UC Santa Cruz UC Santa Cruz Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Caught in Comparisons: Japanese Salmon in an Uneven World Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/68w9w3pz Author Swanson, Heather Anne Publication Date 2013 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA CRUZ CAUGHT IN COMPARISONS: JAPANESE SALMON IN AN UNEVEN WORLD A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in ANTHROPOLOGY by Heather Anne Swanson June 2013 The Dissertation of Heather Anne Swanson is approved: _____________________________ Professor Anna Tsing, chair _____________________________ Professor Susan Harding _____________________________ Professor Andrew Mathews _____________________________ Professor Donna Haraway _____________________________ Professor Alan Christy _____________________________ Professor Marianne Lien _____________________________ Tyrus Miller Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies Table of contents List of figures iv Abstract v Acknowledgements vii Chapter 1 How are salmon done in Japan? (And why does this question matter?) 1 Chapter 2 Japan’s salmon frontier: Comparing Hokkaido and the American West 50 Chapter 3 Of dreams and comparisons: Making Japanese salmon in Chile 99 Chapter 4 Of dreams and shadows: The co-evolution of salmon in Hokkaido and southern Chile 142 Chapter 5 Stuck with salmon: Making modern comparisons at the Kitahama Fisheries Cooperative 186 Chapter 6 Making “wild” salmon in Japan (and in comparison to the Columbia River) 242 Chapter 7 Other comparisons: Ainu, salmon, and indigenous rights 294 Chapter 8 Conclusion: Toward a more comparative STS 340 Bibliography 351 iii List of Figures Figure 1: Fish wheel 88 Figure 2: Rural Hokkaido farm 95 Figure 3: Japanese-Victorian architecture 95 Figure 4: An “improved” river 96 Figure 5: A set net 208 Figure 6: Removing fish from a set net 209 Figure 7: Fertilizing eggs in a hatchery 250 iv Abstract Heather Anne Swanson Caught in Comparisons: Japanese salmon in an uneven world Comparisons are powerful tools for making sense of worlds. But comparisons do not merely identify inherent or pre-existing similarities and differences; instead, they participate in making the very worlds they aim to describe. This dissertation probes how comparative practices shape the formation of multispecies landscapes. I show that the specificities of how people make comparisons and what kinds of comparisons they make are a powerful but often overlooked part of the production of human-nonhuman arrangements, as well as knowledges about them. By focusing on salmon in Hokkaido, Japan, I demonstrate that neither the island’s watershed ecologies nor its fish population structures can be understood without attention to practices of comparison-making. Since the mid-19th century, natural resources management in northern Japan has been profoundly shaped by how people both within and beyond Japan have compared Hokkaido’s landscapes and fish to those in other parts of the world. After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, Japanese officials sought to “develop” Hokkaido’s lands and waters and make them legibly “modern” to Euro-American audiences. They did so by importing “Western” crops and livestock, promoting large-scale commercial agriculture, and constructing salmon hatcheries. Since that time, the ways that Japanese fishermen, scientists, government officials, and indigenous peoples v have compared Hokkaido’s salmon and salmon-bearing watersheds to others around the globe have dramatically affected the region’s approaches to fisheries management, as well as its salmon. Drawing on ethnographic, archival, and fisheries science research in Hokkaido, the U.S. Pacific Northwest, and Chile, my dissertation demonstrates how particular practices of comparison have created cross-border movements – such as transplants of salmon eggs, exchanges of currency, transfers of scientific technology, and exports of processed fish products – that have shaped the course of Hokkaido’s development, the genes of its fish, and the identities of its people. Comparison, I show, is not just a “meta” act of analysis, but also an everyday practice that alters both human and nonhuman bodies and relations. When a Japanese consumer compares kinds of salmon at a supermarket and decides to purchase the fish labeled “wild,” or when a Chilean biologist compares the temperature of a Patagonian river to one in Hokkaido, determining that it might be possible to transplant fish from one side of the Pacific to the other, such decisions fundamentally reconfigure human and salmon lives. By tracing such far-reaching comparisons, this dissertation attempts to open up the practices and geographies through which we know landscapes. vi Acknowledgements Just as “it takes a village to raise a child,” it takes multiple communities and countless connections to produce a dissertation. I want to begin by thanking Gus Fennerty, who first taught me to love salmon when I participated in his salmon biology courses at Astoria High School. Thanks are also due to Rena Lederman, Carolyn Rouse, and Will Howarth of Princeton University who mentored me through my first ethnographic project, an undergraduate thesis that brought together anthropological theory and salmon management in the United States. I am also grateful to Robert Warren, who hired me for a position at Sea Resources Watershed Learning Center and taught me about the science and politics of salmon restoration in the lower Columbia River region. Although I have not been in contact with them for many years, I want to acknowledge Laura Sellers-Earl, Zaz Hollander, Andy Dolan, and Andrea Kennett, current and former staff members at The Daily Astorian newspaper. They were instrumental in helping me develop interview skills, writing techniques, and an ear for a good story. This project would not have been possible without the excellent Japanese language instruction that I received. I extend thanks to the instructors at University of California, Santa Cruz (especially Sakae Fujita), Cornell University’s FALCON program, Portland State University, SIL Sapporo Nihongo Gakko (especially Harumi Shima), and the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies, Yokohama (especially Ari Sato). I am also extremely grateful for outstanding and generous vii tutoring I received from Setsuko Soga, Naoko Yamamoto, and the volunteers at Sapporo’s Mado program. During my research in Japan, I was fortunate to encounter many people who graciously shared their time, knowledge, and – in some cases – even their guest bedrooms. First, I send thanks to Professor Takami Kuwayama of Hokkaido University, who hosted me during my research. Next, I express my gratitude to Yutaka Watanabe of the Hokkaido Museum of Northern Peoples. Watanabe-san introduced me to Kitahama’s fishermen and provided invaluable information on Japanese fishing in Russian waters. Masahide Kaeriyama, a professor at the Hokkaido University Fisheries School also helped me secure funding and make connections with fisheries professionals. I owe a special debt to the entire Kitahama Fisheries Cooperative Salmon Set- Net Group, who allowed me into their break rooms, onto their boats, and into their lives. I can never adequately express my gratitude to the Motozumi family who hosted me during my stay there. When I arrived in Kitahama with nowhere to stay, they graciously welcomed me into their home. I also want to extend special thanks to Tomoko Konishi, who treated me as a true friend. Aliaky Nagasawa provided me with hours of interviews and numerous articles about the development of the salmon industry in Chile. He also provided key introductions to people in the Chilean salmon industry. Without his encouragement, I would never have followed the connections between Japan and Chile, and I would never have conducted successful research in South America. I am saddened that he viii did not live long enough to read this dissertation, and I dedicate Chapter 3 to his memory. Masahiro Koizumi of Sapporo Jiyuu Gakko Yuu also provided essential help throughout all stages of this project. Along with other Yuu staff and participants, he helped me to think more critically about key issues in contemporary Hokkaido, including environmental sustainability, regional development, and Ainu rights. Professor Mikine Yamazaki, who allowed me to audit his course on the history of Hokkaido’s development policies also contributed greatly to my general understanding of the island. Professor Koji Yamazaki taught me much about Ainu rights and politics. Many members of the salmon restoration societies in Sapporo and Asahikawa taught me about the history of Hokkaido’s hatchery programs and salmon restoration efforts. They generously included me in all of their activities and even invited me to teach a salmon cooking class to their members. The staff of several other organizations, including the Sapporo Salmon Museum and the Hokkaido University Library, graciously helped me to locate needed information. The Sapporo Salmon Museum’s Nozomi Aruga also provided invaluable assistance and introductions during the initial phases of this project. As my research progressed, I also benefitted from the opportunity to present my work and receive constructive criticism. Thanks to Professor Noboru Ishikawa, who invited me to attend a fabulous conference on human-nature relations at Kyoto University and Mohashi Gergely, who arranged