＜Special Issue: Volunteer Studies in Japan＞ Volunteer work for the purpose of soul searching and gaining recognition from others

Proposing innovative social participation and transformation through a “half-backstitch” model

Abstract

The act of soul searching, or jibun sagashi in Japanese, can have negative connotations, but at the same time, the act of searching for oneself cannot be condemned. This paper highlights, through literature reviews, how volunteer activities have a close connection with the discussion of finding oneself. By juxtaposing volunteer work and soul searching, two critical points became clear: (1) engaging in utilitarian work only for the purpose of gaining self-satisfaction may not be productive in solving the bigger issues, and (2) traveling to a foreign country to partake in volunteer work can be perceived as mere escapism. In this paper, I examine the case of eco-touristic treeplanting projects in the Chinese Inner Mongolia, examining the relationship among the participants, program officers, and local people and arguing that contemporary youths have a sense of a “plural self” when creating narratives about themselves. This ethnographic work also suggests a correlation between the positive “feed-forward” method and reciprocating compliments and positive energy among the people involved in the treeplanting projects. In conclusion, this paper proposes a “half-backstitch” model with an aim to improve the quality of volunteer work among youths in Japan, utilizing metaphors for creating new meanings to the cause and contributing to the decision-making process.