PurposeThis paper aims to discuss how whale meat foodways in Japan is a local practice, contrary to the prevailing political belief that it is national, and to examine two local whale meat foodways in Japan by focusing on the usage of blubber. To understand complexity of whaling issue, one needs to be careful of species rather than general “whale.”Design/methodology/approachBy investigating two kinds of recipe books, one published in the early 19th century and the other the early 20th century on whale meat dish, the paper clarifies blubber has been widely consumed rather than lean meat, and blubber was more important than lean meat as whale meat.FindingsThe western part of Japan has rich whale meat foodways compared to other parts of Japan. It is because of their history of whaling since the 17th century. They have inherited rich whale meat foodways.Originality/valueAlthough whale sashimi and deep-fried lean meat are popular nationwide regardless of their communities' history, former whaling communities in the western part of Japan developed a preference for blubber, skin, tongue and offal over lean meat. Whale meat foodways in Japan, therefore, is a local heritage. This fact should be the starting point for analyzing Japanese whaling and whale meat foodways.

中文翻译：

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鲸脂的味道：日本鲸肉食道的多样性和地域性

目的本文旨在讨论日本的鲸鱼肉食道如何成为一种地方做法，这与普遍的政治信仰相反，它是国家性的，并通过关注鲸脂的使用来研究日本两种当地的鲸鱼肉食道。要了解捕鲸问题的复杂性，需要注意物种而不是一般的“鲸鱼”。设计/方法/方法通过调查两种食谱书，一种在 19 世纪初出版，另一种在 20 世纪初出版，涉及鲸肉这道菜，论文阐明鲸脂比瘦肉被广泛食用，而鲸脂比瘦肉更重要，如鲸鱼肉。调查结果与日本其他地区相比，日本西部有丰富的鲸肉食物途径。这是因为他们自 17 世纪以来的捕鲸历史。他们继承了丰富的鲸肉饮食方式。原创性/价值尽管鲸鱼生鱼片和油炸瘦肉在全国都很受欢迎，无论其社区的历史如何，日本西部的前捕鲸社区都对鲸脂、皮肤、舌头和内脏产生了偏好。瘦肉。因此，日本的鲸鱼肉食道是当地的遗产。这个事实应该是分析日本捕鲸和鲸肉食道的起点。