Sustainable use of ecosystem and egalitarianism in the south-western islands of Japan
| Project/Area Number |
11610332
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
文化人類学(含民族学・民俗学)
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| Research Institution | Kobe Gakuin University |
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Principal Investigator |
TERASHIMA Hideaki Kobe Gakuin University, Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, Professor, 人文学部, 教授 (10135098)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
SHINOHARA Toru National Museum of History and Folklore, Department of Folklore, Professor, 民俗研究部, 教授 (80068915)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1999 – 2001
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| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2001)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥3,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,000,000)
Fiscal Year 2001: ¥900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000)
Fiscal Year 2000: ¥900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000)
Fiscal Year 1999: ¥1,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000)
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| Keywords | the South-western islands / sub-tropical region / Kudaka island / natural environment / subsistence activities / sustainable use / egalitarianism / culture change / 台湾 / 海南島 / 生態システム / 伝統生業 / 環境利用 / 社会的慣行 / 生態系 / 平等原理 / 生業活動 / 儀礼システム / 共同体 |
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| Research Abstract |
This study aimed at understanding how natural environment and resources in the South-western islands of Japan have been used in a sustainable way by local communities and how egalitarianism has worked there form the viewpoints of ecological anthropology and environmental folklore. Fieldwork was conducted in Kudaka island and Yaeyama islands of Okinawa, and Pingtong Prefecture of Taiwan. Also for the purpose of comparison, data of various places such as Hainan island of China was analyzed along with the literature.
In Kudaka, subsistence activities, natural environment and resources, ethno-science of Kudaka islanders, the traditional belief system and the social structure were investigated. Customary land use pattern which was partly based on the explicit egalitarian idea and sea snakes collecting activity which also involved egalitarianistic structure were studied. A few hundreds of place names of the island including the surrounding reefs were collected and analyzed. Traditional ceremonies of the local community were observed and the role of such ceremonies were analyzed. Finally, recent projects for revitalizing the island in order to cope with the population decline and social breakdown were surveyed.
Those investigations have revealed the function of egalitarianism deeply located in the nature of island society for the sustainable use of natural resources and stability of the society. In a small island of subtropical climate, natural resources are limited and not so much concentrated. So their use must not be intensive but diverse use patters are necessary. Such a style of resource use is based on various kinds of social norms and principles. We can understand that egalitarianism is one of most important principles on which social life in subtropical island settings is based.
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Report
(4 results)
Research Products
(18 results)
