Faculty

My research is about village communities in the suburb areas of Jakarta, Indonesia, and Kyoto, Japan. I especially focus on everyday practices of local residents concerning succession of traditions: Namely, body technique of martial arts and theatrical plays in Jakarta; and architectural and natural environments in Kyoto.What is crucial to this perspective is that it aims to investigate and elaborate how people constantly make changes to the supposedly long-standing traditions, which is precisely the reason why those people come to feel that these traditions are something of their own.

When you hear the word “tradition,” you might think of it as something that endures for a long time without changing its shape. In my research fields, this is not the case. Also, this is not new. Residents in both villages kept changing their traditions through the course of time for more than a century. Structures of body technique, architecture, and natural environment have all changed constantly in order to adapt to ever-changing life environment, of which the residents have been fully aware. Thus, in their perspective, the changes do not contradict their sense of belonging to the village, but rather strengthen it. You could not gain such an insight without looking closely into minor details of everyday life. Perks of doing research in this microscopic manner is that it helps you to attain general understanding from what may seem trivial occurrences in the life of ordinary folks.