Photo/Illutration Treated and diluted water is transported to a tank, right, through a blue pipe in the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant before being released into the ocean. (Tatsuya Shimada)

A decade ago on the Indonesian island of Java, I saw about 50 local fishermen, formally dressed, perform a ritual on the seashore.

After praying, they all waded into the sea, each carrying a tray laden with fruit, eggs and sticky rice. I was told that the men would release these trays into the sea as offerings to the Goddess of the South Seas, whose divine protection they sought.

Residing in her palace at the bottom of the sea, the goddess is the ruler of all spirits. When angered, she would cause catastrophes. Her favorite color is green and she cannot tolerate anyone else wearing that color. That is why fishermen never wear anything green when going out to sea.

This lore must serve as a warning that the seas can turn quite dangerous at times. As I watched the offerings float on the waves, I felt I was experiencing the folk culture of the Javanese fishermen.

Images of their solemn ritual came back to mind when I read “Haru wo Matsu Umi” (The sea awaiting spring), a book by folklorist Shuichi Kawashima about the folk traditions of fishermen in Fukushima Prefecture.

I wondered what the act of releasing something into the sea means to fishermen. Whatever their nationality, do all fishermen perhaps share similar customs and traditions?

Kawashima, who reached his mandatory retirement age as a university professor five years ago, has since been working as a fishing boat crew member in the Fukushima Prefecture town of Shinchi.

He takes on the perspective of a fisherman when he discusses the discharge of contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the sea. He argues that this controversial issue cannot be resolved unless it is re-examined from an angle that is not a scientific explanation.

The sea, he says, must be “pure water that cleanses impurities.” The waves eternally come and go, and anything that is released into the sea will eventually drift away from the shore over time.

From that sort of perspective, Kawashima says, “it seems perfectly natural to entertain doubts” about the Fukushima water, even if it has been treated.

One week has elapsed since the Fukushima water discharge began. What is “scientifically safe” is not the same as “socially relieved.”

I now see the fishermen’s discomfiture in a different light.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 31

* * *

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.