Back from the Field

Wow… 6 months of fieldwork went fast.  Too fast.

I am now back in Oslo.  As soon as I returned I had to move in to a new apartment and prepare for my midway assessment, which is this coming Friday, the 14th.  I have not yet had time to process the loads of data I produced—interviews, documents, books, photos, videos… all kinds of good stuff.

While I was in Akita I participated in 4 festivals and spoke with dozens of people, including politicians at the local & national level, city hall employees, festival organizers & participants, and others who are directly connected with these festivals.

I was not ready to feel the types of emotions that I experienced while on fieldwork. When I lived in Akita, my life was really confined to Akita University‘s campus and the immediate neighborhoods around there (bars, restaurants, fitness clubs, etc.).  This time, I spent my days out in small “villages” on the periphery of Akita city.  I have to say, it was a bit depressing to see all the empty homes, businesses, and schools.  It is an absolutely gorgeous place right at the base of a mountain—who wouldn’t want to live there?!

I also felt like I was becoming an activist, rallying to save these rural communities.  As I wandered around the villages, I would see posters advertising local politicians—what the hell have these politicians done for rural Akita??  Nothing, it seems to me.  Seeing slogans like “Toward the future!” and “Let’s restart Akita!” irritated me—they seem to lack any clear understanding of problem and offer no clear, innovative, long-term solutions.  Becoming an “activist scholar,” however, is something I want to avoid.

Here’re some photos:

This tori-i collapsed some time ago.  I thought it would have been repaired by now, but no.  I saw quite a few tori-i like this.  Quite the metaphor…

Kashima-sama! Kashima-sama is a roadside deity for travelers (dōsojin 道祖神).  This one was at Akita University of Art, where there are quite a few professors and artists interested in local folk culture.

People who lived in the mountains would make things like this winnowing basket then trade them with the villagers.  This is called an oedara-mi オエダラ箕.  This artform is a registered Intangible Cultural Property  (mukei bunkazai 無形文化財) in Akita city.  There is currently one living master in Akita.

At the end of November I made a short hike up the trail that leads to the peak of Mt. Taihei, but stopped at one of the minor peaks, Mae-dake.  This tori-i is just before Mae-dake.  Back in the day it was the limit to where female pilgrims to the mountain could go.