Presentation Information
[O05-P04]Integrating Coastal Environments and Cultural Narratives through Abalone Shells★Invited Papers
*Huang Zihan1,2, Leonie Weerakoon3,1, Christian Havrehed4 (1.Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, 2.Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the University of Tokyo, 3.Kinetik Ventures, 4.Yantu Project)
Keywords:
Abalone,Jofuku Legend,Ama Divers
In modern natural science (so-called Western science), "culture" and "tradition" are often excluded from geophysical discourse because they are difficult to quantify or define through objective indicators. However, these elements represent an accumulation of human experience—thousands of years of confronting and adapting to the Earth’s environment. This presentation focuses on abalones (Haliotis spp.), which have long been objects of food, medicine, and faith along the Japanese coast. The objective is to integratively examine abalone shells as geochemical environmental archives alongside cultural perspectives.
Abalones embody diverse narratives, ranging from symbols of "unrequited love" in the Man'yoshu (the oldest extant collection of Japanese poetry) to the "elixir of immortality" (the nine-holed abalone) sought by Qin Shi Huang. In 2024, the presenter participated in the "New Xu Fu Eastbound" project. Through this, I indirectly observed how physical environmental conditions—such as winds and currents in the East China Sea—powerfully influenced the feasibility of voyages and the formation of narratives surrounding "eternal youth." Furthermore, through interviews with Ama divers (traditional divers), it was suggested that abalone harvesting functions as a form of "practical geoscience," where sea conditions and changes in seaweed forests are physically interpreted. This presentation reinterprets these traditions as "embodied knowledge" and views them as archives complementary to the physical records preserved in the shells.
I will explore how to connect the quantitative geochemical analysis of abalone shells (to be presented in detail in Session U-07) with geomythological perspectives to integrate them into my doctoral research. The discussion will emphasize the significance of positioning culture not as "unquantifiable noise," but as a vital clue to understanding the view of nature held by people who have lived in tandem with the Earth's oceanic environment.
Abalones embody diverse narratives, ranging from symbols of "unrequited love" in the Man'yoshu (the oldest extant collection of Japanese poetry) to the "elixir of immortality" (the nine-holed abalone) sought by Qin Shi Huang. In 2024, the presenter participated in the "New Xu Fu Eastbound" project. Through this, I indirectly observed how physical environmental conditions—such as winds and currents in the East China Sea—powerfully influenced the feasibility of voyages and the formation of narratives surrounding "eternal youth." Furthermore, through interviews with Ama divers (traditional divers), it was suggested that abalone harvesting functions as a form of "practical geoscience," where sea conditions and changes in seaweed forests are physically interpreted. This presentation reinterprets these traditions as "embodied knowledge" and views them as archives complementary to the physical records preserved in the shells.
I will explore how to connect the quantitative geochemical analysis of abalone shells (to be presented in detail in Session U-07) with geomythological perspectives to integrate them into my doctoral research. The discussion will emphasize the significance of positioning culture not as "unquantifiable noise," but as a vital clue to understanding the view of nature held by people who have lived in tandem with the Earth's oceanic environment.