Fundamental study for mode of co-existence through foodstuffs for Chinese dishes in Southeast Asia

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K13474
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 04030:Cultural anthropology and folklore-related
• Research Institution: Tohoku Gakuin University (2020-2021); Ritsumeikan University (2019)
• Principal Investigator: Sakuma Kyoko 東北学院大学, 経済学部, 講師 (50759321)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 資源 / 交易 / 嗜好品 / ボルネオ / 華人

Outline of Final Research Achievements

For this research project, two research sites were established, one in Sarawak, a Malaysian territory on the island of Borneo, and the other in Hong Kong. The purpose of this study was to clarify the cultural context in which foodstuffs such as edible birds' nests produced in Sarawak are presented by Southeast Asian Chinese women in Hong Kong as goods that ensure their offspring's prosperity and beauty.
Due to the unstable political situation and deteriorating security situation in Hong Kong, and the global spread of the COVID-19, most of the overseas research plans for the duration of this research project were abandoned. However, the research in Hong Kong, which was conducted before the worsening of the situation in Hong Kong, and in Sarawak, where I have been conducting research since I was a Graduate student, I was able to collect data on the distribution of edible birds' nests and the reasons for giving them away through a series of online interviews with acquaintances.

Free Research Field

文化人類学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

国外における研究調査活動ができなくなったため、単著の刊行や、研究者コミュニティでの報交換と文献の渉猟と分析に切り替えた。その間にオンラインでの研究会や学会を最大限活用して交流の輪を広げたことで、これまで発表したことのない学会（日本華僑華人学会）でパネル発表する機会や、コラムなどの研究者コミュニティ以外に研究成果を発信する機会を得ることができた。