Teacher Profiles
KANEKO, Hiroyuki Professor (Environmental Folklore/Rural Sociology)
Research topic
I research the relationship between local people and nature. I conduct field research to find out how they have come to terms with the "calamities" and "benefits" that nature brings, and how they have used this to sustain their lives and livelihoods.
Research Topics
Exploring the history of a small settlement
As the population continues to migrate from rural areas to cities, small settlements are increasingly seen as inconvenient and unsuitable places to live. Indeed, many festivals and events that were passed down until recently have been canceled or discontinued. However, surprisingly, many of the people who live there still find their settlements to be a comfortable place to live.
While documenting the history and culture that these small settlements have built, I am reconsidering what constitutes a "rich society."
Kagura that was passed down until recent times
Examples of graduation thesis titles from the Kaneko Seminar
- "Buddhist hymns at funerals - A Buddhist hymn group in Nagai City, Yamagata Prefecture"
- "The production of local folk toys in decorated houses during the Meiji and Taisho periods"
- "Preservation and Transmission of Folk Performing Arts: A Case Study of the Haneko Dance in Terasaki District, Monou Town"
- "Aspects of Architectural Rituals in the Modern Era: Based on Research in the Tsugaru Region of Western Aomori Prefecture"
- "Flower fields during the spring equinox - A case study from Motomiya City, Fukushima Prefecture"
Recent works
- "The Roots of Resilience: Forest Commons and the Cultivation and Disappearance of Livelihood Security in a Nuclear Disaster-Afflicted Community", Daisaku Yamamoto and Hiroyuki Torigoe (eds.), Everyday Life-Environmentalism: Community Sustainability and Resilience in Asia, New York: Routledge, pp.142-155, 2023.
- "A local community that is 'shrinking' festivals: The Obisha of Sakanaoshi, Sakae-machi, Inba-gun, Chiba Prefecture" (in Shuya Makino (ed.), "Transforming Festivals and the Mechanism of Carrying Out the Rig," Gakubunsha, 2021)
- "Paper Cuttings, Talismans, and Amulets Left Behind by Shugendo Practitioners: Yokota Family Documents Formerly Owned by Jizoin Temple in Kawauchi Village, Futaba District, Fukushima Prefecture" (Tohoku Cultural Research Institute Bulletin, 55, 2023)