Sophia Magazine vol.3 / SUMMER 2016

6/32

Having carried out field-based research in Japan for close to three decades, travelling to farming and fishing commu-nities in all 47 prefectures, each at least four times, and 30 countries from the southernmost countries of the African continent to the fishing communities of the Inuit closest to the north pole in Canada, I have come to believe that from Japan something can be contributed to discussions on how to develop culturally, historically, socially and ecologically relevant policies for global sustainable food production and environmental problems.It was my initial visits to farming communities as a student studying at Kumamoto University in 1988 that prompted me to start researching Japanese farming and fishing commu-nities in earnest. At that time, Japan was at the height of an economic boom, an affluent society had been born by the westernization of inner urban areas, and other foreign stu-dents were studying what was then referred to as the “Japa-nese Economic Miracle.” But I was more concerned about the drastic social change that Japan was undergoing. While much had been gained, the economic growth had come at a cost to sustainable rural Japan. For example, in farming communities in Kumamoto Prefecture, even in those days, serious issues associated with a demographic shift, an aging society with fewer children and depopulation, and a con-current fall in food production capacities could be seen. I wanted to investigate, from the perspective of rural culture, Japan’s gains and losses during the 20th century. I therefore decided to conduct ethnological research on 20th century Japan by documenting the voices of the farmers and crafts-men who had supported the country’s food production.After graduating from university, I began work as a free-lance writer in the countryside of Japan to support my fieldwork activities and research. I was also admitted to a private school of Japanese folklore established by Shimizu Kobundo, an academic publisher with an editorial office Everything Starts from Fieldworkin the countryside. As for continuing my research, I began working with nearby farmers planting and harvesting rice, as well as spending days at a time with elderly artisans such as non-mechanized blacksmiths and coopers born in the waning years of the Meiji Era. I looked at 20th century so-cio-economic and cultural changes through their eyes and so began collecting their oral histories from an ethnological perspective hoping this would all some day be published as a book.To collect data, a semi-structured approach with trian-gulation was employed. This methodology ensured that re-search could be conducted in a way and a setting in which there would be perhaps less inhibition in the sharing of per-sonal stories and insights. It afforded a wider window into knowledge sets of the natural world and agriculture and tool production techniques. Though I initially planned to spend six months, it took three years to gather the information and complete my first book entitled “Days Past–Body and Soul: Japan’s country-side story” and get it published. At the end of the book, Through this work I became more convinced that although Japan had achieved economic gains through rapid economic growth, it’s important also to be aware of the potential costs of the development to society and culture.I then became interested in exploring how people in rural Japan live with nature, both in how they interact with it and where human activities drive degradation. The boundaries between nature and human society were of specific interest. While I was researching that, backpacking around farming villages all over Japan and freelance writing, fortune smiled on me. An official of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) who had read my book, “Days Past–Body and Soul: Japan’s countryside story,” asked me to ANNE McDONALDProfessor,Graduate School of Global Environmental StudiesHints for SustainabilityFound in the JapaneseCountrysideExpanding Field Research with an Eye on 21st Century Challenges6Approach

※このページを正しく表示するにはFlashPlayer10.2以上が必要です