The National Museum of Ethnology (Minpaku) is a research center for ethnology and cultural anthropology.

Department of Advanced Studies in Anthropology

To address critical scholarly and social issues confronting contemporary society, Minpaku commits organizational resources, operating from a cultural anthropological and ethnological perspective, to implementing large-scale, focused core research projects with a high degree of transparency. The Department of Advanced Studies in Anthropology consists of five sections: Theoretical Anthropology, Global Studies, Social Environment, Cultural Dynamics, and Applied Anthropology.

Staff

The Theoretical Anthropology and Global Studies sections are composed of the leaders and key implementers of our core research projects. The Theoretical Anthropology section implements basic and theoretical research on contemporary issues, while the Global Studies section places greater weight on ethnographic and applied research.
The Social Environment, Cultural Dynamics, and Applied Anthropology sections involve visiting scholars in joint research on issues related to the social environment, cultural change, and various issues in applied fields. They also conduct research in areas that Minpaku's own full-time researchers cannot cover.

○ Director
TERADA Yoshitaka [Ethnomusicology, performing arts of Asia]
Theoretical Anthropology
○ Professor
SASAKI Shiro [Socioeconomic history of reindeer-breeders and forest hunters; Northern Asia, Siberia]
SUZUKI Nanami [Cultural anthropology, culture of medicine, life-design studies, American and European medieval social history]
○ Associate Professor
IIDA Taku [Ecological anthropology, fisher studies; Madagascar, Japan]
KIKUSAWA Ritsuko [Linguistics, Austronesian languages]
SAITO Akira [Ethnohistory; Latin America]
Global Studies
○ Associate Professor
SUZUKI Motoi [Anthropological perspectives on development assistance evaluations]

 

Core Research

In fiscal 2009, two core projects, "Anthropological Studies of Inclusion and Autonomy" and "Anthropological Studies of Materiality," were initiated, with funding provided over the six-year period (2010-2015) of Minpaku's second phase following its incorporation as a National Institute for the Humanities. Answering both scholarly and social needs, these are high priority joint research projects, emphasizing international and institutional scholarly coordination, in which Minpaku as a whole is involved. The inclusion and autonomy project focuses on relations among people, the materiality project on relations between people and the material world; both involve cooperation with researchers in related fields with the goal of offering fresh perspectives on society and humanity.
As of April 2011, core research projects either conducted by members of the Department of Advanced Studies in Anthropology or in which they were key members included the following:

Research domain: Anthropological Studies of Inclusion and Autonomy [Core Project Coordinator: KISHIGAMI Nobuhiro / Period: Starting October 2009]
○ Projects
"The Anthropology of Supporting: Constructing Global Reciprocity" [Project leader: SUZUKI Motoi / Project period: October 2009, to March 2013]
"The Anthropology of Care and Education for Life" [Project leader: SUZUKI Nanami / Project period: April 2011 to March 2014]
"State, Community and Identity in the Modern Hispanic World: A Study of Resettlement Policy in Spanish America" [Project leader: SAITO Akira / Project period: April 2011 to March 2014]
Research domain: Research domain: Anthropological Studies of Materiality [Core Project Coordinator: TERADA Yoshitaka / Period: Starting October 2009]
○ Projects
"The Cult of Things: Possession, Collection and Representation" [Project leader: TAKEZAWA Shoichiro / Project period: October 2009 to March 2013]
"The Anthropological Study of Humans and Textiles" [Project leader: SEKIMOTO Teruo / Project period: January 2011 to March 2013]

Core research projects spearheaded by the Department of Advanced Studies in Anthropology are open to participation by scholars associated with universities and research institutions throughout the world. They thus play a key role in enhancing the performance of Minpaku as an Inter-University Research Institute and as a center for anthropological and ethnological research in Japan.