2023 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
A Socio-Anthropological Research on Human-Nature Relationships and Health in Japanese-Brazilian Umbanda
| Project/Area Number |
23KF0249
|
|---|
| Research Institution | Kyoto University |
|---|
Principal Investigator |
De・Antoni Andrea 京都大学, 人間・環境学研究科, 特定准教授 (10706865)
|
|---|
| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
CALVO DANIELA 京都大学, 人間・環境学研究科, 外国人特別研究員
|
|---|
| Project Period (FY) |
2023-11-15 – 2026-03-31
|
| Keywords | Umbanda / Transnational Religions / Afro-Brazilian Religions / Brazilian Migration / Healing Rituals / Religion and Health / More-than-human / Japan |
|---|
| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
Fieldwork on Umbanda in Japan at CURO included participant observation of ceremonies, healing rituals, meetings, and 38 interviews. Additionally, participation in ceremonies of other religious communities in Shizuoka and Kanagawa Prefectures was undertaken. Social media related to Brazilian migration and Umbanda in Japan was analyzed, alongside mapping Umbanda temples in Japan. Data collection encompassed: 1) CURO's history and its members' relationships with each other and the religion; 2) Umbanda's response to existential quests for meaning, healing, and affect; 3) the intersection of Umbanda and Brazilian migration in Japan (on which a first article has been submitted as book chapter); and 4) exploration of health beliefs and connections with nature and spirits.
|
| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
1: Research has progressed more than it was originally planned.
Reason
The fieldwork has proven highly productive, yielding a substantial amount of data and fostering the emergence of original ideas aligned with the research plan.
I have already authored one paper and have gathered material for another, both focusing on the relationship between Umbanda and migration. The latter paper has commenced its elaboration phase.
|
| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
The plan involves continuing fieldwork at CURO while expanding to other Umbanda temples in Japan. Two papers will be written: one exploring how Umbanda addresses the search for meaning, healing, and affect, providing solutions to practical, adaptation, and spiritual problems in Japan. Another will examine practitioners' relationships with haunted places and spirits, focusing on the experiences of workers who clean or tidy up houses of deceased individuals (katazuke or kaitai). Further research will delve into the forms of conceiving, living, and treating health and illness in Umbanda, exploring their interplay with more-than-human beings, religious supply stores, and nature. The aim is to publish and present findings at international conferences.
|
| Causes of Carryover |
The JSPS Fellowship commenced on September 30, 2024. Accordingly, the remaining funds are expected to sustain the project for an additional six months. As outlined in the application, these funds will continue to be utilized for covering travel expenses related to fieldwork and attendance at both national and international conferences.
|
