|
Professor
Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney is a William F. Vilas Research
Professor of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
An expert in the social, cultural, and symbolic anthropology
of Japan, she earned her Ph.D. from the University of
Wisconsin-Madison. She is the author of 12 books in
English and Japanese, including “Illness and Culture
in Contemporary Japan: An Anthropological View”
(1984), “The Monkey as Mirror: Symbolic Transformations
in Japanese History and Ritual” (1987), “Rice
as Self: Japanese Identities Through Time” (1993),
and “Kamikaze, Cherry Blossoms, and Nationalisms:
the Militarization of Aesthetics in Japanese History”
(2002). Professor Ohnuki-Tierney has been awarded the
Guggenheim, National Endowment for the Humanities, and
Japan Foundation fellowships, and is a fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
1.
Background
2.
Significance of Rice and other Foods in Japan
3.
Concept of Nature and what is Natural in Japanese Foods
4.
Food Safety in Japan
5.
McDonald’s and Changing Table Manners in Japan
6. Globalism and
the Japan/United States Food Market
7. Concluding
Thoughts
Background
LARZALERE: First of all, could you tell us a little
about your educational background? How did you come
to study anthropology?
OHNUKI-TIERNEY: Oh, I just came [to the United
States] without any particular ambition or even purpose.
The first year I was totally confused, culturally. And
somebody said, "you ought to take a course on anthropology
because you don't understand American culture."
I took a course and I was fascinated—
L: Was this as an undergraduate?
OT: I was a graduate student. I had a BA from
Tsuda College in Japan and came here. At that time,
the only thing a woman was supposed to do was to get
married. So I wasn't even trained to think in terms
of a profession. But I always liked to read ever since
I was little. I was very lucky even in elementary school;
there were teachers who encouraged me. Rather than saying,
"why should you read? You're just a little girl."
So anyway, that's how I got into anthropology.
L: Do you have a BA and MA in anthropology?
OT: I have an MA and Ph.D. in anthropology.
L: Both at Wisconsin?
OT: No, I started out at Wayne State in Detroit
and then transferred to Wisconsin.
L: You have such a wide-range of research--what are
your primary areas of study in anthropology?
OT: My areas include symbolic anthropology
and I did quite a bit of work with the Sakhalin Ainu.
But I realized I couldn't tell my graduate students
to find hunters and gatherers anymore. To do memory
culture had limitations. So I switched to my own culture
and I wrote my first book, "Illness and Culture
in Contemporary Japan"(1984). And I realized I
couldn't understand Japanese culture as a synchronic
slice of time. So I became increasingly interested in
the historicization of anthropology. So after the first
book--"The Monkey as Mirror," and "Rice
As Self," [the second and third publications] were
more into historicizing anthropology. And also my recent
book, "Kamikaze, Cherry Blossoms, and Nationalisms."
So I would say [my areas] are historical anthropology
and symbolism.
L: You cover a wide-range of topics including the Chinese
in Detroit.
OT: Oh, yes, yes--actually that was historical.
I spent a great deal of time going through the American
newspapers and their coverage of the Detroit Chinese.
I traced from when they first arrived for the Pacific
Railroad construction, through the 1960s. I looked at
what sort of social organizations had to undergo change.
L: I wonder if you could share with us something you
had mentioned in the acknowledgments of "Rice As
Self"? You were an elementary school student after
World War II and discovered your calling to become a
scientist. Could you tell us a little about that time?
OT: Yes, that was the time that--as I said,
I was very fortunate to have this teacher, Fujita Sensei,
for whom I dedicated my book --who really took care
of me. Kônan [Elementary School] was an elite
country school. Fifteen girls and fifteen boys. Most
came from well-to-do corporate families. I did not but
he took a special interest in me and encouraged me to
study. He's the one who took us to see a movie about
Madame Curie. And I was very impressed by her. I was
so stupid and said to him, " I want to be Madame
Curie." He did not laugh at me. Later, we began
doing chemistry experiments together. In retrospect,
he was just an amazing fellow since, at that time, no
one saw a future for girls other than becoming wives.
L: And you have to consider the times--you had mentioned
that at your school children suffered from a shortage
of food, eating rice gruel and red beans with small
potatoes. And that later Fujita Sensei gave you rice
from his family’s private supply--he was able
to rise above all of that and try to educate the students.
OT: Yes, that's right. And not only that--as
I said--students came from very well known corporate
families. We did not--so rather than catering to sons
and daughters of big names, he took an interest in me
just because I liked to study.
L: So he was right to encourage you--here you are today!
OT: I really feel indebted to him. Throughout
my life I've had some individuals who helped me--who
transcended the culture--I was very fortunate to encounter,
for example, an editor for Iwanami, the top publishing
house in Japan. He was from the International Christian
University and read English very well. So he read my,
"Illness and Culture in Contemporary Japan"
--and he traveled from Tokyo all the way to my mother's
home--and said he’d liked to have a Japanese version
of this. And later he became president of Iwanami. The
last book he pushed was my " Kamikaze, Cherry Blossoms,
and Nationalisms." He has since retired from the
presidency. So--there are a few individuals who were
crucial in helping me in my profession.
L: It just happens sometimes in your life—
OT: That's right. I didn't have to come from
Harvard for him to even take a look at my book.
Next: Significance
of Rice and other Foods in Japan
|
