In the Pines

While the much anticipated blooming of cherry blossoms has begun in many parts of the archipelago, here in the Kiso Valley we continue to wait for spring to come. Winter breaks late here in the mountains, usually only after a long bout with the forces of spring—a warm day may be followed by a snowstorm, while a frosty night might give way to a scorching noon-day sun. Care must be taken so that one's body does not succumb to the swings in temperature. . .layered clothing is a must. However, despite this small burden, in Otaki the liminal period between winter and spring is a marvelous time. Warmer days draw resident to their fields and gardens to prepare soils for planting. Excursions into the mountains, where the trees still stand skeletal and leafless, allow one to experience the first flourishes of the year's wild vegetable harvest. Fuki-no-toh (butterbur sprout) are the first to arrive; they hide beneath the fallen leaves of the previous year. In the days to come a co...

It's been a slow winter. . .not getting a lot done. Aki and I have both been working at Otaki's ski hill, Ontake 2240 --me as a lift operator and Aki at a restaurant. Not the greatest work, but we both only work weekends and get free season passes, which leaves plenty of time for playing on the slopes. I've also been working on a paper idea for this year's American Anthropological Association meetings in Philadelphia. My interest is in exploring the idea of "socio-ecological resilience", which I've mentioned in other posts, in terms of its socio-political implications as a device for inclusive and equitable forest management. Not a lot to say about it now--still too early in my thinking--but will post as things come together. For now, back to the slopes. Lastly, Happy death day to Cactus Ed. March 14th, 1989 DOWN WITH EMPIRE, UP WITH SPRING!

About a week ago Aki* and I couldn't resist the spring-like weather and decided to take a walk along the Ugui-gawa which flows down from the mountains that form the southern boundary of the Otaki watershed. This area--like too damned much of Otaki--is national forest and therefore off limits to the general public. I should clarify: the road into the Ugui-gawa area is gated and therefore cars are not allowed in--technically not off limits I suppose, but definately not geared towards recreation. Anyway, people aren't lining up to come to see the Ugui-gawa. That's a shame. The Ugui-gawa has some of the most amazing water I've ever seen. Turqoise, I suppose, is the best color to describe it, but seems inadequate. Pictures, unfortunely, also fail to capture the variegated color palette of the river in its interplays with the sun. On this day white snow capped many of the river rocks, adding further contrast. In the woods lining the river tufts of green grass stood glee...

Just a quick note to give a link to a blog post at "Resilience Science" about a Worldwatch Magazine article by Thomas Homer-Dixon discussing the work of C.S. "Buzz" Holling, an ecologist who has worked with complex systems theory to formulate concepts such as the adaptive cycle and panarchy . Holling's work has been influential in the development of resilience thinking, which is an approach I used in my own research and have mentioned in previous posts. Link to the "Resilience Science" post Link to the Resilience Alliance homepage (you can also find this link in the sidebar)

With the spring-like weather we've been having lately, it seems impossible, but about a week ago I received a call from Y-san, asking if I was free to go ice-fishing. I was in the middle of lunch, and had research I COULD work on, but ice-fishing sounded vastly more interesting, and research can wait--besides. . .it's all fieldwork! I walked to Y-san's place near the center of town. He looked over my clothing. . .I was lacking nagagutsu , long rubber boots ubiquitous in many rural Japanese communities. I had also come wearing jeans. . .ski pants would be preferable, I was told by Y-san. We dropped back by my place so I could change and then headed down to a section of the Otaki river where the flowing water begins to be held back by Makio Dam. I parked my car in an area above the river. Looking down I saw several small figures encircled by a dark patch of slowly melting ice. The chunk of ice the men sat at the center of was not much larger than a baseball diamond, wi...

Last week I made a short presentation about my fieldwork during an anthropology seminar at Kyoto University. The paper I presented covers some of my early thoughts about thinking of landscape transformation in the context of resource extraction. Resource extraction and landscape transformation in Otaki Today, many of Japan’s rural areas are in a state of crisis. Rapid depopulation, lack of capital investment, and the withdrawal of government assistance have left rural communities with few options; many have amalgamated with neighboring municipalities under a program meant to simplify the national bureaucracy. Those communities that have been unwilling or unable to amalgamate have, for the most part, been left on their own to maintain basic services while trying to find sustainable paths into the future. The situation has left these communities economically and politically disadvantaged, as well as environmentally and socially vulnerable. The historic presence of these asymmetric r...

明けましておめでとうございます！ This year I welcomed the New Year in Kyoto with my in-laws. I want to say thank you to all of them for their unceasing warmth and kindness. いつも、ありがとうございます。 In particular, I would like to say thank you to my mother-in-law for always working so hard to make the New Year holiday special--your food is incredible, as always. I would also like to express my deep gratitude to the people of Otaki Village for their amazing kindness and support. Moving to Otaki and being allowed to learn about the people and their environment has been wonderful beyond what I ever expected. I've grown deeply attached to Otaki's landscape and people and feel anxious about having to leave in 3 short months. 皆様、今年も宜しくお願いいたします。 Also, I'd like extend my condolences to the family of H-san, the head of Otaki's village council, who passed away unexpectedly on the night of the 29th. I only met H-san a couple of times, and only talked with him at any length once. However, in that single...