This study explores the potential of age-based connections in an increasingly individualized and diverse society. Focusing on “eto-en” (zodiac ties) formed through the Japanese zodiac, which operates on a 12-year cycle, the study examines the theoretical framework, case studies, and possible applications of such connections.

Eto-en are characterized as “involuntary yet expansive” connections that form virtual ties between people of different ages who share the same zodiac sign, regardless of their proximity in the real world.

The study presents the “zodiac relationship diagram” as a method of visualizing these networks and analyzes opportunities for their formation through fieldwork on communal zodiac year celebrations in Yomitan (Okinawa Island) and Karimata (Miyako Island). Looking to the future, the study considers the applicability of eto-en beyond traditional blood- and place-based communities to include workplaces, educational institutions, and online communities. Additionally, the study suggests future investigations into other formation contexts, such as those related to Mamori-Honzon folk practices.

This paper uncovers forgotten and concealed aspects of the history of Chinese Folklore Studies, highlighting a less touched upon dimension: the relationship between folklore studies and material culture viewed through the lens of “Wu物” by tracing the history of the term “Minsu Wen-wu民俗文物”.

Before 1980, tangible folk materials were vaguely referred to as “Fengsu Wu-pin風俗物品” or “Minsu Wu-pin民俗物品”, lacking a clear definition. After 1980, “Minsu Wen-wu” gained institutional traction, leading to the birth of new disciplines such as “Minsu Wen-wu Xue民俗文物学” and “Wen-wu Minsu Xue文物民俗学”. Nonetheless, research on “Minsu Wen-wu” remained limited. Meanwhile, newly established museums and the cultural preservation movement prioritised the recording and conservation of crafts and artisanal objects, also referred to as “Minsu Wen-wu”. With the introduction of the concepts of “cultural heritage” and “intangible cultural heritage”, interest shifted from the objects themselves to the processes of transmission and the cultural contexts of their creation and use.

By examining the history of the term “Minsu Wen-wu” from 1983 to 2013, this paper shows that while it served societal expectations, it ultimately wasn’t sustained as an academic framework within Chinese folklore studies. At the same time, the approaches to the term “Minsu Wen-wu” presented in this paper—developed by researchers from diverse disciplines—are creating opportunities for further methodological development.

In this paper, I would like to discuss the “vernacular of commerce.” As noted by Professor Tsukahara, there are still many challenges in the study of folklore related to commerce and distribution. Therefore, this paper attempts to empirically clarify the subtle movements and actions in the daily lives of petit merchant, an area that has not been widely explored.

In particular, in this paper, I aim to shed light on various insights gained through my experiences from three perspectives : those of a small business owner, a business consultant, and a commercial researcher. In writing this, the approach will be based on the idea, as Professor Kikuchi suggests, that “we (ourselves) are the data,” meaning the problem is approached from a standpoint where the researcher is inherently involved. By observing commerce from these three perspectives, the goal is to illuminate the vernacular aspects that business people hold.

Most of the 10 cases presented are based on the realities of a petit merchant. For example, the differences between “round words” and “square words” clearly illustrate the distinction between small business owners and developers.

Finally, I would like to reflect on the various possibilities and limitations of petit merchants, business consultants, and commercial researchers, based on the previous discussions.

Yanagita Kunio’s well-known theory of Sairei (festivals) attributes their elaboration to an increase in “spectators.” However, this paper examines Yanagita’s less-acknowledged “other theory,” which posits an internal factor: the accumulation of sacred vehicles (mikoshi, etc.) as new items are introduced without discarding the old. This theory utilizes his Jūshutsu-Rishōhō method, which reconstructs historical change from synchronic phenomena. To empirically test this, this paper analyzes modern cases from Kyoto and Osaka where new, “pure” imperial-style mikoshi (Go-hōren) were introduced alongside traditional forms. The study reveals the primary reason for this “remnant” phenomenon is not only the aesthetic “spirit of fūryū” but more fundamentally the “acquisition of divinity”—whereby the mikoshi itself becomes an object of faith—and the “desire of the performers.” By demonstrating this internal mechanism, this paper aims to supplement Yanagita’s theory, offering a new framework for understanding the dynamics of sacred objects in festivals.

This study reviews folkloristic research on the commemoration of the war dead, highlights the methodological limitations of the relational approach that has focused on “how the living engage with the dead,” and presents a new perspective. In Japanese folkloristics, research on the commemoration of the war dead became active from the 1990s onward, and since the 2000s, has increasingly taken on an interdisciplinary character. This study organizes the history of these theories, and examines discussions on “performative memory,” as well as trends in oral literature, performing arts, and the study of war-related sites. It argues that future research should focus on the processes by which ontological categories relating to the living and the dead are formed, the multiplicity of practices surrounding their relationships, and the plurality of effects that arise from such engagements.

Traditionally, strange phenomena have been studied in relation to supernatural beings such as spirits and gods, as well as folk beliefs. However, it is difficult to understand contemporary strange phenomena solely through these lenses. People visit haunted places in search of strange phenomena. What they seek there is a certain kind of extraordinary and terrifying experience, or a specific kind of atmosphere.

This study examines how people experience the strange phenomena that occur at haunted places by considering the role of shared sensations in atmospheric theory. The research method involved interviews with 31 local residents about the Kannon Tunnel, a haunted place in Futtsu City, Chiba Prefecture, and an analysis of 518 texts from occult books and other material that represent tunnels as places where strange phenomena occur (tunnel ghost stories). Through this examination of the survey cases, it became clear that we experience strange phenomena through atmosphere. However, the results suggested that while atmosphere can awaken sensibilities toward “something” and direct our experiences of strange phenomena, it cannot determine the content or meaning of that experience itself. A detailed examination of this point remains a task for future research.

Strange phenomena can never be understood solely through supernatural entities, or folk beliefs. Research on strange phenomena and yokai will likely enter a new phase by examining the atmosphere that directs the experience of strange phenomena.

The focus of this paper is on the practice of person A, a master mushroom forager in the Fuefuki region of Yamanashi Prefecture, and the aim is to elucidate the knowledge and skills regarding emergence prediction. Tsing has described the history of mushroom foraging from the macro perspective through the concept of “indeterminacy.” To build on this work in a manner that narrows the focus to the foragers’ agency, the attention here is focused on the individual forager A and the methods of dealing with the indeterminacy of emergence learned. In existing research, such methods of foragers have been presented in fragmented forms or treated as embodied knowledge that stresses its non-theoreticality. In contrast, Shinohara’s concepts of “experiential ecological knowledge” and “ecological skills” are introduced, and critical engagement with previous research is conducted through a construction of the foraging theory of the individual using the multiple records of his knowledge and skills. The background of A’s knowledge and skills acquisition is first presented, and these are then classified as being either regional or derived through individual experience. The focus then turns to the latter to provide concrete skills for identifying the locations (1) and timing (2) of mushroom emergence while revealing the knowledge of mushroom habitats or ecology mobilized in each instance.

This study reexamines the Tianjin Huanghui by focusing on “disjunctions” (zure) among multiple actors—institutions, local participants, and the researcher. Using museum explanations, exhibition panels, and official ICH documents, it clarifies how state and institutional bodies assign meanings to the Huanghui, framing it as heritage, order, and urban cultural identity.

These institutional narratives are contrasted with the perspectives of a local shopkeeper who holds a semi-marginal position: involved in ritual activities as a board member of Tianhou Temple, yet excluded from core decision-making. Atsushi Sakurai’s three-layered framework—Life Story, Model Story, and Master Narrative—is used to analyze how meanings are negotiated between personal experience and institutional discourse.

The study also reflects on the author’s positionality, which shaped the interactional dynamics and contributed to the emergence of disjunctions. By highlighting these intersecting perspectives, the research shows that ICH is not a stable tradition but a contested process shaped by institutional frameworks, everyday practice, and the researcher’s involvement.