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A collection of essays by North American and Japanese scholars on
the life, work and influence of Yanagita Kunio (1875–1962), the
founder of Japanese Folklore Studies. In addition to providing
background information on Yanagita and his discipline, the eight
contributors whose evaluations of Yanagita vary critically examine
his research methodology, political stance, use of language,
relevance for nation-building efforts in the Third World, and
impact on Japanese intellectuals. Also included is an annotated
translation of Chapter Two of Yanagita's 1941 essay, Nihon no
matsuri (The Festivals of Japan).
In the early 1950s fisherfolk and other villagers around Minamata
Bay on the western coast of Kyushu, Japan, began to suffer from
mysterious and often fatal symptoms of what came to be known as
Minamata disease. It was not until 1968 that the government
acknowledged its cause organic mercury poisoning from effluent
released by Chisso Corporation, a chemical manufacturer and the
largest employer in the Japanese city for which the disease was
named. For decades the company denied responsibility and was joined
by the Japanese government in its attempt to cover up the problem
despite lawsuits and political protests. In this compelling oral
history, Ogata Masato, fisherman and Minamata disease sufferer,
tells of the devastation of methyl mercury poisoning. Spanning
fifty years, his story describes the impact of industrial pollution
on his own life, on his extended family, and on the fishing culture
of the Shiranui Sea. A one-time leader of Minamata disease patients
seeking certification and compensation, Masato breaks away to
follow his personal path to redemption. Masato's story begins with
the vibrant village of his childhood and culminates with the
possibility of return, if not to one's birthplace, then to a
spiritual community, to a consciousness that we owe our existence
to the web of interrelationships that constitute life. When we turn
full circle, explains Masato, we find ourselves again at the
water's edge, a place where all life gathers. This is the launching
point for "Tokoyo," boat of the Eternal World-a world defined at
once by the past, present and future; a state of mind in which we
are responsible not only for our own actions but for those of our
society and our species. Masato's story, larger than any one man or
one incident, raises questions we must all consider as
beneficiaries of modern industry and technology.
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