New Horizon of Anthropological Filmmaking in Japan

• In Event: New Visions of Ethnographic Films from Asia

Abstract

Currently, a considerable number of Japanese anthropologists are integrating film as the practice of doing anthropology. Since 2006, more than 70 films have been produced and presented in the annual meetings of the Japanese Society of Cultural　Anthropology. Furthermore, several interdisciplinary audio-visual workshops led by anthropologists explore the new form of audio-visual storytelling and expand the practice of knowledge creation in humanities in conjunction with film, contemporary art and anthropology. Some are developing and exploring a filmmaking style that foreground the presence of anthropologist/filmmaker, and they interact with the protagonists in their films. The dominant discourse in the study of visual anthropology has paid insufficient attention to the viewer’s role in the construction of meanings and evaluation of ethnographic inquiry by anthropologists/filmmakers. Some explore the constructive dialogue between an anthropologist/filmmaker and the audience on anthropological films.
The latest trend of anthropological filmmaking as well as related academic activities in Japan will be introduced through presenting some significant films as well as audio-visual installations produced by Japanese scholars. And different audio-visual approaches to anthropological subjects as well as the different styles and conventions employed in the construction of those films will be analyzed.

Author

• Itsushi Kawase, Research Center for Cultural Resources, National Museum of Ethnology