Craft as a commodity: Its transformation and additional value

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25284173
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Cultural anthropology
• Research Institution: Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (2015); The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Matsui Takeshi 総合地球環境学研究所, 研究部, 客員教授 (50109063)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 工芸 / 経済学 / 商品 / 転位 / 付加価値 / 経済人類学

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research project focuses on the peculiarity of Asian traditional crafts as a commodity. Crafts are transformable / eternal commodities, as they can transform from utility articles to souvenirs, and to art object in extreme cases. Thus they can get additional value. Observing the trail of transborder moves of crafts as commodities enables us to reconsider the basic theoretical premise of the concept of commodity in economics and in economic anthropology.

Free Research Field

人類学(anthropology)又は文化人類学(cultural anthropology)