Enhancing sensitvity to finding Yohaku A Study of Fielwork in Ebisu, Japan

Abstract

This paper aims to discuss the design and practice of the fieldwork project, which enhances our sensitivity to perceive “yohaku”: a variable situation that can be perceived depending on the condition of an observer. For example, a bicycle basket perceived as a “luggage storage” for the owner, may become a “trash can” for those holding trash, or a “planter” for those planting flowers. In order to foster and facilitate the sensitivity for recognizing such “yohaku,” we conducted fieldwork within a 500-meter radius of Ebisu Station in Tokyo, Japan. Through changing our physical conditions and interactions with the environment, we described personal stories about “yohaku” experienced in fieldwork, taking the tempo-spatial condition and psychological state of the observer into account. In this paper, we reflect upon the fieldwork process and discuss the possibility of sharing “yohaku” stories with others through tools and media contents generated within the process of knowing.