A prevalent whale cult in Japan occurs around the coastal area. There are cemeteries with memorial stones dedicated to the whales which were hunted and killed to feed the people.[16] Buddhist epitaphs mark these stones which implore that Buddha is reborn as a whale.[16] Along with these memorials, there is evidence that whale embryos, found in a deceased mother's womb, were extracted and buried with the same respect as a human being.[17] For certain shrines, the bones of a perished whale were also deposited in the area.[17]
