Abstract
The interviewee, Jiro Kawakita (1920-), is the creator of the KJ method and a pioneer in field studies. The KJ method
is a creative, qualitative method that incorporates the following six concepts: 1) Two aspects of field studies: (a)
interviews and observations in the field, and (b) the creative synthesis of field data; 2) Bottom-up: construction from
data to theories; 3) Description using cards: free manipulable, allowing multiple combinations; 4) Meaningful
integration of a gradual index using miscellaneous data cards; 5) Synthesis and composition using illustrative diagrams;
and 6) Shared understanding and estimation using both diagrams and verbalization.
