Public Anthropology in Japan Revisited

Translation, Localisation, and Distribution

Bibliographic Data

ID2175237
AuthorsShuhei Kimura (0000-0003-4704-0440, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume26
Issue4
Pages1-17
Publication date2025-08-08
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCanberra Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0314-9099 • E-ISSN: 1740-9314
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14442213.2025.2531928
OpenAlexW4413220236
LanguageEN
References cited19

This article reviews the development of public anthropology in Japan. It was Shinji Yamashita who introduced the term ‘public anthropology' (kōkyō jinruigaku) to Japan in the mid-late 2000s through his work Introduction to Cultural Anthropology and Praxis of Contemporary Anthropology, in which he used the terms ‘applied anthropology' and ‘practical anthropology’. Through his active efforts and the involvement of cultural anthropologists in the Great East Japan Earthquake, which had just occurred, public anthropology became well known within a few years, followed by the appearance of books, research projects, and university lectures that advanced public anthropology. The development of public anthropology in Japan, however, did not go smoothly. Now, ten years after the publication of Yamashita’s edited book, Kōkyō Jinruigaku (Public Anthropology), the term public anthropology is less visible. Has this endeavour lost momentum then? Showcasing several public anthropological projects developing in Japan that do not call themselves public anthropology, this article argues that what Yamashita aimed for has, in fact, been taking root in Japan

Biology · Distribution (mathematics) · Geography · Sociology · Translation (biology) · Anthropology · Anthropology: Ethics, History, Culture · Genetics · Mathematics

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