Holding Ceremony for the Dolphins and Whales of Japan
An annual ritual to honor our grief and love for our non-human kin
For two years now, we have been going to Taiji in the spring to hold ceremony for the dolphins and small whales which passed during the drive hunt. A poetic call to action that arose from the urgent need to raise awareness. With the lack of independent media, the majority of the people of Japan are still unaware of the existence of these practices, which have grown in scale in the past decades by an increasing demand from the captivity industry.
Inspired by activist Peggy Oki’s curtains of origami whales to commemorate the lives lost to Japanese Whaling , we have been bringing hundreds of small boats woven out of leaves and flowers to float in the waters of the Cove. Each boat is a prayer, symbolizing a life lost.
Last year 527 cetaceans were reported killed and 33 captured. Thanks to the loving hands of volunteers from all over Japan, we had over 570 boats for the morning of the ceremony. Leina swam across the bay to “release” the boats outside of the netted area to symbolize the souls’ return to their Ocean home.
We will be holding ceremony every spring until the dolphin and small whale drive hunt ceases in Taiji.
In the face of anthropogenic extinction, what does it mean to stand in solidarity with our more than human communities?
Can we remember that we are kin?
We hope the ceremony can inspire these questions within widening circles in Japan. The need to persevere in offering inclusive and participative actions that inspire active hope feels more potent than ever; and as the community of grass boat weavers/activists grows, so does the field of awareness, empowering more people to take part in the healing of our relations with the natural world, for many generations to come. Leina’s children participated in last year’s ceremony and we hope this will open the door for more families to join us in the coming editions.