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

Staff Members

HIRAI Kyonosuke
HIRAI KyonosukeHIRAI Kyonosuke
Center for Research Development・Professor
Research Specialization
Individual Research Projects
  • The Anthropology of Community Museums: Cases from Thailand and Minamata
Personal website ［4 Jan 2013 updated］

Academic Qualifications:

  • B.A. Tohoku Univ. 1988
  • M.Sc. University of London (UCL) 1992
  • Ph.D. University of London (LSE) 1998

Research Topics:

  • Japanese Factory in Northern Thailand
  • Buddhist monks’ community in urban Laos

Geographical Areas of Interest:

  • Thailand, Laos, Japan

Ethnic Groups:

  • Thai, Japanese

Discipline:

  • Economic anthropology, material culture studies

Publications:

2008
The Romantic Ethic and the Notion of Modern Society: Imagining Communities among Northern Thai Factory Women. In S. Tanabe (ed.) Imagining Communities in Thailand: Ethnographic Approaches, pp.135–160, Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books.
2002
Exhibition of Power: Factory Women’s Use of the Housewarming Ceremony in a Northern Thai Village. In S. Tanabe and C. Keyes (eds.) Cultural Crisis and Social Memory: Modernity and Identity in Thailand and Laos, pp.185–201, London: Routledge Curzon.
1999
Making up the Home: Modern Consumption of Northern Thai Factory Women. Tai Culture 6: 116–130.
1995
A Practice Approach to the Japanese Company: Loyalty, Harmony and Incentives. Asian Review 9: 1–37.

Presentations:

2003
“Spirits of Romance and Consumption Practices: Imagining Communities among Northern Thai Factory Women.” Imagining Communities: Cases in South East Asia, 17-18 November, 2003.
2001
“Modernity at Work: A Discourse on Gender and Sexuality in a Northern Thai Factory.” JSPS Bangkok Workshop, 13-14 January, 2001.
1996
“Exhibition of Power: Factory Women's Use of the Housewarming Ceremony in a Northern Thai Village.” The 6th International Conference on Thai Studies, Chiangmai University, Thailand.