2023 Volume 315 Pages 23-36
This mini special feature looks into how folklore studies describes the relationship between humans and animals. So far, folklore studies has mainly investigated this relationship from the viewpoint of how humans (the subject) raised, worked, and worshipped animals (the object). However, researchers find that the people they meet in their field work do not have a one-way relationship with animals. When humans interact with animals, they certainly react in some way. For example, follow timidly or behave intimidatingly. This mini special feature focuses on such interactive relationship between humans and animals.
It consists of the following: Mitsuyama Chika gives an introduction to the mini special feature and cites two cases focusing on an interactive human-animal relationship. Kobayashi Chota uses his study of spider fights to show that the transformation of spider fights froma “game” to a “competition” has resulted in more detailed observation of spiders and deeper understanding of their ecology. Enoki Mika discusses in detail memorial services for dogs in the downstream area of Tone River in her attempt to depict the image of dogs in this region. She further notes the research trends in relevant academic fields, aiming at introducing a new point of view in research on humans and animals in folklore studies. Eguchi Maki reports on research trends in animal studies based on examples from her own studies and the classes she taught. On the other hand, Kondo Shiaki reports on multispecies ethnography. He argues for the need to pay attention to “science and technology” and presents his outlook for research on animals in folklore studies.
