Beyond Human Migration

Cross-Border Ethnography of Tsunami, Debris, and Marine Species from 3.11 Tohoku, Japan

Bibliographic Data

ID2965744
AuthorsTaichi Uchio (Shizuoka University of Art and Culture, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume26
Issue4
Pages1-21
Publication date2025-09-08
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCanberra Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0314-9099 • E-ISSN: 1740-9314
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14442213.2025.2528631
OpenAlexW4414056046
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited23

This study re-examines Yamashita's 2009 cross-border ethnography by expanding its scope beyond human migration to include the transnational movement of non-human entities following the 3.11 Great East Japan Earthquake. Using a multi-sited ethnographic approach, I analyse the Pacific-wide impacts, focusing on distant tsunamis in Chile and debris hitchhikers to North America—marine species transported by tsunami-driven debris. By tracing these movements, this study demonstrates that 3.11 was not merely a Japanese disaster but a transoceanic event that reshaped tectonic, material, and ecological entanglements across the Pacific. In doing so, it challenges nation-centred disaster narratives and calls for a multicoastal, more-than-human approach to understanding post-3.11 transformations.

Biodiversity · Ethnography · Fishing · Marine conservation · Environmental DNA in Biodiversity Studies · Isotope Analysis in Ecology · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies

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