The 2nd Traditional Whaling Summit was held in Ikitsuki-cho on May 11, 2003. The event was organized by the Ikitsuki Municipal Office in collaboration with the Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR) and the Japan Whaling Association (JWA). With the cooperation of many townspeople, including the Women's Group, participants in the main meeting during the afternoon of May 11 exceeded 700. The study session and the symposium were also successful. Above all, I would like to extend here my heartfelt gratitude to many representatives of whaling-related local autonomies from all over Japan and scholars who travelled all the way to our town located on the western tip of Japan. Although there is a lot to be reported, I would like to summarize only the salient aspects of the event because of the limited space allowed to me.

  On the eve of the event, May 10, a festival was held at the Seamen's Welfare Hall in Tachiura, in which whale folk art in Nagasaki Prefecture was introduced: Ejima whale songs from Ejima in Sakido-cho and Arikawa whale songs from Arikawa Town in the Gotoh Islands. The latter especially has so far been presented in various parts of Japan. This time as well their songs and dances were performed excellently. The former has been unknown among whale folk art researchers, and came to light when local people presented a report several years ago. No performance outside the prefecture has taken place so far, so, in this sense, the presentation provided a good opportunity to both performers and audience.
  On the other hand, the summit meeting was started with whaling songs by an Ikitsuki folk art preservation group. During the intermission, middle school students presented their whale song performance. Lavish applause was given to this gallant song performed with 10 drums by students clothed in gorgeous "happi" coats marking the flags of a big harvest.

  In the pre-summit festival, a variety of whale foods was presented by representatives of whale-related local autonomies all over Japan. The reproduction of traditional cuisines and original cooking was also presented under the guidance of Mr. Ayao Okumura. Especially, the whale sukiyaki which Mr. Okumura reproduced on the basis of "Kujira-chomi-kata," a whale cooking manual compiled in the Edo Period by Masutomi-gumi in Ikitsuki, and whale iriyaki, a traditional cuisine of Ikitsuki, provided a comparison between old and present whale sukiyaki. At lunch time on May 11, whale with rice, whale soup and fried whale meat were offered for free to the visitors in the plaza in front of the hall. The food prepared for 2,500 persons quickly ran out. Members of cooking schools and a women's club in Tachiura volunteered for the preparation of the food. They said the participation in the event was very enlightening for them in learning how to cook whale.

  In the morning of the summit day, a sightseeing tour was organized to historical remains related to whaling in the northern part of Hirado Island. A total of 170 people, largely exceeding the number we had anticipated, took part in the tour. It was a happy surprise for me who served as a guide in the tour. But honestly it was laborious work requiring extensive care. During the tour, I introduced the gun-based whaling in Seto, Hirado, and the net-and-dart whaling in Ikitsuki Island, with a special emphasis on the relationship between whaling grounds and whaling methods taking into consideration the contents of an academic presentation scheduled for the afternoon.

  It was very significant that the origin of whaling in Japan was confirmed by the participants under the major theme of primitive and ancient whaling. To begin, the present author reported about local whaling in the Hirado Islands region. Mr. Koo-Byong Park, Emeritus Professor of Pukyong National University, then made a presentation on the rock drawings of whales and whaling in Bangudae in Ulsan. Mr. Issei Kanada, a member of the Education Board of Kumamoto City, pointed out the possibility that whaling in ancient times had taken the form of positive rather than passive harvesting, because the earthenware using whale bones as bottom plates, which had been distributed in Kyushu in the middle of the Jomon Period, showed that the bones had been those of large whales, and the plates themselves decayed as time passed. Mr. Susumu Tatehira, Professor of Nagasaki International University, presented an overview of whale bones used as products and tools as well as drawings of whaling, each from the Jomon Period, Yayoi Period and Old Grave Period. He suggested the possible presence of whaling, including more passive harvesting, and also considered the use of whale-attracting techniques which are used frequently nowadays.
  The symposium was coordinated by Mr. Masayuki Komatsu, Director of the Resources and Environment Research Division of the Fisheries Agency. Mr. Tetsuo Hiraguchi, Professor of Kanazawa Medical University, lectured about whaling culture in Northern Japan, especially in the Okhotsk Sea region in Hokkaido, including a presentation on the Mawaki archeological remains. This was followed by reports on the instance of primitive and ancient whaling in Iki Island by Mr. Jungo Shiraishi, curator of Iki Local Culture Museum, and by Mr. Katsuaki Morita, Professor of Konan Women’s University, on modern whaling in the Korean Peninsula from the perspective of interchanges between Japan and Korea.
  In the general discussion, participants exchanged views on the issue of the origin of Japanese and Korean whaling and the propagation of whaling practices. It was also pointed out that there existed a common whaling culture in the whaling grounds around Tsushima Strait that transcended the national borders that came to be introduced in later years.
  At the symposium it was confirmed that the use of whales began in the Japanese archipelago about 9,000 years ago, and there is a possibility that the harvesting of large whales took place about 2,000 years ago.
  On the basis of what was discussed, the Ikitsuki Declaration calling for the need to sustain the Japanese whaling culture having such a long tradition was adopted and the whole event was concluded.