...to take a research day... (49/365, 18 Feb 2022)
A few weeks ago, I came across a reference to a whale fossil in western Tokyo (yes, long way from the sea) in a place called Akishima. It is yet another of those places I've been meaning to go to but haven't quite got around to going. It is the Tama area of Tokyo, kind of rural, kind of everything you don't imagine Tokyo might be. I do plan to spend a bit more time out there one day.
Anyway, since this is the photography blog, I shall leave the technical details to my other blog, the more political one. I've long been researching Japanese whaling and the more traditional and cultural aspects for a number of years. It might all come together one day in a book. And having spent a number of days at work on weekends and marking and attending meetings, I decided I could take a day to check out this fossil while the weather was in my favour.
Today was really just a first step reconnaissance mission of sorts to learn about this fossil and how the town or the region has come to use it as a symbol. It was discovered by a father and son out for a walk and a bit of an amateur fossil dig back in 1961. It wasn't until recently though (about 2018) that it was formally recognised as a new species and was basically named after the town Akishima. Not surprisingly, there is a lot of 'whale' themes and imagery and quite a bit of interest in the town (and neighbouring towns as well, which is why I will need to go back, when the days are longer and I'm afforded bit more daylight to wander around).
But today was a good start.
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| Plenty of whale-themed goods to collect |
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| Postcard details |
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| Like many 'whaling' towns, there are symbols everywhere |
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| A stone in a public garden that I will return to see in Spring, looks marvellous (even in winter) |
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| Detail from the stone |
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| A lovely blue sky day |
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| Street designs |
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| More blue sky |
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| Public library, and resources hub |
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| A large banner which... |
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| ...when you look at the details... |
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| It is made entirely of photos from the town |
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| In the library they also have a replica of the fossils |
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| (They also have some fossils on display but they weren't for photographing.) |
It reminded me quite a bit of the whale shrine in Shinagawa I visited a few years ago. There is an interesting story here to be told of Japanese cultural reverence for whales,* and I will tell it. One day.
*It is very different from the government-backed, nationalist-driven high seas commercial whaling.
Today's main pics here with the lightweight Canon EOS M5, 18-150mm lens.
