Arne Kalland

Fra Jegersamfunn Til Økonomisk Supermakt

Japans Historie

Pamela J. Asquith

Documents the great diversity in how people perceive their natural environment and how they come to terms with nature, be it through brute force, rituals or idealization. The main message of the book is that 'nature' and the 'natural' are concepts very much conditioned by their context.

Cultural Perspectives

Japanese Images of Nature

Illness and Healing in a Japanese Community

Facing the Spirits

Brian Moeran

This book gives a social anthropological account of whaling culture in Japan. When originally published this was the first comprehensive account in English of the history of Japanese whaling, showing how it has given rise to a particular culture. The volume discusses what happens when that culture is threatened. At the same time as explaining the work organization of those involved in whaling, the role of whaling companies in local and national economies, and the role of the whale in the establishment and maintenance of local community identity (ritual, food, gift-giving), the authors address the wider political and so-called "environmental" issues surrounding whaling in general, and Japanese whaling in particular.

End of an Era

Japanese Whaling?

From being an important centre which attracted a large number of merchants during the feudal period, Shingū, on the northern shores of Kyushu is today a suburb of Fukuoka City. Fishing is a slowly-dying occupation and this volume analyses how the fishermen adjust to changing circumstances. Although Japan is the largest fishing nation in the world, when originally published this book was the first to be published in English which focussed on the composition and role performance of the crews and larger net-groups. This analysis has been set in an historical perspective, showing how the vertical structures during the Tokugawa period have changed to more egalitarian structures where much energy is spent to hinder the development of any new hierarchy.

A Study of a Japanese Fishing Community

Shingu

Canadian Circumpolar Institute

Frank Sejersen

Mats Ris

Harald Beyer Broch

This book focuses upon the hunting of seals and whales in the North Atlantic region, and how the activities of urban-based environmentalism has prompted responses from diverse northern peoples associated with self-determination, human rights, and sustainable development. However, the relevance of an expanding environmentalism implicitly challenges the interests and very survival of local peoples and their distinctive cultures. An historical analysis of these hunting societies reveals that although often understood as traditional and marginal, they are modern, dynamic, and pro-active. The authors argue that their 'indigenousness' is more usefully understood in terms of power relations within the international community. In examining the discourses in both camps, the authors find that despite the polarized and opposed positions each side takes, common ground still exists.

Marine Mammals and Northern Cultures

Ole Bruun

This highly acclaimed, 'bold and refreshing' collection of essays takes a critical look at Asians' perception of their natural environments as well as at Western views of Asia in this respect.

A Critical Approach

Asian Perceptions of Nature

Whaling has become one of the most controversial environmental issues. It is not that all whale species are at the brink of extinction, but that whales have become important symbols to both pro- and anti-whaling factions and can easily be appropriated as the common heritage of humankind. This book, the first of its kind, is therefore not about whales and whaling per se but about how people communicate about whales and whaling. It contributes to a better understanding and discussion of controversial environmental issues: Why and how are issues selected? How is knowledge on these issues produced and distributed by organizations and activists? And why do affluent countries like Japan and Norway still support whaling, which is of insignificant economic importance? Basing his analysis on fieldwork in Japan and Norway and at the International Whaling Commission, the author argues how an image of a -superwhale- has been constructed and how this image has replaced meat and oil as the important whale commodity. He concludes that the whaling issue provides an arena where NGOs and authorities on each side can unite, swapping political legitimacy and building personal relations that can be useful on issues where relations are less harmonious.

Discourses on Whales and Whaling

Unveiling the Whale

Gerard Persoon

This volume paints a general picture of the environmental situation in Asia, backing it up with several case studies. Two major points are made in this general picture. The first is that environmental campaigns in Asia tend to have a local focus; they react to very concrete problems in the immediate neighbourhood and as such usually people are engaged in a cause for practical rather than idealistic reasons. Such can be seen in case studies from the volume dealing with campaigns against logging and tree plantations, tourist facilities and factories and in support or defence of nature reserves. This pattern is in marked contrast to the profile of the most successful Western movements (in terms of fund-raising at least) for whom the focus is on perceived problems in distant parts of the world. The second point is evidence in several of the case studies in the volume, namely that environmental campaigns cannot be understood in terms of environmental issues alone. Rather, they should be regarded as a form of cultural critique and frequently are a form of political resistance in situations where open political action is too risky.

Arne Kalland

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