line. You need to take a local, semi-express or rapid service bound for either Takatsuki-shi or Kyoto (Kawaramachi). It's only five stops from Umeda, so even a local will get you there in good time.

From Dobutsuen-mae:

Dobutsuen-mae is where the red Midosuji Line and brown Sakaisuji Line intersect. The Sakaisuji Line hasn't been featured all that much, but it's the line you might take to visit the zoo (Dobutsuen-mae) or Nipponbashi (Osaka's "Denden Town," not unlike Tokyo's Akihabara district). It extends up to Tenjimbashisuji Rokuchome, but some services conveniently hook in directly to the Hankyu Line. What you can do is take a train bound for Takatsuki-shi or Kawaramachi on the Sakaisuji Line, and it will take you directly to Kami-Shinjo in about 20 minutes. Be sure to look at the timetable and electronic display to see where the train is headed before boarding, and be careful not to get on a train bound for Kita-Senri, as that will actually switch lines one stop before Kami-Shinjo.

Getting Your Bearings at Kami-Shinjo Station

Kami-Shinjo Stn. is a long platform with exits at the far ends (north and south). Go out the south exit as that is closer to Zuikoji. Refer to the map below.

Map courtesy of Google Maps

The star on the map is where the whale bone torii is, which is basically the entrance to the temple. You can access it via one of two footpaths off the main road. You'll probably find it without too much trouble, but here is a close-up of the area near the temple.

Map courtesy of Google Maps

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Driver Gragma (yokaitourbus "at" mail "dot" com)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yokaitourbus/

The Master List (Osaka)
http://yokaitourbus.blogspot.jp/2015/08/6-the-master-list-osaka.html

(religion) Japan Whale Cults (鯨崇拝)
Site: Zuiko-ji Temple (瑞光寺)
Nearest Station: (Hankyu Line) Kami-Shinjo Stn. (上新庄駅) or (Subway) Zuiko Yonchome Stn. (瑞光四丁目駅)
Google Map Search: "Zuiko-ji Temple Higashiyodogawa" - then to check you have the right location, "Zuikoji Park" should bring up the lot immediately next to the temple.

xxiii. The Whale Bone Torii (鯨骨鳥居) of Ebisu-jinja Shrine (恵比須神社) or Taiji (太地) Part 3

Location: Taiji (near JR Line Taiji Stn.), Wakayama Prefecture; about 3.5 hours from Osaka + a little under 40 min. walking time; or a 1 min. walk from Asuka Shrine

 

Associated with: Japanese "whale cults"
 

There's a school on the hill where the sons of dead fathers,

Are led towards tempests and gales.

Where their God-given wings are clipped close to their bodies.

And their eyes are bound round with ships' sails.

And she has come down to condemn that wild ocean.

For the murderous loss of her man.

His boat sailed out on Wednesday morning.

And it's feared she's gone down with all hands.

-Lament for the Fisherman's Wife

 

Just south of Asuka Shrine is another that symbolizes the town in a most raw and primal fashion. It is essentially a whale shrine, in some ways obvious (the whale bone torii out front) and in some ways more subtle. I had hoped to spend many minutes here in peaceful isolation soaking up the atmosphere, but gathered at the bottom of the shrine along the roadside were rowdy townsfolk cheering on the Tour de Kumano cyclists. With the most dignified air I could muster, I ascended the stone stairway. Getting about halfway I dropped the bottle of tea I was carrying, sending it flying down into the spectators below. I apologized for disturbing the peace that no one but myself was trying to maintain, and this drew some words of encouragement from a grandmother in the crowd. Heartened, I made my way up the steps...

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

The history of Ebisu Shrine is murky. It perhaps started out in direct worship of the whale, which represented real and potential wealth for the village. Over time, the whale became associated with Ebisu, the god of fisherman and luck. This probably originated from superstition and a healthy respect for the whale itself, not only a creature of great bodily strength but one who had the ability to drive fish into (or away from) shore... an apparent herder or "master" over smaller creatures. As superstitions developed certain taboos emerged, such as the avoidance of orthodox terms to refer to whales. In doing this, the fisherman gave whales a catch-all name by which to refer to them: Ebisu. As this merging of superstitious practice and actual religious observance continued, whales were first seen as messengers of Ebisu, and then as incarnations of Ebisu himself. Enshrined here at Ebisu Shrine in Taiji is Kotoshironushi, a shinto deity who is often associated with Ebisu.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

In a small clearing at the top of the stairway also sits a rather ambiguous stone "figure." It's said to resemble a whale, and so is likely another embodiment of Ebisu. According to Taiji lore, it could also be a male phallic deity, but apparently there are no records to support this theory. We do know that Ebisu was thought to take on certain ominous forms that might influence the successful outcome of a catch. Such included not only the whale, but also the shark and even a floating corpse were said to be the deity. Another form that Ebisu was said to take were ordinary stones that either washed up or were brought ashore. Young boys were sometimes made to dive down and collect such stones from the bottom of the ocean at certain times of year. It's very possible that the sacred stone at Ebisu shrine is an especially large example of this phenomenon. I thought this smaller arrangement nearby looked a bit like a penis though.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

I've had trouble getting a fix on the age of Ebisu Shrine, but it's probably less than 400 years old. It has a stone lantern that dates back to Hoei 4 (1707), and it was this shrine that perhaps partly inspired the Kujira-Ebisu no Miya (鯨恵比寿の宮) shrine in Ihara Saikaku's 1688 novel Nippon Eitaigura (日本永代蔵, "The Eternal Storehouse of Japan"):

Taiji is a prosperous place, and its people render thanks at a shrine amid a grove of young pines - the shrine of Whale-Ebisu. The gateway, some thirty feet high, is constructed from the skeletons of whales, and if your curiosity should be aroused by this unusual sight, you should question a local inhabitant, he will tell you the story of 'Demon' Gennai, a skilled harpoon-master in the whaling industry of this shore.

-The Japanese Family Storehouse [alt. title], G.W. Sargent trans., Cambridge University Press, 1959

Source: Ibid., Cambridge University Press, 1959

I had assumed that this was describing a historical structure, but was shocked to discover that the much smaller whale bone torii that stands in front of the shrine today may be an example of life imitating art. The entry on Ebisu Shrine in the Taiji guidebook I received at the museum reads that, "The Fish Dealers Association, inspired by this fictional story [Nippon Eitaigura], built a gate out of a pair of whale jawbones in 1985." Sargent's footnote in his 1959 translation of the Eternal Storehouse also bubble-burstingly reads, "There is no shrine of Whale-Ebisu (Kujira-ebisu) in present-day Taiji." At the very least this seems to indicate that one shrine was not being directly associated with the other until fairly recently.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Back in 1878, the Taiji whaling fleet sprang into action. The fleet was divided into groups, or kumi, with each kumi containing up to 12 boats and being led by a harpooner known as a ha-zashi. Among them were 15-men seko-bune or "chaser" boats; 26-men ami-bune or net boats, heavier vessels that would lay the double semi-circle of nets used to slow the whale down; moso-bune, boats used to tow the whale to shore; and an array of smaller boats that would collect equipment that was dropped or fell out of the boats during the fracas. Aboard one of the ami-bune was a harpooner by the name of Sawadayu. The three-pennant signal had been raised, so Sawadayu knew there was a whale and calf in the area, but like the other whalers assumed they would be left alone.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

As the fleet pursued the whales, it quickly became apparent that it would not be an easy hunt. Though the nets had been set to slow the whales down, they proved less effective against the fierce mother using all her might to protect her calf. The hunt began a little before 2:00 pm on the afternoon of December 24, but it was more than 20 hours later at around 10:30 am on the morning of December 25 that the mother whale and her calf eventually succumbed to the fleet and died. However, by this time the whales had taken the boats more than 12 miles off the Taiji coast. The fleet found themselves fighting the west wind and a strong ocean current, all after spending the night in the dead of winter downing a mother whale fighting to the death. Sawadayu, exhausted after the hunt, felt the heavy pull of the current...

Comments: Ebisu Shrine is the centerpiece of this trip to Taiji. It's uniqueness and cultural significance make it a site almost worth visiting on its own. The simple whale bone torii, coarse and peeling; the sacred stone, amorphous but with just enough shape for you to project some inner impression onto it, both immediately create that perfect other-worldly atmosphere... a "Yokai high."

Getting There

Getting to Ebisu Shrine from Asuka Shrine couldn't be easier. Just continue in the direction you were headed and you'll come to it on your right.

Map courtesy of Google Maps

In between the two shrines is the Fish Dealers Association Supermarket (Cooperative). As I mentioned a few posts ago, among the pamphlets that you can pick up at Taiji Station is an undoubtedly excellent restaurant guide. I point that out because I'm a bit useless when it comes to finding (let alone recommending) a good place to eat, so if you're going to have a meal somewhere I suggest you refer to that. In my case, I bought my lunch here at the supermarket and wolfed it down in the little square outside. The sky had gone dark and it looked like rain was on the way.

 

Driver Gragma (yokaitourbus "at" mail "dot" com)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yokaitourbus/

The Master List (Wakayama)
http://yokaitourbus.blogspot.jp/2015/08/6-g-master-list-wakayama.html

(religion) Japanese Whale Cults (鯨崇拝); Ebisu (恵比須/恵比寿/夷/戎)
Site: Ebisu-jinja Shrine (恵比須神社)
Nearest Station: (JR Line) Taiji Stn. (太地駅)
Google Map Search: NA <-- A different shrine will come up if you search for "Ebisu Shrine."

xxii. Asuka Shrine (飛鳥神社) or Taiji (太地) Part 2

Location: Taiji (near JR Line Taiji Stn.), Wakayama Prefecture; about 3.5 hours from Osaka + 35 min. walking time; or a 20 min. walk from the Taiji Whale Museum

Associated with: Japanese "whale cults" 

Oh and white were the wave caps and wild was their parting.

So fierce is the warring of love.

But she prayed to the gods both of men and of sailors.

Not to cast their cruel nets o'er her love.

Now she has come down to condemn that wild ocean.

For the murderous loss of her man.

His boat sailed out on Wednesday morning.

And it's feared she's gone down with all hands.

-Lament for the Fisherman's Wife

Asuka Shrine once opened up onto the beach but now sits behind the local Fish Dealers Association. A new placard in English reads:

"Built in 1690 in the Momoyama period style of architecture, this shrine is entirely lacquered in rich colors and covered with detailed sculptures."

Lovely. Having read up on the shrine beforehand, I was surprised at such a perfunctory description. It seemed to purposely belie the shrine's importance in a way that said, "Oh, nothing all that special about it, really. Just a bunch of lacquered buildings. The supermarket next door sells whale you know." And maybe that's fine. Every place needs its own private spiritual hub, and that's what Asuka Shrine appears to be.

The townsfolk call this place "Miya-sama" (宮様). One of the deities enshrined here is a local kami by the name of Yomotsu-koto-saka-no-o-no-kami (予母津事解男神, hyphens mine). Though the shrine building has existed since 1690 (the shrine was actually established in 1624), this local kami has been worshipped in Taiji since at least Tengyo 5 (881). The grounds have auxiliary shrines housing other deities, and there is one to honor the Taiji war dead too. Besides annual festivals, Asuka Shrine is where the families of sailors would gather, those who had failed to return from a hunt or catch. Here they would burn fires through the night to guide their lost family members home.

It was also on the beach in front of this shrine in the early afternoon of December 24, 1878 where two men could be seen arguing. An unprecedentedly large right whale and her calf had been spotted, and the two men, beach master Taiji Kakuemon and advisory head Wada Kinemon, were debating whether or not to signal the hunt. Kakuemon cited their dire need, it had been a terrible season and the town badly needed a catch, while Kinemon cited tradition: to hunt the whale and her calf was not their way. Kakuemon's insistence won over and the order to hunt was issued.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Another interesting side note to this shrine, besides all its lacquering, is a treasure it contains. Inside is a long sword or tachi (太刀). This was thought to have belonged to Taira no Koremori (1157-1184), grandson of Taira no Kiyomori. In an odd series of events, Koremori abandoned his post during the Genpei War and on his way back to the capital visited Mount Koya, there becoming a monk. He embarked on a pilgrimage to Kumano and then in God-knows-what state (perhaps he thought he would sail out to the Fudaraku Pure Land) took a boat out onto the ocean and drowned himself. Fast forward 500 years or so, a Taiji fisherman makes an unexpected discovery hoisting up his shrimp nets. Entangled in the netting is a sword a little under five feet. The theory is that it had been dropped by Koremori as he crossed the Taiji inlet before ending his life. The fisherman presented the sword to Asuka Shrine, where it's housed to this day. 

Comments: It's along our route, so why not stop by and pay a visit? Unfortunately it's not possible to get a clear view of the water anymore, but the shrine still has a lot of charm. If you're lucky, something will be going on when you visit. If not, you can still enjoy the lacquer.

Getting There

The Whale Museum is at the north end of the peninsula, so just about anything else you might care to see in Taiji can be taken in with a leisurely stroll south. Resuming our journey on foot, simply continue along the road we were on before entering the museum. This will first take us right past Hatajiri Bay (畠尻湾), aka "The Cove."

Map courtesy of Google Maps

Oh yes, it's right here just off the main road. Watching the film, it's a bit tricky to get a sense of distance, and while "the killing cove" is not visible from the street or even directly from the beach, it's by no means secluded. It would be irresponsible of me to suggest you try to get a better look at the actual cove (marked with a red arrow on the map above), and in any case that section is fenced off. Is there any real reason then to stop by and check Hatajiri Bay out? Many people will have a number one reason and some people a number two. It has the last public toilet along the route for a while.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Continue down the road and you'll come to the tail end of Taiji Bay. Follow that around and you'll soon see the much lacquered Asuka Shrine on your right.

Map courtesy of Google Maps

Image courtesy of Google Maps 

Driver Gragma (yokaitourbus "at" mail "dot" com)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yokaitourbus/

The Master List (Wakayama)
http://yokaitourbus.blogspot.jp/2015/08/6-g-master-list-wakayama.html

(religion) Japanese Whale Cults (鯨崇拝)
Site: Asuka Shrine (飛鳥神社)
Nearest Station: (JR Line) Taiji Stn. (太地駅)
Google Map Search: "Asuka Shrine Taiji"

xxi. The Taiji Whale Museum (太地町立くじらの博物館) or Taiji (太地) Part 1

Location: Taiji (near JR Line Taiji Stn.), Wakayama Prefecture; about 3.5 hours from Osaka + 35 min. walking time

Associated with: Japanese "whale cults"

By the storm-torn shoreline a woman is standing.

The spray strung like jewels in her hair.

And the sea tore the rocks near that desolate landing.

As though it had known she stood there.

For she had come down to condemn that wild ocean.

For the murderous loss of her man.

His boat sailed out on Wednesday morning.

And it's feared she's gone down with all hands.

-Lament for the Fisherman's Wife

There is a brilliant article up on Zack Davisson's hyakumonogatari.com about the bakekujira, or "ghost whale." Following it is a fascinating description of Japanese whale cults, or more broadly how a fishing community's relationship with the ocean and whales informs its religious practice. Several locations in Japan are mentioned but only one from Kansai: Taiji, a small fishing town along the coast of Wakayama. Reading the article I made a mental note to visit Taiji as soon as I could, while at the same time thinking that the name sounded awfully familiar.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

The Cove, Dummy

Oh right, The Cove. Taiji is the setting for the 2009 docu-film focusing on the town's annual dolphin hunt. I didn't give it too much thought, but when I started making plans to go to Taiji a friend quietly suggested that maybe it wasn't such a good idea... as a foreigner I'd be roundly hated and yelled at by everybody in sight. I thought that unlikely, but decided I should at least watch The Cove to see what I might be in for. If you haven't seen it, it looks something like this...

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

...except the turtles are dolphins and the water babies are Japanese fisherman and the dolphins are boats. Much like that last sentence, I wasn't completely sure what to make of The Cove, but I did get a sense from watching it why the townsfolk might be suspicious of me. The fishermen in the film were also extremely aggressive, and though I'm always delighted when I hear roughly spoken Japanese, I'd prefer not to have it spoken to me. Anyway, the movie itself wasn't enough to put me off going, but I did decide to take a few precautionary steps. First I made a point to visit out of season so there would be nothing happening at the time to protest or get worked up about, and likely no actual protesters to get mistaken for. I also somehow had the bright idea to wear light summer business attire as a way of throwing people off my scent. I wouldn't look anything like a protester and perhaps the townsfolk would mistake me for a Mormon. So looking like I meant business... as in, actual business, it was a sunny Sunday morning when I arrived at Taiji Station. This would be my start and end point provided I made it through the day alive.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

My plan was to be in and out of the town quickly and do as little as possible to attract attention. You can imagine my surprise then when I exited the station to find a car with loudspeakers and men standing around with walkie-talkies. I was not expecting this kind of vigilance! I quickly ducked back into the station and read pamphlets for about 10 minutes before venturing outside again and striking out toward Taiji proper. I hadn't gone all that far when there on the sidewalk was another man with a walkie-talkie! Suddenly I found myself every 30 meters or so crossing paths with patrollers. They were everywhere! Did they know I was coming or did they always do this?

It was only when I saw all the cyclists lined up in the middle of the road did I realize what was happening. Somehow I'd managed to come to Taiji on the last day of the Tour de Kumano, a professional road race that has been held in the region annually since 2006. Because of it, every able-bodied townsperson was out in the street to witness the event. I would be seen by one and all and they would be wondering who the idiot was in business gear staring at everything but the cyclists.

Not far from the starting line was my first stop, the Taiji Whale Museum. The museum, which doubles as a marine park, has been referred to online as "a dolphin's worst nightmare." The museum also lost a discrimination case back in March this year for refusing to admit "anti-whalers." I wasn't sure what to expect of this apparent enclave of cetacean hell, but I bravely strode forward to the ticket counter with my discount voucher and was admitted inside.

Once in, I knew my destination and headed straight for it: the third floor. It's this level that exhibits Taiji's 400-year history of whaling.

A whale on the beach means wealth for seven villages.

A fishing village is not simply a village in which the people fish, but a village where if fishing did not take place, the village would not exist. Taiji is one such place. There is not the space for a viable agricultural industry, and like many coastal areas in Japan the mountains meet the sea. In times past a bad season littered with poor catches meant hardship and the possibility of famine.

Taiji as a fishing village was of course not the only community with such a capricious relationship with the sea. There are tales of villages where, in perhaps being brought even to the brink of starvation, the people would suddenly wake one morning to a whale having beached itself on its shores; and literally overnight, the fortune of the village was reversed. A whale, in all it represented to the village as its savior, the sustenance it provided and wealth it would bring, was thought of as no less than the embodiment of a god... a Hyochakushin (漂着神) or as Davisson puts it in his article, a "Drifting Ashore God." There are also less dramatic accounts of a whale, shark or other marine creature appearing at a village on the day of a shrine festival. With some shrines being almost on the beach, the animal would appear to be visiting the shrine... a "visiting deity" as it were.

Katsukawa Shuntei, Edo Period (Source: Museum of Fine Arts, https://www.mfa.org/ via http://ukiyo-e.org)

To try and bring down a whale in these pre-modern times though was a dangerous practice, and what the god giveth it taketh away. It has been suggested that the spirit of a deceased whale poorly treated would become vengeful by driving fish away from shore or doing damage until appeased with proper worship. Meanwhile out on the boats, there was no guarantee that those on a perilous hunt would return, and in this way the life and death of the whale was intertwined with the life and death of the whaler and the whaling village. Whatever one's thoughts are on the current state of affairs, it cannot be denied that the people of old Taiji lived their environment, and this is the legacy the townsfolk fiercely protect.

It was this spirit that I hoped to catch a glimpse of on my visit to Taiji, and it's the third floor of the museum which houses the relics of this old tradition. Truth be told I wasn't very interested in the whale and dolphin specimens on the second floor or the dolphin show outside. The top floor of the museum gave me all I needed for the other sites I would visit that day. 

Of particular interest was an exhibit titled The Last Harpooner. It begins with a tragedy known as the Semi-Nagare (with O- sometimes added to the front as emphasis, meaning great). It was this event in 1878 that would mark the end of traditional whaling in Taiji. Semi-Nagare (背美流れ) doesn't translate well. The museum presented it in English as "Right Whales, and Drifting Away," but it might work a little better as "The Right Whale Drift" or perhaps "The Great Right Whale Current."

Even in a dream, look not upon a right whale and her calf. (背美の子連れは夢にも見るな。)

We'll continue the events of the Semi-Nagare over the course of this series on Taiji. To set the scene, however, it might be helpful to get a feel for the whale hunt and some of the customs at the time. C.W. Nicol writes:

The [whaling] fleet was directed from lookout points on shore, which were also in contact with the beach-master. They relayed his orders, as well as the sightings and movements of whales, by the means of various pennants, by signal sticks (a kind of semaphore), by smoke signal and by the notes of conch shell trumpets. One signal was of great significance. The hoisting of it would mean a whale sighting, but no hunt. It was a three-pennant signal, each pennant being black with a white stripe in the middle...

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

...it signified a female right whale and her calf... [T]here is a wealth of stories in Taiji to indicate that they held the female whale, especially a pregnant or mother whale in great awe. Even the whaler's song show this... [A] female right whale, normally a docile creature, would fight with fury if she had a calf... [T]he Taiji whalers could afford to let a female right whale and her calf go unharmed, and it seems that they always did so.

-Taiji, Winds of Change, C.W. Nicol

Comments: I'll just go ahead and say it. If you're at all interested in the history of Taiji, then a trip to the whale museum is a must. The third floor exhibit is excellent, and The Last Harpooner includes detailed explanations in English, which is really going the extra mile for a local museum. Another good reason to visit the museum is its large gift and souvenir shop. If like myself you are not planning to stay nearby in a hotel, you will likely not get the opportunity anywhere else in town to purchase mementos. The museum is also in some ways a de facto tourist center, and they gave me a really quite wonderful Taiji guidebook in English. I would have gladly paid money for it, but this is something they were giving away for free (though you have to ask for it). I was extremely impressed.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

The agedness of the museum is apparent on the second floor, which houses the whale and dolphin specimens. There are a lot of preserved animal parts and a lot of things in jars, including many fetuses and at least one newborn. Brand new when the museum was opened in 1969, this would have looked very scientific for the time, but some Western visitors will find this a little creepy if not disturbing. I recommend skipping whatever doesn't interest you or may upset you.

Relating to that, I cannot comment on the quality of the dolphin shows that were playing, though I'm sure they are fine if you're into that sort of thing.

Getting There

The starting point on the Midosuji subway line is Tennoji Stn. Our destination is Taiji Stn. on the JR line.

Taiji is our first destination where taking anything slower than a tokkyu (a limited express train requiring an additional fee) is impractical. There is an excellent express service called the Kuroshio that travels the Wakayama coastline all the way to Shingu. Taiji is the third to last stop.

You can go to Taiji any day of the year, but I recommend going in April or May. June is possible, but check the weather forecast for rain, especially if the rainy season has begun. If it's really pouring the Kuroshio will stop running (perhaps with you in it). July is possible, and in August you will no doubt catch the beach crowd (fun), but both months are too hot for all the walking you'll need to do. The season for the dolphin drive is quite long from September to March. I don't think it's that big a deal to visit while the hunt is going on, especially if you can speak Japanese, but if you're worried about it just go sometime between April and August.

At Tennoji you'll need to change to the JR line and visit the ticket counter to buy your Kuroshio ticket to Taiji. The trip is about three and a half hours long, and taking the earliest service will get you there just before lunch. You'll then have about six hours of sightseeing before the last Kuroshio for Osaka. You might need to prioritize your to-do list a bit, but there should be plenty of time to enjoy the sites.

Getting Your Bearings at Taiji Station

At Taiji there is only one exit and it more or less faces the easterly direction you'll be traveling. The station has many excellent pamphlets and brochures, so grab a few to take with you. Try to get something with a map that has all the public toilets (WC) marked and a restaurant guide if you're going to have a meal somewhere. There are a good number of public toilets about the town, but some are easier to spot than others.

Map courtesy of Google Maps

Walking to the museum takes a solid 35 minutes, but the road is varied enough that you'll enjoy the approach and the landmarks along the way. The stretch of the Kumano Highway that you'll initially walk along does not have a raised footpath, but soon to your right you'll notice a foot bridge that crosses a river onto a path along the opposite side. This path (marked in red below) runs parallel to the highway and the river, and you can follow it almost all the way to where the road forks. From that point there is a wide raised footpath the rest of the way.

Map courtesy of Google Maps

Where the road forks there is also a convenience store. The route will later take you past a small supermarket so it's fine to skip it.

Once you've passed where the road forks it's simply a matter of following it around the northern end of the peninsula until you reach the museum. There will be a whole lot of camera candy along the way, as well as a kiosk and a few souvenir shops. Though it's hard to decide what to buy with your trip barely started, I suggest getting whatever catches your eye now as there is a good chance you won't be coming back this way. I particularly recommend the gift shop just before the Kiyomaru, a dry docked whaling vessel on display along the home stretch to the museum. The shop has some nice knickknacks and friendly staff. There is a red arrow pointing to it in the map below.

Map courtesy of Google Maps

Information on The Taiji Whale Museum

The museum is open from 8:30 until 17:00 every single day of the year. The 8:30 opening time is particularly attractive if you're already in the area and can make an early start. General admission (as of August 2016) is 1300 yen, 1200 yen for seniors over 70 (be careful, you'll get carded), and 700 yen for elementary school children. The museum's website has a voucher that can be printed out for 100 yen off general admission for adults and children. One voucher can be used for up to fourteen people.

The museum was built in 1969 and some of the interior does not seem to have changed in that time. If they have air conditioning it wasn't on when I went, so if it's the case it's absent all together, April or May might be better months to visit if you don't want to be sweating bullets.


Driver Gragma (yokaitourbus "at" mail "dot" com)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yokaitourbus/

The Master List (Wakayama)
http://yokaitourbus.blogspot.jp/2015/08/6-g-master-list-wakayama.html

(religion) Japanese Whale Cults (鯨崇拝)
Site: The Taiji Whale Museum (太地町立くじらの博物館)
Nearest Station: (JR Line) Taiji Stn. (太地駅)
Google Map Search: "Taiji Whale Museum"