The purpose of this paper is to examine the issue of food-sharing in a multi-ethnic village in southwestern Ethiopia, by focusing on how and to whom crops are distributed. It will also reveal the dynamic process underlying sharing activities, by analyzing peoples' interactions when giving to others and keeping things for themselves. In most literature concerning peasant studies, the issues of wealth-sharing and reciprocal assistance have long been discussed in terms of their cultural aspects. Despite the wide variety of concepts surrounding peasants' economic behavior, there is a common perception that the sharing custom is derived from the peasants' cultural traits. Those arguments are more or less based on the assumption that peasant communities are culturally homogeneous, perpetuating a system of distribution of wealth clearly distinct from the one of "homo economics." Are those characteristics no longer applicable to newly established settlements dependent on cash crops, or multi-ethnic urban-like communities? In the rapidly changing situation of rural Africa, it is now widely observed that peasant communities are heavily dependent on a cash economy or wage labor, and the demographic mobility between the urban and the rural is increasingly growing. The view of peasant economic behavior based on static cultural features has to be reconsidered. In this paper, I focus on a rural community in highland Ethiopia, where migrants from a variety of ethnic backgrounds have settled to produce cash crops. The people have different cultural backgrounds and religious beliefs, and it is almost impossible to find a single cultural trait or concept shared by all the villagers. That kind of culturally heterogeneous community can provide a much wider basis for understanding the dynamic processes of food sharing in a changing society of contemporary Africa. In section II, I focus on the sharing activities among villagers. During the harvest time of some crops and a period of food shortage during the rainy season, the well-off voluntarily give some crops, or are asked to give them. The case study indicates that people do not always give more to those in closer relationships, but share their food with various persons ranging from close relatives to unfamiliar persons, even totally unknown ones. Moreover, in all the cases, the donors did not seem to expect any reward in return. In fact, counter-gifts were given in just a few exceptional cases. In section III, I focus on the social relationships in sharing activity. What difference is there between sharing with close relatives and sharing with unknown persons? I examine the contrasting cases of close relatives and of strangers, and argue that different kind of motivations can be observed. While relatively wealthy persons constantly feel the pressure to share wealth with other relatives, strangers are easily associated with holiness or sacredness, and are respected and sometimes feared by the villagers. I will argue that those mixed feelings drive people to share food even with socially distant persons. In section IV, I examine the peoples' perceptions of and dilemmas about food sharing. While Muslim villagers seem to share food with their relatives, neighbors and poor villagers, following the Islamic principle, they also face a dilemma in which giving too much food would leave too little for themselves, especially during the rainy season. So it sometimes happens that people refuse the demand for crops and repel the beggars. They do not always follow the religious precepts unhesitatingly, in other words. I also analyze the beggars' approaches in getting crops, and the donors' avoidance of giving, and conclude that whether people share their crops or not is largely determined by the interactive negotiation between the beggar and the donor. And finally, in section V, by reconsidering the issue of

(View PDF for the rest of the abstract.)

View full abstract

This paper describes the activities of calligraphy clubs and practitioners in contemporary Japan, and analyzes the system and dynamics of Japanese calligraphy society in comparison with the iemoto system of tea ceremony and flower arrangement. (The iemoto system is characterized by a hierarchical structure and the supreme authority of the iemoto, the representative, often hereditary, of a long line of grand masters in a particular field.) Japanese calligraphy was basically a tool of communication until World War II. After the war, in 1948, calligraphy was removed by the General Headquarters of the Allied Forces (GHQ) from the elementary school curriculum. The leading calligraphers then tried to preserve Japanese calligraphy, not as a practical tool, but as a form of Japanese culture and arts. In 1948, they succeeded in establishing a calligraphy section in "Nitten" (Japan Fine Arts Exhibition), the highest authority for exhibition of fine arts in the country. In 1951, calligraphy was revived as a subject in elementary schools. In that way, Japanese calligraphy managed to survive in both art exhibitions and school education. This paper describes the organization and composition of a calligraphy club to which the author belongs as a member. There are two different kinds of organizations in the calligraphy world in Japan : calligraphy clubs, and organizations of calligraphy exhibition boards. Calligraphy clubs are composed of a chairperson and his or her pupils. Large clubs are organized with the center of administration located in a principal city and branch offices throughout Japan. Calligraphy exhibitions are held by corporations or newspaper companies. A corporation may maintain its own calligraphy club and hold exhibitions by itself. Newspaper companies have either a special section to manage the exhibitions, or a separate subsidiary set up especially to hold such exhibitions. The nationwide calligraphy exhibitions attract more than 20, 000 participants, and are held yearly. Placed above these exhibitions in a hierarchical scale is the "Nitten, " the pinnacle of authority for calligraphy societies in Japan. A calligrapher's influential position in the calligraphy world depends on the prizes he or she has won in these exhibitions, as well as on such authoritative national prizes as The Japan Art Academy Prize, or the "Person of Cultural Merit" award bestowed by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT). Practitioners of calligraphy gain status in the calligraphy world through the prizes they win in calligraphy exhibitions. In preparation for an exhibition, calligraphy clubs usually holy special workshops several times a year. The members produce works to be criticized and evaluated, not just by their chairpersons but also directly by leading teachers, who would otherwise have no chance to advise them. The workshops offer opportunities for the chairperson and leading teachers of the club to examine and upgrade the standards of the members, and help the members gain recognition from the chairpersons and leading teachers, who may serve on the exhibition board as examiners. When the members win a prize in an exhibition, they have to donate some money to their chairperson, their club and their teacher as a token of their gratitude for their support. The amount of the donation is tacitly decided customarily, and is usually indicated by the teacher. Calligraphy clubs have their own system that is akin to the iemoto system of licensing teachers by a school that practices a traditional art. The iemoto system has the following two main features : (1) The master of iemoto is the only and thus the highest authority in the hierarchy of the iemoto guild, and (2) Below the master of iemoto, there are numerous number of teachers who are granted a license to teach or perform the art exclusively. The purpose of iemoto

(View PDF for the rest of the abstract.)

View full abstract

What can anthropology and anthropologists do in a local community in Japan? What possibilities arise for the future of both anthropology and anthropological education when anthropologists deeply commit themselves to local community activities? Recently, participating in community revitalization and contributing to the community have become primary concerns of academics from different disciplines who are engaged in the study of local communities in Japan. Political scientists discuss participation in local politics, while architects consider city planning and good landscape maintenance. Also, specialists in social welfare and education consider the importance of local communities. In such an atmosphere, anthropologists must also explore their own way of learning in and with the community. In the author's view, enabling community revitalization and contributing to the community are not the purposes of anthropological research, but are rather the results or products of the interpersonal relations with people within and beyond the community. Now we need to find a direction toward the creation of a new type of public sphere within and beyond the community in Japan, based on anthropological perspectives and practices. Based on presentations and analyses of a range of activities in the city of Uji since 2002, this article aims to suggest new possibilities for anthropological activities and education. Two main activities are reported in this article : the Ujizo and Manatabi projects. The first example concerns the activities of the Ujizo-gumi, whose main activity is to carry out fieldwork on Jizo beliefs and Jizo-bon in central Uji. They also employ various methods of expressing the findings of their research, such as publishing field reports, hosting street workshops, and designing Ujiizo goods. The Ujizo-gumi is a network mainly composed of graduates and students of cultural anthropology from Kyoto Bunkyo University. They participate in these activities to deepen and widen their knowledge and understanding of the actual situation of contemporary Japanese society. Since Japanese society is now facing a serious decline in the number of children and an increase in number of the elderly, students see that Jizo-bon reflects current social problems and plays a key role in maintaining community ties. The workshops basically collaborate with organizers of local events and use the creative arts so that even small children, who cannot read or write, can absorb the feeling and meaning of Jizo. So-called "stamp rallies" (i.e., running around to collect stamped imprints from various sites) have become one of the core activities affording opportunities for both children and adults to share real encounters with Jizo on-site. Those activities aim to stimulate communication and bring about interaction among people from different generations and different origins (i.e., people of different cultures). After conducting research in Uji and participating in various local events, the networks have developed in many directions. An internship program for undergraduate students was started with the cooperation of the Ujibashi-dori Shop Owners Association and the Uji City Tourism Society. Students experienced face-to-face communication in daily business and learned what work means to people in their daily lives. Many participants found the internship very helpful in broadening their views, and as a result started their real job-hunting activities more positively. Through the program, shop owners and students personally built up a feeling of mutual trust, one by-product of the internship program. The Ujizo gumi also helps promote the advertising of the unique goods in the Ujibashi-dori Shopping Street, in collaboration with the Uji Chamber of Commerce. They have taken part in a special exhibit at Uji City Museum, and started creating new Jizo goods together with some welfare firms. Another

(View PDF for the rest of the abstract.)

View full abstract

This paper discusses cooperation between a university and its local community in the context of anthropological fieldwork. It focuses in particular on how anthropological researchers build relationships with local people and the ways in which they cooperate with them. Kobe Gakuin University's Center for Area Research and Development was established in 2002 and works to forge cooperative links between the Kobe-Harima-Awaji region and the University. The Center's Cultural Anthropology Department aimed initially to compile data on the culture of this region and, with the local people, to create an interactive database. As preliminary work, a study of the region's traditional festivals was undertaken. Inazume Shrine in eastern Akashi City holds a festival every October. Because the festival is extremely complex and closely woven into the fabric of the local community, the research focused on it from the beginning. The festival features a number of traditional performing arts that have been designated intangible national cultural assets : the Ookuradani lion dance, the hayakuchinagashi (folk songs of daily life), and the cow-riding ritual. Mikoshi (portable shrines) carried in procession by local children were also part of the festival. From 2003 onwards we conducted, together with Kobe Gakuin University undergraduate students in cultural anthropology, a study of the activities and members of each participating group. The students, for whom the study was to serve as training in fieldwork, were divided into small groups, each with a particular research objective. They were instructed not only to take written notes, but also, using digital equipment, to produce photographs and moving images for the database. In the course of those four years of fieldwork, the relationship between the local people and ourselves underwent a gradual change, due to a problem affecting the festival and the local community. The Ookuradani area, having suffered a decline in its population of young people in recent years, faced the likelihood that the portable shrine procession would become impossible in the near future. Up to 2002, a mikoshi representing the spirit of peace and harmony, along with a palanquin representing the spirit of energy and action and a women's mikoshi, were borne 500 meters from Hachiman Shrine to Inazume Shrine. However, in 2003, a lack of bearers made carrying the palanquin impossible, so instead of a palanquin representing the spirit of energy and action, a float in the shape of a kentou (votive candle) was made for male local junior and senior high school students to carry, while a women's mikoshi was borne by female junior and high students. In 2005, tests and other engagements made it impossible for those students to take part, so the festival organizers asked us and the Kobe Gakuin University students to carry the float and the women's portable shrine. It was at this point that our relationship with the local community changed, in that we went from being mere outside researchers to being a group of participants. Participating in the festival has now become our reason for being there. From the point of view of the local people, the university and the students are the festival's new supporters, with the students as young people expected to bring it new vitality. There are three points to note about the above process. The first is that, as the festival changes. the researchers' standpoint also keeps changing. In other words, carrying a shrine means that it is impossible to avoid becoming more deeply involved in the festival. The second point is that the local community is made up of people with differing interests. The festival organizers, traditional performing arts groups, children's mikoshi groups, schools, and other local people all take part in the festival for different reasons and with different expectations. In that

(View PDF for the rest of the abstract.)

View full abstract

The purpose of this study is to point out two problems that happen when Japanese anthropologists want to share in or make a direct contribution to local society, looking at a case study dealing with problems of foreign residents and the policy of multicultural coexistence (tabunka-kyosei) in a certain prefecture of Japan. While the concept of multicultural coexistence originates in the multiculturalism of the West, it is not the same. It is difficult to define, and the meaning is vague and variegated in the context of Japanese society and local society. First, I should point out one problem characterizing Japanese anthropologists when they take Japanese local society as a research subject : they tend not to be interested in the methodological discussion. Especially, they fail to research the administrative systems of the entire local society and the culture underlying political procedures, so they encounter difficulties when trying to contribute to local society through their research. The second point that I make is the problem of the gap between the concept of "culture" in Japanese local society, and the concepts of culture held by anthropologists in Japanese society today. Recently there has arisen the phenomenon in Japan of "politics as culture" and "economy as culture." That produces a big gap between the concept developed in Japan, especially local society, and the traditional anthropological concept of culture. That gap or discrepancy especially appears when anthropologists are requested to make a contribution to local society, and makes it difficult for them to do so. So, before we show how anthropological studies can be applied to contributions to local society, it is important to examine how the concept of "culture" is constructed and used. But Japanese anthropology lacks the methodology to answer such problems sufficiently at the present stage. It is likely that those problems will lead to another problem, one of epistemology, in which the position of Japanese anthropologists in their society is not discussed thoroughly enough. That epistemological problem is related to the topic of "native anthropology" or "anthropology in one's hometown." Although I recognize the importance of that discussion, it does not seems sufficient to discuss the roles that Japanese native anthropologists should play in Japanese society when they intend to share in or make a direct contribution to local society. Alternatively, I suggest that we should discuss how Japanese persons can become members of local society. In other words, the further direction of anthropologists' contributions to local society requires a perspective of anthropology "in one's home town" (referred to as "at hometown" in the paper, using a Japanese-English phrase, quoting from Seki's concept "at home"). The concept of anthropology "in one's hometown" refers to the question of what anthropologists study when taking "Lebenwelt" as an object of research.

View full abstract