Taiji, Wakayama

Taiji (太地町, Taiji-chō^?) is a town located in Higashimuro District, Wakayama, Japan.

As of 2007, the town has an estimated population of 3,444 and a density of 577.85 persons per km². The total area is 5.96 km². Taiji is the smallest local government by area in Wakayama Prefecture because, unlike others, it has not experienced a merger since 1889 when the village of Moriura merged into Taiji. Taiji shares its entire overland border with the town of Nachikatsuura and faces the Pacific Ocean. Taiji has been well-known as a whaling town and is considered as the birth place of Japan's traditional whaling method. Taiji's annual dolphin hunting attracts international criticism from many sectors.¹

Contents 1 History 2 Sightseeing 2.1 Museums 2.2 Onsens (Spas) 2.3 Festivals 3 Transportation 3.1 Railway 3.2 Roads 4 Education 5 Mercury concentration in the hair of Taiji inhabitants 6 Sister cities 7 Notable people 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

History

Taiji was primarily known as a whaling town. Japanese traditional whaling techniques were dramatically developed here in the 17th century, and the commercial hunting of dolphins remains a major source of income for its residents to this day.² Wada Chūbei organized the group hunting system (刺手組) and introduced new handheld harpoon in 1606. Wada Kakuemon, later known as Taiji Kakuemon, invented the whaling net technique called Amitori hō (網取法) to increase the safety and efficiency of whaling. This method lasted more than 200 years.

The town was dealt a massive blow in 1878 when an accident during a hunt claimed more than 100 lives, which resulted in the collapse of the group hunting system.³ Taiji's whaling industry became buoyant again after the Russo-Japanese War as it became a base for modern whaling. When the Antarctic whaling started, Taiji provided crews for the whaling fleet.⁴ In 1988, Taiji suspended their commercial whaling as a result of an IWC ruling.

The town continues the hunting of small whales as well as dolphins which is not regulated by the IWC.⁵

Sightseeing

Museums

• Taiji Whale Museum opened in 1969. It exhibits more than 1,000 items in relation to whales and whaling including skeletal preparations of several whale species.
• Hiromitsu Ochiai Baseball Museum commemorates Japanese baseball player Hiromitsu Ochiai who won the triple crown three times in the Japanese Baseball League.
• Ishigaki Museum commemorates painter Eitaro Ishigaki who hailed from Taiji. His wife Ayako, a critic, founded the museum in 1991.

Onsens (Spas)

There are two small-scale onsens (Japanese-style spas) in the town.

• Taiji Onsen
• Natsusa (or Nassa) Onsen

Festivals

Taiji's summer festival is called the Taiji Isana Festival that is held annually on August 14.⁶ Isana is an old Japanese word for whales. Its autumn festival is called the Taiji Kujira Festival (kujira means whales in Japanese) that is annually held on the first Sunday of November. Both the festivals are heavily whale-themed and the attractions include the Kujira Odori (lit. whale dance) and the Kujira Daiko (lit. whale drumming). The Kujira Odori is a traditional dance that whalers used to perform to celebrate a good catch. This dance is unique in that the dancers only use their upper body as they dance sitting on whaling boats. It is identified as intangible cultural heritage by Wakayama Prefecture.⁷ The Kujira Daiko is also traditional and it describes a battle between a big whale and small whaling boats by drumming.

Transportation

Railway

The Kisei Main Line of JR West runs through Taiji. Taiji station is the only station in the town and is located just outside the Moriura area. A circular bus service is available to connect to the main area of Taiji. All the regular trains and some of express trains stop at the station.

Roads

The main roads that run through Taiji are as follows.

• National highway route 42
• Wakayama prefectural road route 289
• Wakayama prefectural road route 240

Education

Taiji has one Elementary school (Taiji Elementary School) and one junior high school (Taiji Junior High School). There is no high school or university.

Mercury concentration in the hair of Taiji inhabitants

In 2010, hair samples from 1,137 Taiji residents was tested for mercury by the National Institute for Minamata disease. The average amount of methyl mercury found in the hair samples was 11.0 parts per million for men and 6.63 ppm for women, compared with an average of 2.47 ppm for men and 1.64 ppm for women in tests conducted in 14 other locations in Japan. One hundred eighty-two Taiji residents showing extremely high mercury levels underwent further medical testing to check for symptoms of mercury poisoning. None of the Taiji residents, however, displayed any of the traditional symptoms of mercury poisoning, according to the Institute.⁸⁹ Japan's National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, however, reports that the mortality rate for Taiji and nearby Koazagawa, where dolphin meat is also consumed, is over 50% higher than the rate for similarly-sized villages throughout Japan.¹⁰

The chief of the NIMD, Koji Okamoto, said, "We presume that the high mercury concentrations are due to the intake of dolphin and whale meat. There were not any particular cases of damaged health, but seeing as how there were some especially high concentration levels found, we would like to continue conducting surveys here."¹¹

Sister cities

• Broome, Western Australia (Australia) since 1981; suspended by the Broome city council in August 2009 in protest against the annual dolphin slaughter.¹² The decision on suspension was reversed in October 2009.¹³ Historic ties between the two towns date back to the early 1900s, when Japan became instrumental in laying the groundwork of Broome's pearling industry.¹³
• Hakuba, Nagano (Japan) since 1984

Notable people

• Kiwako Taichi (1943–1992): an actress; originally her surname is pronounced Taiji, but she decided to pronounce it Taichi as a stage name.¹⁴

See also

• Drive hunting in Japan
• The Taiji Twelve
• The Cove (film) documentary about annual Taiji dolphin drive hunt

References

External links

• Official town website (in Japanese)

Wakayama Prefecture
Cities
Arida | Gobō | Hashimoto | Iwade | Kainan | Kinokawa | Shingū | Tanabe | Wakayama (capital)
Districts
Arida | Hidaka | Higashimuro | Ito | Kaisō | Nishimuro
See also: Towns and villages by district

Coordinates: 33°36′N 135°57′E / 33.6°N 135.95°E / 33.6; 135.95