In Toyoshima (Hiroshima-ken) there were about 310 boats on which a large number of fishing couples still led nomadic lives all year round in 1998. They also practiced traditional fishing, especially ipponzuri (pole-and-line fishing) and haenawa (long-line fishing). Unlike the Ebune of previous Japanese sea nomads, all the boats were modernized and their fishing zone had expanded. The boats were equipped with fish finders, radio telephones, mobile phones, radar and even GPS (Global Positioning System). The aim of this paper is to investigate the fishing activities of the Toyoshima fishermen, who practice traditional fishing and lead nomadic lives on one hand, but also use a lot of the latest technological equipment on the other hand. To put it more concretely, I would like to clarity first what kind of traditional fishing skills they have. For this, I will divide their traditional fishing skills into three parts and examine them: recognition of the time (tide) for fishing, recognition of the location for fishing grounds, and recognition of the fishing conditions through the body and instruments. Second I would like to explain the process how they acquire that traditional tacit knowledge. Then, I would like to determine how they introduce the latest technological equipment such as fish finders, radio telephones, radar and GPS and how they can master their use even though many fishermen have no ability to read the manuals for using such equipment.

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This paper focuses on the human-building function in the funeral ceremony of the Yi minority group in China, which was formed based on the Yi's idea of the soul and the worship of their ancestors. The funeral ceremony is performed when a person dies; therefore it is the last rite of passage in one's life. The funeral ceremony is intended for a dead person, it has the characteristic feature of dealing with the soul which has left the body behind. Previous research on the funeral ceremony of the Yi people has regarded it simply as a ceremony for the dead, and has mainly dealt with religious, folkloric, and cultural-anthropological concerns. As a result this previous research only informs through concrete description or classification. In contrast, research on the funeral ceremony from an educational viewpoint that deals with the human-building of those mourning the loss of a life, has been relatively rare. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to clarify the human-building function of the funeral ceremony of the Yi in China, especially as it relates to ideas of life and death and the formation of ethnic identity.

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The Micronesian islands have the same colonial experiences, having been ruled by Spain (1886-1899), Germany (1899-1914), Japan (1914-1945), and the United States (1945-1986). Under colonial rule, Micronesian societies were drastically changed and the Micronesian people needed to accommodate themselves to the changes. But the extent of the changes and the manners of accommodation were different for each island. Recent colonial studies on Oceania have discussed cultural discourse only as political ideology and tended to overlook the peculiar regional "culture" that is a flexible custom in acted everyday life. In this thesis, I examine the process of change in these islands by comparing the examples of Pohnpei and Yap. I discuss it by paying attention to the customary social system, the policies of colonial administrations, and the people's reactions to those policies. In pre-colonial Pohnpei, matriliny formed the basis of chiefdom and the land system, and the paramount chiefs ruled the land symbolically. On the other hand, in pre-colonial Yap the land system formed the basis of chiefdom. In Pohnpei, the German administration enforced land reform to introduce individual ownership and paternal inheritance of land. But in pre-colonial Pohnpei, the land system and chiefdom had a symbolic relationship, while some flexibility was accepted concerning the use and inheritance of the land. Thus, the Pohnpeian people could accept the change without serious opposition and put it into practice as a new system. In Yap, too, the American adminisatarion enforced land reform which aimed to establish individual ownership. But in Yap, the land system formed the basis of the chiefdom and there were many kinds of rights in a plot of land. The Yap people couldn't interpretate the land reform within the framework of the customary land system, and didn't accept it. In Pohnpei, the German and Japanese administrations utilized the chiefdom for colonial rule, and the Pohnpeian people could accept the authority of the colonial government within the framework of the chiefdom. But in the American period, a legislature which controlled the whole island was created. The chiefdom of Pohnpei had no island-wide governmental form, and the Pohnpeian people couldn't accept the authority of the legislature within the framework of the chiefdom. As a result, the customary chiefdom was separated from the colonial government. Under such a situation, the titles became an important factor of Pohnpeian identity. In Yap, Germany made use of the chiefdom for colonial rule, but Japan eliminated it from the colonial administration. The Yap people couldn't accept the authority of Japan within the chiefdom, so that they perceived a difference between the customary chiefdom and the administrative system. America created the Council of Magistrates which governed the whole island. The Yap chiefdom had an island-wide political body, and the Yap people could integrate the chiefdom within the colonial administration to elect their own chiefs to Chief Magistrate. After the legislative body was created in Yap, chiefdom and legislature coexisted in the government and the land (dayif) based on chiefdom became an important factor of Yap identity. The above proves that the differences in the customs of a flexible social system in everyday life conditioned peoples' reactions to colonial policy and led to the differences in the changes between Pohnpei and Yap. The customary social system which was utilized as the framework for interpretation of colonial policy was the primary factor to decide the manner of social change. In addition, the process of the construction of Pohnpeian and Yap identity shows that cultural discourse as an ideology of modern politics has a close relation to the interpretation and actual practice of everyday life.

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