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Papers by YUJI ANKEI

Research paper thumbnail of Nuclear power plants and biocultural renaissance: A case study of Iwaishima Island in the Seto Inland Sea of Japan

Journal of Marine and Island Cultures Journal of Marine and Island Cultures This journal doesn’t have a profile on ResearchGate yet. Interested in this journal? Get notified when it activates its profile, and start getting updates. I’m interested 1(2):126–130, 2012

For three decades, Iwaishima Islanders have rejected the proposal for a nuclear power plant to be... more For three decades, Iwaishima Islanders have rejected the proposal for a nuclear power plant to be built 3.5 km from their home. Located in the Suo-nada Inland Sea, which has miraculously escaped contamination, dredging of sand, or reclamation that damaged the Seto Inland Sea after WWII, the islanders maintain their livelihood by marketing fresh fish and organic produce. Based on studies on the biodiversity and recent interviews, some underlying reasons for their unyielding struggle have come to light: (1) some worked in Fukushima Daiichi NPP, and knew its damaging effects on human health and the bioregion; (2) islanders exchange goods and services, with minimal dependence on cash; and (3) they have revived the 10-century-old Kanmai (divine dance) festival held every 4 years.

Research paper thumbnail of コンゴ盆地の食文化と農業イノベーションの歴史

Afurika kenkyū/Afurika kenkyuu, May 31, 2023

Research paper thumbnail of An Illustrated Cosmology of Yonaguni Island, Ryukyus: A collection of daily prayers and songs for biocultural diversity and island sustainability

Journal of Marine and Island Cultures, Dec 30, 2023

This article describes the traditional culture of Yonaguni Island, located at the southwestern ti... more This article describes the traditional culture of Yonaguni Island, located at the southwestern tip of the Ryukyu Arc. It presents traditions passed down to the present day to Ms. Wakaranko, a native speaker of Yonaguni, which is in danger of extinction. Ms. Wakaranko, born in 1954, has continued practicing the island's traditional lifestyle and seasonal prayers, which have fallen out of practice today. From the records of her innumerable memories, we selected a set of drawings and explanations that illustrate the island's biocultural diversity and cosmology. We published them as an artbook with texts in Dunan Munui (Yonaguni language) with detailed iconographic analyses. The resulting publication reveals the island's history and islanders' understanding of the relationship between the cultural, natural, and supernatural worlds. It illustrates a resilient social system that allows for the sustainable use of local natural resources and how residents withstood unexpected climate change and natural calamities. Thus, the book's content provides important lessons for the present and the future. Over our 33 years of collaboration with Ms. Wakaranko, we have had to confront questions concerning research ethics: who are the real actors in area studies, and what is the role of researchers as external supporters of the islands?

Research paper thumbnail of Folk knowledge of fish among the Songola and the Bwari: comparative ethnoichthyology of the Lualaba River and Lake Tanganyika

A field sllrvey in collaboration wi th the Insli tilt de Recherche Scientifiqlle (presenlly Centr... more A field sllrvey in collaboration wi th the Insli tilt de Recherche Scientifiqlle (presenlly Centre de Recherche en Sciences Naturelles) was carried Ollt near Kindu and Baraka, Region du Kivu, Republique du Za'ire (Sept. 1979-Feb. 19BO and Sept.-Dec. 1983). The folk knowledge of fish is described in detail for the two areas. The author identified 100 species from the Lllalaba River and 97 species from Lake Tanganyika. Songola fishermen n:nya subgroup) along the Lualaba (upper reaches of the Z'lire, formerly the Congo) River have lOB vernacular names and 12 inclusive folk categories of fish, consisting of six levels of categorization. There are 18 series of "growth fishe" fish which have two to four di fferent vernacular names according to their life-cycle stages. All the "growth fishes" of the Enya are large-sized fishes and their names change by growth size. The thresholds for the different names seem to be related to the mesh sizes of traditional fishing nets. Bwari fishermen of northern Lake Tanganyika have a simpler system of folk classification than the Songola-Enya. They have 79 vernacular' fish names and-1 inclusive folk categories, consisting of three levels. There are A "growth fishes". They were diverse in body size and a small clupeid ndagaa, one of the most. abundant and important fishes for the l.ake Tanganyika fishermen, has as many as four life-cycle stages that determine its market price. The difference in the folk knowledge of t,he fish between these two peoples might be understood by t.he difference in the composition of the fish fauna of the two areas; in Lake Tanganyika whi Ie small-sized cichl id species (called inclusi>'ely as .LENDA by the Bwari) are abundant., it is the ndaga8 that prevails in today's catch. A comparison of the fish names among 15 peoplcs of Central Africa suggested that fish nomenclatures of Bantu societies have little similarity between independent water systems. I found only two stems havin~a universal distrilJulrion in Central Africa: .nJ•ik. for electric catfish and .sembe for lung-fish. Fishermen of Central Africa have an accurate and rather objective knowledge of fish on which they are dependent. As l'el, some of the fishes are regarded as sJlecial. Some nre regarded as tahoo, ot.hers used as charm medicine. lIaving an intermediate character he tween fish lIud ot.her creatures (bird or tree) and hllving anomalous features are good reasons to r'egard t.hem as speciaL Where do all these differences come from? In order to consider the problems concerning the comparative ecology and epistemology of African peoples more properly, we must. he equipped with a better knowledge on the environment (fallna and flora), I inguistics, and ethnography.

Research paper thumbnail of Intetchange between High and Low Island : Barter of Paddy and Ash in Taaisho Era Yaeyama,Ryukyus

Research paper thumbnail of Fish as "Primitive Money" : Barter Markets of the Songola

Research paper thumbnail of 地域社会への影響評価を : 西表島リゾート施設に対する日本生態学会の要望書の特色

Japanese Journal of Conservation Ecology, 2003

Research paper thumbnail of 周防灘の自然と上関原子力発電所建設計画 : 日本生態学会の二つの要望書をめぐるアフターケア報告

Japanese Journal of Conservation Ecology, 2003

Research paper thumbnail of Never tired of talking to developpers: we need a social impact assessment for the Iriomote Resort Hotel

Research paper thumbnail of Are you human? : The narrtive of a Japanese Islander on ethnological researchers(Correspondence)

Research paper thumbnail of Barter Markets of the Upper Zaire River

Research paper thumbnail of ケニア東海岸・聖なるカヤの森への旅 : ディゴ民族のエコツーリズムに関するコンゴ・ケニア・日本協同調査レポート

Research paper thumbnail of Community-based Conservation of Biocultural Diversity and the Role of Researchers: Examples from Iriomote and Yaku Islands, Japan and Kakamega Forest, West Kenya

Research paper thumbnail of A Comparative Study on the Barter Markets of the Upper Zaire River

African Study Monographs, 1985

Research paper thumbnail of The Fieldwork Ethics and Positionality of Tsuneichi Miyamoto : A Pioneer of Border Island Studies in Japan

Tsuneichi Miyamoto (1907-1981) studied the folklore and the “forgotten” history of rural Japan un... more Tsuneichi Miyamoto (1907-1981) studied the folklore and the “forgotten” history of rural Japan under the influence of Kunio Yanagita and Keizo Shibusawa. Miyamoto considered and introduced himself as a farmer of an island in the Seto Inland Sea, and was welcomed with enthusiasm by the rural people of the 4,000 communities he visited. He was very different from his contemporary fieldworkers in his fieldwork ethics, methodology of participant observation, and positionality as a scholar-farmer-social activist. The author of this article had a chance to meet with and be guided by Miyamoto in 1976, and experienced similar dilemmas in fieldwork ethics, social activism, and positionality during his stay on the Yaeyama Islands. As predicted by Miyamoto, on the border islands of Japan (in this case Tsushima and Yonaguni), ancient cultural traits may still be discovered because the islanders have often hid their friendly relationships with their trade partners living on the other side of the ...

Research paper thumbnail of フィールドでの「濃いかかわり」とその落とし穴 : 西表島での経験から( 表象・介入・実践 : 人類学者と現地とのかかわり)

Research paper thumbnail of ケニア東海岸・聖なるカヤの森への旅 : ディゴ民族のエコツーリズムに関するコンゴ・ケニア・日本協同調査レポート

山口県立大学大学院論集, Mar 31, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of Pilgrimage to a Kenyan Shrine Forest Kaya: a Congo-Japan Joint Research on Ecotourism among the Digo People of the Coast Province

Walikutana na utamaduni wa Wadigo unaoitwa kaya. Kaya ni tongo la babu zao ndani ya msitu. Serika... more Walikutana na utamaduni wa Wadigo unaoitwa kaya. Kaya ni tongo la babu zao ndani ya msitu. Serikali iliingiza makaya ya Mijikenda katika mali ya kitaifa (National Monuments) kwa mwaka wa 1992. Lakini misitu ya makaya yenyewe ilianza kuharibiwa sana na majengo ya mahoteli makubwa ya utalii au kuenea kwa mashamba ya wenyeji. Viongozi vijana wa Wadigo waliona kwamba makaya yatamalizika kabisa baada ya miaka kumi au ishirini tu, na kwa hivyo waliomba wazee wasimamizi wa makaya kuwaruhusu kuingiza watalii ndani ya Kaya Kinondo. Wazee wanaoabudu sana mizimu ya kaya walikataa mwanzoni. Lakini wameweza kukubaliana kuanzisha utalii mpya unaiotwa "ecotourism". Wageni wanashauriwa kufuata sheria za kaya: kutovaa kofia ndani ya kaya, kutovuta sigara, kutopiga picha za makaburi na vivi hivi. Watalii wanafurahi kujifunza utamaduni wa Wadigo na kuona aina mbalimbali za miti na mimea yasiyoonekana nje ya kaya. Wenyeji wakifaulu kuendesha utalii huu katika makaya yao, watapata jinsi ya kujitegemea. Wataweza pia kuhifadhi misitu yao, na wataweza kufufusha utamaduni wa babu zao, na wataweza kuwajulisha wananchi na watalii wote kwamba faida kubwa ya kuheshimu na kutukuza desturi na dini mbalimbali ndio msingi wa amani.

Research paper thumbnail of Nuclear power plants and biocultural renaissance: A case study of Iwaishima Island in the Seto Inland Sea of Japan

Journal of Marine and Island Cultures, 2012

For three decades, Iwaishima Islanders have rejected the proposal for a nuclear power plant to be... more For three decades, Iwaishima Islanders have rejected the proposal for a nuclear power plant to be built 3.5 km from their home. Located in the Suo-nada Inland Sea, which has miraculously escaped contamination, dredging of sand, or reclamation that damaged the Seto Inland Sea after WWII, the islanders maintain their livelihood by marketing fresh fish and organic produce. Based on studies on the biodiversity and recent interviews, some underlying reasons for their unyielding struggle have come to light: (1) some worked in Fukushima Daiichi NPP, and knew its damaging effects on human health and the bioregion; (2) islanders exchange goods and services, with minimal dependence on cash; and (3) they have revived the 10-century-old Kanmai (divine dance) festival held every 4 years.

Research paper thumbnail of Nomenclatures comparées de mammifères dans deux langues bantoues : Songola (D 24) et Ombo (C-69)

Journal d'agriculture traditionnelle et de botanique appliquée, 1986

Mammal names among two Bantu-speaking peoples were investigated. The Songola (linguistic zone D) ... more Mammal names among two Bantu-speaking peoples were investigated. The Songola (linguistic zone D) have 66 names whereas the Ombo (zone C) have 49, of which 32 have the same etymology. On the other hand, Songola (D-24) and Mbuti-Bira (D-32) have only 5 mammal names in common, and Ombo (C-69) and Boyela (C-74) have only 10. The large similarity between Songola and Ombo may be understood as a result of borrowing that occurred when the Ombo migrated into the Songola territory.

Research paper thumbnail of Nuclear power plants and biocultural renaissance: A case study of Iwaishima Island in the Seto Inland Sea of Japan

Journal of Marine and Island Cultures Journal of Marine and Island Cultures This journal doesn’t have a profile on ResearchGate yet. Interested in this journal? Get notified when it activates its profile, and start getting updates. I’m interested 1(2):126–130, 2012

For three decades, Iwaishima Islanders have rejected the proposal for a nuclear power plant to be... more For three decades, Iwaishima Islanders have rejected the proposal for a nuclear power plant to be built 3.5 km from their home. Located in the Suo-nada Inland Sea, which has miraculously escaped contamination, dredging of sand, or reclamation that damaged the Seto Inland Sea after WWII, the islanders maintain their livelihood by marketing fresh fish and organic produce. Based on studies on the biodiversity and recent interviews, some underlying reasons for their unyielding struggle have come to light: (1) some worked in Fukushima Daiichi NPP, and knew its damaging effects on human health and the bioregion; (2) islanders exchange goods and services, with minimal dependence on cash; and (3) they have revived the 10-century-old Kanmai (divine dance) festival held every 4 years.

Research paper thumbnail of コンゴ盆地の食文化と農業イノベーションの歴史

Afurika kenkyū/Afurika kenkyuu, May 31, 2023

Research paper thumbnail of An Illustrated Cosmology of Yonaguni Island, Ryukyus: A collection of daily prayers and songs for biocultural diversity and island sustainability

Journal of Marine and Island Cultures, Dec 30, 2023

This article describes the traditional culture of Yonaguni Island, located at the southwestern ti... more This article describes the traditional culture of Yonaguni Island, located at the southwestern tip of the Ryukyu Arc. It presents traditions passed down to the present day to Ms. Wakaranko, a native speaker of Yonaguni, which is in danger of extinction. Ms. Wakaranko, born in 1954, has continued practicing the island's traditional lifestyle and seasonal prayers, which have fallen out of practice today. From the records of her innumerable memories, we selected a set of drawings and explanations that illustrate the island's biocultural diversity and cosmology. We published them as an artbook with texts in Dunan Munui (Yonaguni language) with detailed iconographic analyses. The resulting publication reveals the island's history and islanders' understanding of the relationship between the cultural, natural, and supernatural worlds. It illustrates a resilient social system that allows for the sustainable use of local natural resources and how residents withstood unexpected climate change and natural calamities. Thus, the book's content provides important lessons for the present and the future. Over our 33 years of collaboration with Ms. Wakaranko, we have had to confront questions concerning research ethics: who are the real actors in area studies, and what is the role of researchers as external supporters of the islands?

Research paper thumbnail of Folk knowledge of fish among the Songola and the Bwari: comparative ethnoichthyology of the Lualaba River and Lake Tanganyika

A field sllrvey in collaboration wi th the Insli tilt de Recherche Scientifiqlle (presenlly Centr... more A field sllrvey in collaboration wi th the Insli tilt de Recherche Scientifiqlle (presenlly Centre de Recherche en Sciences Naturelles) was carried Ollt near Kindu and Baraka, Region du Kivu, Republique du Za'ire (Sept. 1979-Feb. 19BO and Sept.-Dec. 1983). The folk knowledge of fish is described in detail for the two areas. The author identified 100 species from the Lllalaba River and 97 species from Lake Tanganyika. Songola fishermen n:nya subgroup) along the Lualaba (upper reaches of the Z'lire, formerly the Congo) River have lOB vernacular names and 12 inclusive folk categories of fish, consisting of six levels of categorization. There are 18 series of "growth fishe" fish which have two to four di fferent vernacular names according to their life-cycle stages. All the "growth fishes" of the Enya are large-sized fishes and their names change by growth size. The thresholds for the different names seem to be related to the mesh sizes of traditional fishing nets. Bwari fishermen of northern Lake Tanganyika have a simpler system of folk classification than the Songola-Enya. They have 79 vernacular' fish names and-1 inclusive folk categories, consisting of three levels. There are A "growth fishes". They were diverse in body size and a small clupeid ndagaa, one of the most. abundant and important fishes for the l.ake Tanganyika fishermen, has as many as four life-cycle stages that determine its market price. The difference in the folk knowledge of t,he fish between these two peoples might be understood by t.he difference in the composition of the fish fauna of the two areas; in Lake Tanganyika whi Ie small-sized cichl id species (called inclusi>'ely as .LENDA by the Bwari) are abundant., it is the ndaga8 that prevails in today's catch. A comparison of the fish names among 15 peoplcs of Central Africa suggested that fish nomenclatures of Bantu societies have little similarity between independent water systems. I found only two stems havin~a universal distrilJulrion in Central Africa: .nJ•ik. for electric catfish and .sembe for lung-fish. Fishermen of Central Africa have an accurate and rather objective knowledge of fish on which they are dependent. As l'el, some of the fishes are regarded as sJlecial. Some nre regarded as tahoo, ot.hers used as charm medicine. lIaving an intermediate character he tween fish lIud ot.her creatures (bird or tree) and hllving anomalous features are good reasons to r'egard t.hem as speciaL Where do all these differences come from? In order to consider the problems concerning the comparative ecology and epistemology of African peoples more properly, we must. he equipped with a better knowledge on the environment (fallna and flora), I inguistics, and ethnography.

Research paper thumbnail of Intetchange between High and Low Island : Barter of Paddy and Ash in Taaisho Era Yaeyama,Ryukyus

Research paper thumbnail of Fish as "Primitive Money" : Barter Markets of the Songola

Research paper thumbnail of 地域社会への影響評価を : 西表島リゾート施設に対する日本生態学会の要望書の特色

Japanese Journal of Conservation Ecology, 2003

Research paper thumbnail of 周防灘の自然と上関原子力発電所建設計画 : 日本生態学会の二つの要望書をめぐるアフターケア報告

Japanese Journal of Conservation Ecology, 2003

Research paper thumbnail of Never tired of talking to developpers: we need a social impact assessment for the Iriomote Resort Hotel

Research paper thumbnail of Are you human? : The narrtive of a Japanese Islander on ethnological researchers(Correspondence)

Research paper thumbnail of Barter Markets of the Upper Zaire River

Research paper thumbnail of ケニア東海岸・聖なるカヤの森への旅 : ディゴ民族のエコツーリズムに関するコンゴ・ケニア・日本協同調査レポート

Research paper thumbnail of Community-based Conservation of Biocultural Diversity and the Role of Researchers: Examples from Iriomote and Yaku Islands, Japan and Kakamega Forest, West Kenya

Research paper thumbnail of A Comparative Study on the Barter Markets of the Upper Zaire River

African Study Monographs, 1985

Research paper thumbnail of The Fieldwork Ethics and Positionality of Tsuneichi Miyamoto : A Pioneer of Border Island Studies in Japan

Tsuneichi Miyamoto (1907-1981) studied the folklore and the “forgotten” history of rural Japan un... more Tsuneichi Miyamoto (1907-1981) studied the folklore and the “forgotten” history of rural Japan under the influence of Kunio Yanagita and Keizo Shibusawa. Miyamoto considered and introduced himself as a farmer of an island in the Seto Inland Sea, and was welcomed with enthusiasm by the rural people of the 4,000 communities he visited. He was very different from his contemporary fieldworkers in his fieldwork ethics, methodology of participant observation, and positionality as a scholar-farmer-social activist. The author of this article had a chance to meet with and be guided by Miyamoto in 1976, and experienced similar dilemmas in fieldwork ethics, social activism, and positionality during his stay on the Yaeyama Islands. As predicted by Miyamoto, on the border islands of Japan (in this case Tsushima and Yonaguni), ancient cultural traits may still be discovered because the islanders have often hid their friendly relationships with their trade partners living on the other side of the ...

Research paper thumbnail of フィールドでの「濃いかかわり」とその落とし穴 : 西表島での経験から( 表象・介入・実践 : 人類学者と現地とのかかわり)

Research paper thumbnail of ケニア東海岸・聖なるカヤの森への旅 : ディゴ民族のエコツーリズムに関するコンゴ・ケニア・日本協同調査レポート

山口県立大学大学院論集, Mar 31, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of Pilgrimage to a Kenyan Shrine Forest Kaya: a Congo-Japan Joint Research on Ecotourism among the Digo People of the Coast Province

Walikutana na utamaduni wa Wadigo unaoitwa kaya. Kaya ni tongo la babu zao ndani ya msitu. Serika... more Walikutana na utamaduni wa Wadigo unaoitwa kaya. Kaya ni tongo la babu zao ndani ya msitu. Serikali iliingiza makaya ya Mijikenda katika mali ya kitaifa (National Monuments) kwa mwaka wa 1992. Lakini misitu ya makaya yenyewe ilianza kuharibiwa sana na majengo ya mahoteli makubwa ya utalii au kuenea kwa mashamba ya wenyeji. Viongozi vijana wa Wadigo waliona kwamba makaya yatamalizika kabisa baada ya miaka kumi au ishirini tu, na kwa hivyo waliomba wazee wasimamizi wa makaya kuwaruhusu kuingiza watalii ndani ya Kaya Kinondo. Wazee wanaoabudu sana mizimu ya kaya walikataa mwanzoni. Lakini wameweza kukubaliana kuanzisha utalii mpya unaiotwa "ecotourism". Wageni wanashauriwa kufuata sheria za kaya: kutovaa kofia ndani ya kaya, kutovuta sigara, kutopiga picha za makaburi na vivi hivi. Watalii wanafurahi kujifunza utamaduni wa Wadigo na kuona aina mbalimbali za miti na mimea yasiyoonekana nje ya kaya. Wenyeji wakifaulu kuendesha utalii huu katika makaya yao, watapata jinsi ya kujitegemea. Wataweza pia kuhifadhi misitu yao, na wataweza kufufusha utamaduni wa babu zao, na wataweza kuwajulisha wananchi na watalii wote kwamba faida kubwa ya kuheshimu na kutukuza desturi na dini mbalimbali ndio msingi wa amani.

Research paper thumbnail of Nuclear power plants and biocultural renaissance: A case study of Iwaishima Island in the Seto Inland Sea of Japan

Journal of Marine and Island Cultures, 2012

For three decades, Iwaishima Islanders have rejected the proposal for a nuclear power plant to be... more For three decades, Iwaishima Islanders have rejected the proposal for a nuclear power plant to be built 3.5 km from their home. Located in the Suo-nada Inland Sea, which has miraculously escaped contamination, dredging of sand, or reclamation that damaged the Seto Inland Sea after WWII, the islanders maintain their livelihood by marketing fresh fish and organic produce. Based on studies on the biodiversity and recent interviews, some underlying reasons for their unyielding struggle have come to light: (1) some worked in Fukushima Daiichi NPP, and knew its damaging effects on human health and the bioregion; (2) islanders exchange goods and services, with minimal dependence on cash; and (3) they have revived the 10-century-old Kanmai (divine dance) festival held every 4 years.

Research paper thumbnail of Nomenclatures comparées de mammifères dans deux langues bantoues : Songola (D 24) et Ombo (C-69)

Journal d'agriculture traditionnelle et de botanique appliquée, 1986

Mammal names among two Bantu-speaking peoples were investigated. The Songola (linguistic zone D) ... more Mammal names among two Bantu-speaking peoples were investigated. The Songola (linguistic zone D) have 66 names whereas the Ombo (zone C) have 49, of which 32 have the same etymology. On the other hand, Songola (D-24) and Mbuti-Bira (D-32) have only 5 mammal names in common, and Ombo (C-69) and Boyela (C-74) have only 10. The large similarity between Songola and Ombo may be understood as a result of borrowing that occurred when the Ombo migrated into the Songola territory.