![]() ![]() That's not surprising at all because whale meat is tough and not as palatable as beef. However, as their country became more affluent, the Japanese could afford to import beef, pork and other meats such that whale meat consumption is now uncommon. Whale meat then became a major source of protein for many Japanese in post-war Japan. Large scale commercial whaling with modern pelagic fleets only began about a hundred years ago during the Meiji era and intensified after World War II when Japan faced an acute shortage of food to feed its people. In other parts of Japan especially around the Kii Peninsular of Honshu, coastal fishermen have been whaling with traditional methods for several centuries. They have lived with and hunted these marine creatures for sustenance as far back as time immemorial and there are folklore and festivals to celebrate their special relationship with these animals. Whales and dolphins have an important place in the culture of Japan's indigenous Ainu people. In the Goto Islands of Nagasaki Prefecture circa 1830. Ukiyo-e painting by Hokusai of the appearance of a gigantic whale ![]() On its own, this is usually pronounced as kujira ( Kun-reading ) but when combined as a word with another kanji character it is usually read as gei ( On-reading ). In Japanese, the kanji character for whale is 鯨. The name of the first-in-class also usually sets the tone and direction for the names of the subsequent vessels that would follow in the series. The Japanese knew this well enough to even refer to the lead ship of a class as the name ship ( ネームシップ nemu shippu). The naming of warships, especially the first in a series, can be very important as this will generally also be adopted as the name of the class. So while the previous generations of Japan's hunter-killer submarine ( SSK ) classes had been named after tides and dragons, this time though it might just be named after whales. Post-World War II Japanese submarines had a tradition of being named after marine phenomenon or auspicious creatures, be it real or mythical. It is known as the Taigei ( たいげい, 大鯨 ), meaning " big whale ". The Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force ( JMSDF ) had just revealed the name of its next generation attack submarine during its launch on 14th Oct 2020. Launch of JS Taigei ( SS-513 ) at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' ![]()
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