This study explores the different forms of outdoor drinking at Ikebukuro Nishiguchi Park in Tokyo, Japan, with a specific focus on park-goers’ style and time of drinking. Despite increased attention on outdoor drinking (due to COVID-19), the practice has been underrepresented in extant research and is often generalized as deviant behavior. Thus, approaching the subject of public drinking with greater nuance, we conducted eight modernological surveys (inclusive of fixed-point observations and field note-taking) in order to capture everyday outdoor drinking patterns that have been overlooked due to bias. Our statistical data revealed that the number of park-goers who drink increases as the day progresses. Although single drinkers are more common in the early evening, drinking in pairs is the most commonly observed behavior. We also discovered that most people spend an hour or less drinking, beer consumption peaks at 18:00, and most drinkers prefer easy-to-drink beverages with high alcohol content. Overall, our findings indicate that outdoor drinking can take on various habitualized forms, including relaxation and conversation, as well as more disruptive behaviors (e.g., rowdiness), which have invoked the stigmatized image of public drinking in previous research.

Street vending, the buying, and selling of goods in public spaces, has been viewed as an undesirable business practice from the perspective of urban policy and road traffic laws. In addition, it has been generally prohibited on streets, due to regulations imposed by urban administrations. In recent years, a growing body of research has highlighted the importance of incorporating street vending into urban growth strategies, since it functions as both a tourist attraction and a source of employment. However, since street vending is also closely linked to social relations within the community, the dynamics of street vending cannot simply be based on the relationship between the city government and the street vendors themselves. Therefore, this study analyzes the mutual relationship between the vendors of yakiimo (baked sweet potato) in the Demachi district of Kyoto, Japan, the shopping district that rents the premises to the vendors, and the customers who purchase yakiimo from the vendors. This study also examines how the social relations in the community are generated and maintained through such street commerce, forming the neighborhood economy.

In regard to post-war China, a comprehensive retrospective of Manchukuo (A Japanese-led puppet state occupying northeast China from 1932 to 1945) has yet to be conducted. While the national memory of Manchukuo holds a dominant position, the challenge of narrating the memories of individuals has emerged. In previous investigations, the authors have explored the life stories of immigrant women, who were born in northeast China and moved to northeast Japan through intermarriage. In line with such research, the present study delves into the lives of two of these women, with specific focus on their Manchukuo memory forming process and historical practice. Based on the results, three stages of memory forming were identified, ranging from childhood to the time of migration, with daily resistance within the context of Chinese national-level memory. The findings suggest the possibility of uncovering hidden individual memories in national-level memory, which can lead to a more diverse understanding of Manchukuo.

Photographer Shōmei Tōmatsu captured the lives of the people in Okinawa from the late 1960s for decades, especially when the islands were still under American administration. Additionally, a review of previous research suggests that the realities he depicted around the time of the reversion of Okinawa were stereotyped as one of the prevailing expressions that valued daily life around 1970, due to the backlash against mainstream journalism. However, the importance of his reflective practices in Okinawa as a mainlander has been underestimated. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to describe what photographic expression meant to him at the time, based on our original methodology of “photography in practice” (shashin-jissen). The findings indicate that Tōmatsu documented the way of life of each individual based on empathy, deepening his understanding of the island’s ethos. Given the circumstances of the same period when the freedom of expression was threatened by the state or commercialism, it is noteworthy that he emphasized the spirit of amateurism. Overall, for Tōmatsu, photography was a form of expression driven by his feelings toward modern society, which included the hope to inspire future generations.

In some mountainous/semi-mountainous regions of Hiroshima Prefecture, aging is progressing at an unusually rapid rate, making the development of local transportation systems an urgent matter for the survival of these regions. Therefore, this study investigates what types of local transportation systems should be developed. For this purpose, we used wristwatch-type GPS (Global Positioning System) devices to examine the daily behaviors of the elderly and their activity patterns in mountain villages where there are various spatial restrictions. Based on the findings, we confirmed two points. First, in areas where public transportation systems are insufficient, the travel routes of the elderly become more fixed as this population ages. Second, after they cease to drive a vehicle, it becomes more difficult for them to travel to local daily life bases. Since the fixed routes are the shortest ones to such bases from each community, the development of optimal transportation on such routes is crucial for the survival of these regions.