Episode 438 - From the Deep, Part 1
Added 2022-05-20 16:05:51 +0000 UTCHonestly, this is a subject I've been curious about for a long time. Back when I lived in Hokkaido, one of the American-style burger chains in the area (Lucky Pierrot) served a whale burger, and I remember being extremely...weirded out by it, I suppose is the best way to put it. The idea of eating whale made me deeply uncomfortable, and seeing it on the menu made me wonder why things were so different in Japan.
That said, I've been hesitant to approach the topic just because of a lack of knowledge on my end, but was lucky enough to pick up a copy of Dr. Arch's excellent book on the subject (and thus ran out of excuses). It's a fascinating read if you're interested in the subject, as I barely scratched the surface of what's in there. I did hesitate as to whether to cover the post-Restoration side of the industry as well, and ultimately decided to do so, so you can look forward to that next week.
One other bit of interesting news: I've also had a chance to pick up a bunch of books on postwar history (an oft-requested topic) so we'll be doing more of that over the summer as I have time to do some reading and research. Something to look forward to!
Comments
Still want to walk Hokkaido but lots of brown bears there!
Robbie Monsma
2022-05-20 16:19:51 +0000 UTCStill loving and recommending the podcast. Your post makes me remember my dad's experience, drafted at the end of WWII. At the end of Basic Training his entire unit was sent to help occupy Japan but he was left standing there. Later determined his was the only name on the list's NEXT PAGE. So somehow he ended up in Puerto Rico instead. I wish he'd gone to Japan because I think it would have opened up his world in a way it never otherwise did. New Topic? We have now done long walks twice in japan -- Shikoku Temple Route and Nakasendo Way. Planning to go back to do more, since they've discovered foreign tourists want those experiences and new routes are being developed. It could easily fill a segment or two.
Robbie Monsma
2022-05-20 16:19:27 +0000 UTC
