Restoration of Eelgrass Beds by the Fishermen of Hinase in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan

The paper reviews the activities of fishermen who are members of the Hinase Fishermen’s Union in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan, their work to restore damage to eelgrass beds that has been caused over a period of more than 30 years, and the establishment of a sixth industry in the area.

The Endurance and the Transformation of the Traditional Boats Race

Now Japanese fishery and fishing villages are confronted with a difficult situation, for example, the erosion of fishing population, aging and etc. For this reason, Japanese fishery and fishing villages are asked for multilateral functions rather than only fishery production to survive themselves. In these social context, how fishing villagers do practice the folk festival in Japan? Firstly this article, giving a traditional event of boat race in a fishing village in south western Japan, clarifies the endurance and the transformation of it. Secondly, considering the causes and the conditions, this research sheds light on the significance of the practices between fishermen and the public, and on the problems of the powers between the fishing village and the government. Finally, it discusses the framework of research to be able to capture contemporary Japanese small scale fishery.

The Development of Women Fishery Entrepreneurship Group in the Japanese Marine Products Distribution Sector

The paper focuses on the development of women fisheries entrepreneurship groups in the marine products distribution sector in Japan. In particular, we will discuss the women’s groups in fishery cooperative associations (FCAs) who live in fishing communities and conduct economic activities using local resources centred on fishery products. The case study of the Sanmi Sea Mothers will also be examined following its historical evolution up to its current operational and economic performance.

Use of Explosives in the Southwestern Archipelago Immediately after World War II

Immediately after the Fifteen Years’ War with the US, China, and colonizing states of Southeast Asia, the Japanese suffered from general shortage especially food, which got worse when the repatriates from Taiwan, Micronesia, Southeast Asia and Manchuria began their new life in Japan. To make their living, both former occupants and newcomers employed all means, among which use of explosives or ‘dynamite fishing’ near the coast. This technique is now prohibited to protect fishing grounds, but the emergent economic and social conditions let the people show the generosity to overlook it. The paper reconstructs the general conditions of this fishing in coastal villages in the Southwestern Archipelago as a step to clarify the farther details of fishing innovation on individual base.

Leadership, Ritual Power and Festival Management in a Japanese Fishing Community

The article provides an anthropological overview of the critical processes of empowerment and disempowerment of ritual leaders in a small Japanese fishing community. The main topic of the paper is a winter festival that takes place during the New Year’s Eve in Kamishima island (Ise Bay), whose management and celebration represent an important catalyst for local leadership, which is related to the transformation of the local institutions and to the power relations among the various local leaders.

Fishing with kuji

Existing studies of early-modern and modern fishing maps from across Japan have not examined how they were used by fishers themselves. This paper focuses on practices of ‘fishing with kuji’ (籤, lottery), in which lottery systems are used to determine fishing area usage, to understand the folk customs associated with fishing area maps. This paper focuses primarily on coastal areas of the eastern Kii Peninsula. Diverse fishing methods, such as gill nets and four-armed scoop nets, are used by different villages in this region. However, the villages each face a limited availability of coastal fishing areas. Out of necessity, the fishing areas must be divided, giving rise to fishing area maps, and the practice of assigning areas to fishers using kuji. Each region has also developed unique practices which are used during fishing seasons. These kuji have their origins in religious practices. However, an examination of the kuji draws in these coastal fisheries reveals both a method to ensure the equal distribution of fishing opportunities, and a view of a world in which fishers are constantly subject to the harsh whims of nature.

Six Years after Disaster: Fisheries Communities in Coastal Pacific Tōhoku

This paper gives an overview on several problems in fishing villages of Sanriku in thecourse of reconstruction after the tsunami disaster in March 2011. The focus is put on two communitieson the Eastern and Western side of Oshika peninsula to show differences in efforts and success.Furthermore, qualitative observations on the micro level are included, i.e. internal conflicts withincommunities and regional policy-making during the reconstruction process, to enable a more differentiated view on problems that local residents and communities have been facing since disaster