Exploring the possibilities of visual anthropology for Minamata Disease Disaster: Based on Tsuchimoto Noriaki's Films

Research Project

Project/Area Number	26580148
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Research Field	Cultural anthropology
Research Institution	Kumamoto University
Principal Investigator	KEIDA Katsuhiko 熊本大学, 人文社会科学研究部, 教授 (10195620)
Research Collaborator	丸山定巳熊本大学, 名誉教授 ARIMA SUMIO 熊本大学, 学術資料調査研究推進室員 TOGASHI SADAO 熊本大学, 名誉教授 TAKAMINE TAKESHI 熊本日日新聞, 論説主幹 KAMURO YUMI 熊本大学, 特定事業教員 SHIMODA KENTAROU お茶の水女子大学, PD JOSHUA RICARD 熊本大学, グローバル教育カレッジ SIMONE GRASSI , 映像作家 TAKAHASHI SHINNOSUKE 熊本大学, 大学院先導機構 MUKAI YOSHITO 熊本保健科学大学 AKUTAGAWA JIN , 写真家 MATSUNAGA YUKA 熊本大学, 大学院・社会文化科学研究科 TAGUCHI YUKA 熊本大学, 大学院・社会文化科学研究科
Project Period (FY)	2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2016)
Budget Amount *help	¥3,380,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥780,000) Fiscal Year 2016: ¥780,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥180,000) Fiscal Year 2015: ¥780,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥180,000) Fiscal Year 2014: ¥1,820,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥420,000)
Keywords	映像人類学 / 水俣病事件 / 土本典昭 / 水俣病関連映像 / 水俣病関連写真 / 芥川仁 / 写真と人類学 / 水俣病事件史 / 写真 / 地域連携 / 博物館人類学 / シグロ・青林舎 / 水俣病（事件） / ドキュメンタリー / 次世代への継承 / 社会連携 / 水俣病 / 本願の会
Outline of Final Research Achievements	This research has produced the following fruitful results: 1) This research examined Tsuchimoto Noriaki's documentary films about methylmercury poisoning (“Minamata Disease”) using visual anthropological approaches, and has created an anthropological commitment to the “Minatata Disease Disaster" through examining the rich visual images related to “Minamata Disease” such as the films of Tsuchimoto's and the photography of Eugene Smith's. 2) Part of Tsuchimoto's original audio tapes related to his famous films such as “Minamata: the Victims and Their Worlds" were collected by our research group at Kumamoto University. Through analyzing these materials this research has made a great contribution to both visual anthropology and to “Minamata Disease” Studies. 3) The research leader incorporated both young and international scholars into this research, and created a Kumamoto University based research organization that will further develop international anthropological studies.