Internationalization and the Development of Interdisciplinary Studies on Database of “Yakihata (Swidden Fields) – The SASAKI Komei collection”

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.

1. The state of the implementation of this year’s research

1-1. The development of this year’s research is outlined below, covering the following three areas: (1) Research Reports, (2) Publications, and (3) Exhibitions.
1 On November 20, 2021, we presented our research at a seminar (theme: “Hunting, Shifting Cultivation, Burning and Modern Civilization”) at Itsuki Village, the main research site of SASAKI Komei. At the same time, we listened to reports by researchers in various fields and held discussions with local people. In addition, we plan to present our findings at the Minpaku Seminar, which is scheduled for March 19, 2022.
2 The theory of human civilization on shifting cultivation was discussed in a special issue of Kikan Minzokugaku (Ethnology Quarterly) No. 177, titled “Shifting Cultivation and Civilization – from Itsuki Village to the World.” The special issue is made up of three parts: The history of shifting cultivation, shifting cultivation around the world, and shifting cultivation and modern society.
3 From March 10 to June 7, 2022, we plan to host a thematic exhibition titled “Shifting Cultivation from the perspective of SASAKI Komei: From Itsuki Village to the world” at the Minpaku in collaboration with Itsuki Village. During the exhibition, we will hold symposiums, weekend salons, lectures, and other events to exchange ideas with researchers and visitors.
In this way, the project has extended the world of shifting cultivation as seen by SASAKI Komei not only to the Japanese archipelago but also to the monsoon Asian region, and has developed academic research focusing on the ethnography and cultural geography of shifting cultivation.

1-2. Project Description
Many studies have been conducted on Japanese shifting cultivation since pre-WWII times, mainly in the areas of early modern history, Japanese folklore studies, human geography as well as historical geography, ethnology, and agricultural science. However, most of these are in Japanese, with hardly any papers published in English. At the same time, no research has emerged that provides an interdisciplinary perspective on the actual state of shifting cultivation in Japan by establishing the periods and regions [of these practices]. As a result, case studies from the Japanese archipelago have made little contribution to research on shifting cultivation around the world, especially in the humid tropics where shifting cultivation is still practiced.
From a global perspective, however, Japanese shifting cultivation includes a wide variety of crops that have been grown in both cold (“northern shifting cultivation”) and tropical/subtropical (“southern shifting cultivation”) zones, and the origins of its diversity and method of propagation have yet to be established. And now in Japan, there are “shifting cultivation summits” and a revival of shifting cultivation. In response to the need for sustainable use of resources in the global environment, the practice is attracting attention as an “eco-friendly, cyclical form of agriculture.”
This project aims to comprehensively understand the evolution of the shifting cultivation cultural complex in recent times, with a focus on the selection of shifting cultivation sites, shifting cultivation techniques, land use, and types of cultivated plants produced by shifting cultivation in the Kyushu region of Japan. To achieve this, we will mainly use the photographs in the database “Yakihata (Swidden Fields) – The SASAKI Komei collection” to construct a new image of shifting cultivation while considering ways of giving back to the local community through our research. At the same time, we also aim to understand the regional characteristics of Japanese shifting cultivation by learning about Southeast Asian and South Asian practices.

1-3. Expected Results
The expected results can be summarized in the following three points. First of all, gaining detailed knowledge of life in the mountains within the Japanese archipelago will allow us to develop a new theory of Japanese culture, different from that of the plains. Secondly, shifting cultivation has been attracting a lot of attention in recent years, especially in Japan. The wisdom of these practices (indigenous knowledge) can provide hints for the sustainable use of resources throughout the world, especially in the temperate mountains and tropical lowland forests, and thus enhance the value of Japanese humanities in contemporary society.
Finally, the results of our research on shifting cultivation have laid the foundations for the international dissemination of ethnographic and geographic studies of shifting cultivation, particularly to English-speaking countries, which had so far been weak (e.g., a special collection on shifting cultivation has yet to be published in Senri Ethnological Studies).

2. Overview of the research results (achievements of the research objects)

The results can be summarized in the following three areas:
1 Research: By summarizing the human history of shifting cultivation with a focus on the case of Itsuki Village in Kumamoto Prefecture, we were able to present a new framework for the history of shifting cultivation in Japan. At the same time, we discovered that the culture of shifting cultivation in Japan is unique in its cultivation techniques compared to the rest of the world. We believe that the construction of a model of the formation, development and decline of shifting cultivation in Japan would contribute to research around the world.
2 Exhibition and network building: We were able to collect new materials in the process of preparing for an exhibition in collaboration with the village where shifting cultivation once formed the basic livelihood. Also, the fact that the textbook classification of Japanese history does not match the history of the village, and the movement to reevaluate shifting cultivation, including the small-scale commercialization of native varieties grown on swidden fields, were taught at the local junior high school.
3 Database: In the database “Yakihata (Swidden Fields) – The SASAKI Komei collection,” which is now open to the public, some mistakes were pointed out by local residents who visited the exhibition. We also supported the collection of some of the material culture related to shifting cultivation by a local museum. In this way, we were able to develop a basic collection of manufacturing techniques and knowledge.

3. Records disclosing achievements (publications, public symposia, sectional meetings of academic conferences, electronic media, etc.)

・“Ethnoarchaeology of Introducing Agriculture and Social Continuity among Sedentarised Hunter–Gatherers: The Transition from the Jomon to the Yayoi Period”Quaternary 2021;4:3-28
・Pei-Lin Yu, Kazunobu Ikeya and Meng Zhang. “Introduction: New Discoveries and Theoretical Implications for the Last Foraging and First Farming in East Asia” Quaternary 2021;4:4-37
・The Exhibition Report of ‘Shifting Cultivation from the Perspective of Komei Sasaki: from Itsuki-mura to the World’, Co-organized by National Museum of Ethnology and Itsuki-mura. National Museum of Ethnology, 2021: (9)
・ “Considering Living Creature Culture in the Museum – from the Relationship between Bees and People”. In Wildness and Human Logic: Four Approaches to Post-domestication, University of Tokyo Press, 2021: 65-82
・“Shifting Cultivation Viewed by Komei Sasaki: Considering Human History from Itsuki-mura” Kikan Minzokugaku (Quarterly Ethnology) 45(3): 4-13.
・‘The Mind of Shifting Cultivation Workers and Modern Civilization’ Kikan Minzokugaku (Quarterly Ethnology) 45(3): 86-87.
・“Summary” The Exhibition Report of ‘Shifting Cultivation from the Perspective of Komei Sasaki: from Itsuki-mura to the World’, Co-organized by National Museum of Ethnology and Itsuki-mura. National Museum of Ethnology, 121-122.
・“Japan from the Perspective of Komei Sasaki”, Gekkan Minpaku (Monthly magazine Minpaku), 46(2):2-3.

1. The state of the implementation of this year’s research

・.Database Internationalization
This year, we produced an English version of the “Database of Swidden Fields － The SASAKI KOMEI collection” by translating the Japanese portions to English, which is currently available at the Minpaku. In the future, we plan to examine the individual contents of the database and make it available to the public
・Development of Academic Research
Descriptions below are for the following three areas: (1) Research Reports, (2) Publication of Literature, (3) Exhibitions.
(1) I gave a research report on the changes in swidden fields in Itsuki Village in Kumamoto at an international symposium at the University of California, Berkeley held by the Institute of East Asian Studies. We also held five study groups in Itsuki Village, the site where Sasaki Komei did most of his research. Their theme was “Shifting Cultivation and Modern Civilization,” and the subject was extended to the Monsoon Asia region. Researchers from a variety of fields presented their findings and held discussions with local residents.
(2) My theories on civilization involving food and agriculture are discussed in the book that I compiled, Food Civilization- A View through the History of Homo Sapiens, Rural Culture Association (Nobunkyo).
(3) From October to December 2020, we held a special exhibition titled “Shifting Cultivation from the perspective of Komei Sasaki: from Itsuki-mura to the world” in Itsuki Village, where Komei Sasaki did his research. During this exhibition period, we offered a gallery talk session at the venue and exchanged views with researchers and local residents.
As explained above, this research project extended world of shifting cultivation as seen by Komei Sasaki to the rest of the Japanese archipelago and beyond to the Monsoon Asia region. It also promoted academic research focusing on the ethnography and cultural geography of shifting cultivation.

2. Overview of the research results (achievements of the research objects)

The overview can be summarized in the following three areas.
(1) Research: By presenting my research on shifting cultivation at the international symposium, I learned that shifting cultivation is either on the decline or disappearing throughout the world. At the same time, I got the impression that the Japanese shifting cultivation culture is probably unique in the world in terms of cultivation techniques and other aspects. If we could, for example, build a model showing the formation, development, and decline of shifting cultivation culture in Japan, I think it would contribute to international research.
(2) Exhibition and network-building: We were able to form a new network by holding workshops in Japan during the period of the exhibition in the village where shifting cultivation was once the basic form of livelihood. This network includes researchers, governments, schools, and local residents. For example, we saw movements to reevaluate shifting cultivation, including the awareness that the periodic classification of Japanese history in school education does not match the history of the village, and the small-scale commercialization of indigenous crops grown using shifting cultivation. In fact, in late March 2021, a movement came to fruition to revive shifting cultivation in the village in which it had disappeared.
(3) Database: In the “Database of Swidden Fields － The SASAKI KOMEI collection,” which is now available, there were errors in photo captions and other elements, as pointed out by residents viewing the exhibition. We also offered support for the collection by a local museum of some of the cultural items related to shifting cultivation. In doing this, we were able to prepare basic materials on manufacturing techniques and knowledge.

3. Records disclosing achievements (publications, public symposia, sectional meetings of academic conferences, electronic media, etc.)

・H. Yatsuka, K. Ikeya, Farming practices among African hunter-gatherers: diversifying without loss of the past, Rethinking African Agriculture: How Non-Agrarian Factors Shape Peasant Livelihoods.、pp. 49-63, Routledge. (June 21, 2020), ISBN: 9781138610606
・Kazunobu Ikeya 2021 “Exhibition ‘Slash-and-Burn Cultivation Viewed by SASAKI Komei’ in Itsuki Mura”, Minpaku Tsushin Online 167, National Museum of Ethnology. (March 31, 2021)
・Kazunobu Ikeya 2020 “The Future of Food and Agriculture- The Last Slash-and-Burn Cultivation Viewed by SASAKI Komei” Gekkan Minpaku 44(7), pp.6-7, National Museum of Ethnology. (July 1, 2020)
・Kazunobu Ikeya, 2020, Slash-and-Burn Cultivationgat Viewed by SASAKI Komei: From Itsuki Mura to the World, Minpaku Anthropology Newsletter 51: 14、ISSN: 13417959、(October, 2020)
・Kazunobu Ikeya 2021 “Slash-and-burn Agriculture and Millet Cultivation in Postwar Japan” CJS-JSPS Symposium-Agroecology, Sustainable Food Production and Satoyama: Contributions of Japanese Case Studies to the Discussion of Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Environmental Conservation, Organized by Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley (Online). (March 19, 2021)
・Kazunobu Ikeya (ed.) 2021　Food Civilization- A View through the History of Homo Sapiens, Rural Culture Association (Nobunkyo). (March 30, 2021) ISBN: 9784540201080
・Kazunobu Ikeya 2021　“Earth, Food and Civilization”. In K. Ikeya (ed.) Food Civilization- A View through the History of Homo Sapiens, pp. 413-422, Rural Culture Association (Nobunkyo). (March 30, 2021) ISBN: 9784540201080