Bringing Whales Ashore

"... Drawing on a wide range of sources, from whaling ledgers to recipe books and gravestones for fetal whales, [the author] traces how the images of whales and by-products of commercial whaling were woven into the lives of people throughout Japan. Economically, Pacific Ocean resources were central in supporting the expanding Tokugawa state ... [in] this vivid and nuanced study ..."--Dust jacket.