Mita Philosophical Society Lecture: "Retrospect and Prospect of the Anthropology of Religion in Japan: Between Academic History and Personal History"

2018/3/9

Lecture Abstract

If one were to name an era when cultural anthropology offered a fresh perspective to the general public in Japan, it would likely be the 1970s. In academia, structuralism boomed, replacing kinship studies and functionalism. Claude Lévi-Strauss was spectacularly introduced, and works by E. Leach, R. Needham, and V. Turner became required reading. This marked the arrival of an age where figures like Masao Yamaguchi and Tamotsu Aoki spoke broadly about culture to the public, using keywords such as symbols, rituals, and myths. My time as a graduate student was during what could be called its golden age, and this trend gradually converged into the field of the anthropology of religion. I myself have a strong sense of having made the anthropology of religion my primary field of specialization to this day. On the other hand, the term "anthropology of religion" was first used in Japan by Enku Uno, and there is another lineage that passed through religious ethnology, connecting to figures like Kiyoto Furuno, Keiji Iwata, and Kōkan Sasaki. How did the development of the anthropology of religion imported from the West and the development of the anthropology of religion stemming from the colonization of East Asia mix? Or did they not mix at all? Now that fewer people openly identify as anthropologists of religion, I would like to re-examine the past, present, and future of the anthropology of religion. By introspectively retracing my personal history of fieldwork in light of the changing academic histories of anthropology, religious studies, and folklore studies, I hope to clarify the contemporary significance of cultural anthropology in Japan.

Lecturer Profile

Professor Emeritus of Keio University. His specializations are the anthropology of religion and folklore studies. He has engaged in research and fieldwork in a wide range of areas, including South Asia, China, and Japan. He has produced numerous publications, including "Religion and Society in Sri Lanka: A Cultural Anthropological Study" (Shunjusha, 1996; received the Keio Award in 1997), "The History and Cultural Dynamics of the Miao People: The Transformation of the Imagination of a Mountain People in Southern China" (Fukyosha, 2012; received the Shigenobu Kimura Award of the Society for Ethno-Arts in 2014), and "Mountain Worship: Exploring the Roots of Japanese Culture" (Chuko Shinsho, 2015; received the Prince Chichibu Memorial Mountaineering Award in 2016). Furthermore, as a faculty member of the Faculty of Letters at Keio University for about 30 years, he has mentored numerous graduates and researchers.