As soon as I saw this clip, I found myself instantly intrigued by the idea of cataloging the souls of mammals -- it may seem unusual and even silly to some, but in the small harbor town of Kayoi in Nagato City, it's commonplace. The video above, which is from an NHK documentary, gives us a peek into Kouganji temple, where the chief priest quietly shows their death register -- for whales. It's been kept up for the past 320 years, and each whale was given a posthumous Buddhist name in the registry.
The chief priest explains that since the whales have provided such bounty for the town, they record the names to show the love and thanks they feel towards the animals. There's also a grave in the town that overlooks the sea which marks the burial of the fetuses found in the whales when caught. I can't help but be a little bit amazed at the thoughtful sentiments present here -- can you see any American going hunting and building a grave to honor the souls of the deer he killed? I think not.
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That said, this seems more like an appeasement of one's guilt rather than actual gratitude.
Dead whales can't say: "I forgive you."