TAIJI, Wakayama Pref. — The gala crowd in Los Angeles cheered as "The Cove" won the best documentary Oscar with its grisly portrayal of dolphin slaughter. But residents of this small port shown in the film abhorred the attention and said it will not end their centuries-old tradition.
Residents of Taiji gathered in whale eateries with names like Tail and rolled their eyes Monday when told of Oscar laurels for the film, which they see as yet another biased foreign take on their culture.
The village of 3,500 has been hunting dolphins and whales near its shores since the early 1600s. It calls itself "Whale Town" and has a massive pair of whale statues looming over the main street. "The Cove" refers to Taiji and its dolphin cull as "a little town with a really big secret," but local assembly member Hisato Ryono said there is nothing to hide.