『人類学研究所 研究論集』第 5 号（2017）

Comment Ⅰ
KAWASHIMA Shuichi 16

Thank you for the kind introduction. My name is Kawashima. Before I begin, as I do notunderstand English well, please forgive me for probably only being able to provide half theamount of information compared to other, preceding teachers’ lectures.
The presentations of all three teachers have been truly stimulating, and I would like toexpress my thoughts on each presentation.
I would like to begin with Professor ZAYAS’s presentation, from this morning. The
presentation was very informative, touching mainly on both the blessings and misfortunesassociated with nature in Ayata that surrounds the volcano, Mount Pinatubo.
The volcano of Mount Unzen in Shimabara in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, generallyerupts once every 200 years, but the land of Shimabara at the foot of the volcano is, all thesame, a town blessed with hot springs and spring water. Meanwhile, even in the fisheries near
Sakurajima in Kagoshima Prefecture, there are places where sea urchins named Diadema,found only in the volcanic rock in the sea bed, can be captured.
Although practical goals such as disaster prevention, for example with the use of picture
books, are found in teaching, I think it is the perspective that comes with being a cultural
anthropologist that enables one to see the blessings and misfortunes associated with nature.
This is also associated with observations of the daily life in the settlement. That is to say,the professor is able to consider the both life of before and after the disaster simultaneously,
and this is the perspective that enables one to see what constitutes a happy life for the people.
I would like to vehemently thank Professor ADHURI from Indonesia, who spoke in theafternoon. We have learnt a lot from Professor Adhuri about the restoration of fisheries overthe course of 12 years, from 2004 till now. This is especially so with respect to the disasteraffected area of the Sanriku fishing village, struck by the Great East Japan Earthquake, about
which we learnt a lot from the Professor regarding the theme of post-disaster restoration
including practical involvement.
There is a saying in Japan that a natural disaster is followed by a man-made disaster.
Efforts are underway now, to rapidly restore through reconstruction, especially throughgovernment-led infrastructure development. I think it is necessary to relate this to the“modern restoration” from the Meiji era, and seawalls are also “modern disaster prevention.”
Professor Adhuri has made us rethink about the process from competitive
humanitarianism to the need for meetings. As a cultural anthropologist, it has made me think
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Professor, Tohoku University International Research Institute of Disaster Science43

Research Paper of the Anthropological Institute Vol.5 (2017)about how one can maintain distance from the government and NGOs.
The third presentation, by Professor GOPARAN, discussed the tsunami in India in thesame year of 2004. The presentation dwelt upon the changes after the tsunami, especiallythose at the level of daily living, with the second half focusing on the problems associatedwith disaster reporting.
What particularly fascinated me was the post-disaster replacement of a wooden ship thatwas swept away in the tsunami with an FRT (reinforced plastic boat).
In an example that is opposite of this, a week ago at a place called Yuriage (perhaps
tomorrow the teachers and all of you will visit this place) a launching ceremony for a Japaneseboat (made of wood), the lowering of the boat, was conducted. I was told it has been 50 years
since the last time, but as everything got swept away in the tsunami, it was made on therequest of a fisherman who wanted by all means, to ride a wooden boat that gave a sense ofstability.
However, as carpenters who make boats are on the decline, the boat was made at a faraway place within the prefecture, and its construction was extremely difficult, as wooden
pegs used to build ships are being currently made only in Tomonoura, in Hiroshima prefecture.
I felt that such a revival of traditional technologies can occur due to a disaster.
Next, we take up the issue of disaster reporting. We especially learnt a lot about thesensational reporting of photojournalism. In Japan too, at the time of the Sanriku tsunami in
Meiji 29 (1896), using not photographs but drawings, we had fuzoku gaho, a kind ofjournalism that appealed to the visual. This was also an extremely sensational and topicalwriting.
We then have the concept of the tsunami depicted as a monster, and earlier, in Japan,
tsunami was thought to be sent by a dragon. I felt that ultimately, even cultural anthropologists
have to make efforts to understand disasters objectively, including the legends associated withdisasters.
In conclusion, in the torrential rains in Kanto and Tohoku in September last year, thecity of Osaki in Miyagi prefecture suffered damage. At the time, the administration only
considered the amount of rainfall to be the problem, but actually it was as much a problem ofwhat was happening in the sky above as what was happening on the ground. In earlier times,
people did things such as mowing the grass on the bank as fodder for horses and they had aconnection with rivers, but now it is the responsibility of the prefectures to manage them. The
fact is that the prefectures did not even conduct dredging.
Disasters are not just issues associated with the field of natural sciences. Studies
targeting folklore and history are also important, and it can be said that it is important for
cultural anthropologists and folklorists to be involved in a significant way.
Today, given the vast expanse of Asia, we are able to learn about the commonalities anddifferences among the victims of disasters and for this I would like to express my profoundgratitude to our three instructors. That is all for now. Thank you very much for listening.

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