神奈川大学日本常民文化研究所

About the ISJFC

Activities and projects

Designation as a Museum-Equivalent Facility

 In March 2023, in line with Article 29 of the Museum Act, ISFJC was designated as a “Museum-Equivalent Facility.” The Jomin Bunka Museum has opened on the first floor of Building 3 of the Yokohama Campus.

  • Jomin Bunka Museum’s “Approach to Folk Culture”
  • Inside the museum

Publication of research findings

  Research findings are continually publicized through various publications, seminars, workshops as well as databases and other information on the ISJFC website.

Collection, research, and publication of materials

  Historical materials collected through field survey are compiled and catalogued with the cooperation of the material owners. Compilation and analysis of ISJFC’s own collection of materials is also in progress.

Research seminars

  Since 1983, public seminars have been held to share research findings that have been verified and validated by Institute members. External researchers are also invite to report on their research to enhance research level.

Joint projects with other institutions

Materials regarding the traditional production of
fishing nets in Yuasa, Wakayama Prefecture

  ISJFC actively engages in collaborative research with various institutions in different regions and research fields.

Academic exchange initiatives

Tour of the collection of the National Museum of
Ethnology, Japan (February 2020)

  ISJFC conducts academic exchange with the following overseas research institutions to enhance mutual understanding and cooperation in folk culture studies.

● Federation of Five Universities

East Asian Island and Ocean Forum

7th “Development and Exchanges of the Ocean
Culture Network” (Pukyong National University/
November 2019)

 The East Asian Island and Ocean Forum, inaugurated in FY2012 primarily by research institutes relating to the ocean cultures of Korea, China, and Japan, has been hosted each year by each participating institute in turn since FY2013, providing a space for important discussions regarding ocean culture. In FY2017, the 5th Forum was hosted in Matsuyama City,Ehime Prefecture, by the International Center for Folk Culture Studies/Institute for the Study of Japanese Folk Culture, Kanagawa University. The theme of the forum was “The Diversity of Ocean Cultures.”

Research Center for Nonwritten Cultural Materials

“Chocolate and Soldiers,” collection of Kamishibai to
enhance fighting spirit (collection of the Research
Center for Nonwritten Cultural Materials)

  The Center was attached to the Institute to carry on the 21st Century COE Program “ Systematization of Nonwritten Cultural Materials for the Study of Human Society. ” It focuses on the forms in which human activities are recorded other than the written language. It has a broad geographical scope, covering non-Asian cultures as well as East Asian traditions.

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International Center for Folk Culture Studies (through March 31, 2022)

Joint Research Projects“General” Project:
An Ethnographical Study of Traditional Female Divers
in Taiwan Called Hailu, with the Aim of Developing
Research on Traditional Female Divers in East Asia
and the Pacific Rim (Photo by Shen Te-Lung)

The Center was established as a joint usage and research center (certified period July 2009–March 2020) based within this institute. The Center has worked on interdisciplinary joint research projects to establish methodologies for the comprehensive, true-to-life investigation, research, and analysis of lifestyles and cultures and to explore pathways toward multicultural coexistence, sharing and making available the institute’s historical materials and databases to various external researchers. Its projects concluded their 13-year run on March 31, 2022.