The life and work of Yoshida Saburo in relation to the Showa-era farming situation in Akita

2018 Fiscal Year Research-status Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K01164
• Research Institution: Akita University
• Principal Investigator: Donald・C Wood 秋田大学, 医学系研究科, 准教授 (80375237)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 吉田三郎 / 昭和時代の農業 / 戦前の農村 / 文化人類学 / 民俗学

Outline of Annual Research Achievements

Much progress was made over the past year on the project - primarily on the translation of Yoshida Saburo's valuable and fascinating 1938 one-year chronicle of daily village life. With the help of two research assistants, I have manages to nearly complete the rough translation work (which is very tedious and time-consuming) and also to almost reach the halfway point on the trying the preparation of the text. The illustrations for most of the book are also finished. My goal on this part of the project is to complete the translation by the end of the second year. This should be achievable. A treasure trove of interesting historical points have been unearthed over the past year. Discussions with Yoshida's lone surviving daughter, resulting in valuable recorded interviews, have proven fruitful. Furthermore, a study of Yoshida's 1930s photography has proven to be especially fruitful. Through this, I have explored Yoshida's position as a "native ethnographer" and his dual ethnographer/"seikatsu-sha" position in an article that was published in the Japanese Review of Cultural Anthropology in 2017. In this paper, I compared Yoshida with the Kwakiutl ethnographer / photographer George Hunt - the famous disciple (of sorts) of Franz Boas. The paper shows how Yoshida fit Shibusawa Keizo's ideal of "seikatsu-sha" researcher.

Current Status of Research Progress

3: Progress in research has been slightly delayed.

Reason

Although progress on the translation of Yoshida's 1938 book is progressing well, the other aspects of the project are progressing somewhat more slowly, due very much to the work obligations of the principal researcher. Although he would appreciate a sabbatical, even if only for 1/2 year, he has never been able to take one. The project is, after all, quite complex, and the principal researcher is lacking in historical background knowledge. Nevertheless, he is determined to see the project to completion.

Strategy for Future Research Activity

As mentioned above, I aim to complete the translation of the 1938 book by the end of the second year of the project. Beyond this, I will finish the ground work for writing a biographical book on Yoshida, and bring more of this writings and life into public view.

Causes of Carryover

Translation and typing (and text preparation) are extremely time consuming, necessitating a considerable amount of help from assistants. Assistants must be paid for the work. I have a plan to present the research at an international conference in Tokyo in August, 2019; this will be funded by my grant. In addition, I still need to purchase some books and perhaps a camera for documentation purposes. If possible, I will also attend a second conference.