Whaling in the Pre-Modern Edo Period Japan: Its Significance to Whaling in the Post-Modern World

摘要

The pre-modern Edo Period (1603-1867) occupies a unique position in the Japanese history. It is the period which bridges the gap between the Japanese medieval and the more-or-less universal modern periods. Therefore both feudal elements and modern elements coexisted in this period, and the latter gradually became dominant at different rates, in different areas of Japan. Although true modernization began with intense contacts with the western nations in the late nineteenth century, many of the socio-economic characteristics that typify the modern society in the west emerged in Japan during the Edo period prior to the heavy contact. Existence of these "modern" characteristics mixed with residuals of the feudal society made this period uniquely Japanese, and the modern Japan was established on the bases of these pre-modern elements.