In ancient times, people from imperial families ate whale meat in the Imperial Court, expecting medical effects, but later in the Sengoku Period (Period of Warring States) (Japan) whale meat was loved by busho (Japanese military commander) and highly valued by samurai families, for geidon (a swallow by a whale) means 'annexation of another country,' toki no koe (toki can be expressed by a pair of kanji meaning, a whale's wave, and toki (鯨波) sometimes written as 鬨 in Chinese character) is associated with a victory, and geiko (a whale's outcry) means 'booming out.'
古くは宮廷で公家が薬事効果を期待し食していたが、戦国時代(日本)には鯨呑が「国を飲み込んで併合・吸収合併する」と言う意味や鯨波の声｛鬨の声（ときのこえ）と読み意味も同じ｝が「戦いに勝つ」という意味や鯨吼が「轟き渡る」という意味などから武将に好まれ武家の間でも珍重された。