Outline

Objectives

The two objectives for this project are as follows. Firstly, we will create an English version of the Japanese database “Yakihata (Swidden Fields) - The SASAKI Komei collection”, which is currently available to the public at Minpaku, and disseminate it internationally, in particular to English-speaking countries. Secondly, by adding photographs to the database (swidden fields of the Japanese archipelago) from East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia, where Komei Sasaki carried out his surveys, we will expand the world of swidden fields as seen by Komei Sasaki to Monsoon Asia, and help develop interdisciplinary studies of Shifting cultivation, particularly within the fields of ethnology and cultural geography.

Description

A lot of research has been done on Japanese Shifting cultivation, most of which has been within the subject areas of early modern history, Japanese folklore studies, and human geography. However, there have barely been any papers published in English. The result of this is that there has been virtually no discussion globally of Japanese Shifting cultivation from the past to the present within the context of Japanese culture. However, from a global perspective, Japanese Shifting cultivation is unique in its variety, stretching as it does from the cold zone (“northern Shifting cultivation”) to the subtropical zone (“southern Shifting cultivation”), and its origins and method of propagation provide fascinating but as-yet unexplored topics for research.
Focusing on the Kyushu region, this project will present information in English for the first time on Japan’s selection method for Shifting cultivation areas, techniques of Shifting cultivation, the use of land, and the types of crops grown, as well as the state of Shifting cultivation culture in the modern era. At the same time, learning about Shifting cultivation in Asia (particularly Southeast Asia) will enable users to appreciate the regional characteristics of Japan’s Shifting cultivation.

Expected results

Note: Results also reveal what kind of database it would be.
The three main points we expect to achieve are as follows. Previously there has been inadequate international dissemination of domestic ethnological research into Shifting cultivation agriculture (for example, in approx. 100 issues of SES no collections of papers on Shifting cultivation have been published). With this project, we will (1) be able to disseminate information globally, and in particular, to the English-speaking world. At the same time, by learning about details of life in the mountains of the Japanese archipelago, which differs greatly from life on the flatlands, we can (2) develop a new cultural study of Japan. In recent years, Shifting cultivation within the context of circular agriculture has gained a lot of attention as an environmentally friendly form of agriculture, particularly in Japan. Knowledge (native knowledge) about this kind of Shifting cultivation can (3) provide ideas for the sustainable use of natural resources around the world, particularly in temperate mountainous regions and tropical lowland forest areas. This will enhance the social value of Japanese humanities studies.