神奈川大学日本常民文化研究所

Japanese

Research and Study

Basic Joint Research Project: A Preliminary Study on West African Historiography and Anthropology in Japan Using the Junzo Kawada Collection at the Institute for the Study of Japanese Folk Culture

　This project was selected through an open call for basic joint research projects for the academic year 2024.

Purpose

　It aims to present a comprehensive picture of Junzo Kawada's personal documents, which were donated to the ISJFC, and contribute to the ongoing cataloging of these materials. Researchers will examine field notes and research plans, covering topics such as the history of the Mossi Kingdoms, sound culture, and material culture within the historical and academic contexts of post-colonial Africa since the 1960s, when Kawada had started his field work in Burkina Faso. This study highlights the academic significance of the Kawada’s personal documents. Additionally, the project will analyze Kawada's correspondence and other materials to reveal how he developed his theoretical ideas and created networks of scholars across multiple disciplines. This exploration will provide insights into Kawada's interdisciplinary approach and his theoretical contributions to Anthropology in Japan.

Photographic materials included in the Kawada Collection

Expected Findings

　The findings will be compiled into a report and exhibited at the Jomin Bunka Museum. Kawada, a pioneering scholar among the first generation of Japanese anthropologists after World War II, also played a key role in the study of African history in Japan. This project, therefore, holds significance as a preliminary study on the development of Japanese anthropology and the historiography of African history as studied in Japan.

[Research Period] October 2024 through March 2027

Joint Project Leaders

  • NAKAO Seiji　　　　　　Kyoto University
  • SENSUI Hidekazu 　　　Institute for the Study of Japanese Folk Culture

Joint Project Members

  • IKEBE Tomoki　　　　　The University of Tokyo
  • KUMASHIRO Chihiro　　Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
  • KOWATA Akira　　　　　Kyoto University
  • HIRAYAMA Sohta 　　　 The University of Tokyo
  • HIROTA Midori　　　　　Professional Institute of International Fashion
  • MiTSUSHIMA Kazuki　　Kyoto University