In various areas on the Japan Sea side of Hokkaido, Kujira-jiru has been eaten as New Year's dishes since the era when Hokkaido started being developed in the Meiji period, and it is said that this habit originated in the people who moved there from the Tohoku region, centered on the Akita domain.
そして明治開拓以降の北海道の日本海側各地で正月料理として鯨汁が食されるのは、秋田藩を中心とした東北の人々が移り住んだ名残といわれている。