After leaving the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, we now find ourselves in the Japanese countryside, living in a large, old house that we have come to know fondly as the “Farm House.” The Farm House rests on the edge of Saiko Iyashi no Sato Nenba, a reconstructed village that attracts Japanese tourists. The slower […]
Old wood, New niches: Change and Continuity in Japan 2014
During our field research situated on the Kenmarubi lava flow, I gained a small insight connecting directly to our program’s “continuity/change” dyad. This area was heavily deforested before and during World War II for timber, so there was a need to reseed the area and develop a new forest. Because this area is extremely rocky […]
From Common Lands to Highland
As I write this post I am sitting on a bench surrounded by excited children, massive golden cat sculptures, and a giant blue roller coaster with cars shaped like a ukulele-playing hamster riding on a cloud. In the distance there is a hazy but still majestic Mt. Fuji. Immersed in these sights and sounds, it is […]
Culture, Consumerism, and the Cult of Mt. Fuji: Reflections on Overseas Scholarship in Japan
Looking around, I had a strange feeling at the Sendagaya Fuji-zuka shrine in Tokyo. Utilitarian scaffolding and other metallic construction equipment were strewn about the grounds at the Fuji-zuka (“Fuji mound”)–a religious miniature replica of Mt. Fuji, of which there are many and which are often constructed from actual stones taken from Fuji herself. A typical […]