Articles
Yanagita Kunio and Agricultural Policy : Finding the Man Behind the Mythology
Abstract
Yanagita Kunio (1875–1962) was arguably Japan's most influential intellectual in the twentieth century, but what drove Yanagita, what was important to him, and ultimately, how can we best understand his life and legacy today? Using writings translated here for the first time from Yanagita's most significant and revealing works (gleaned from a lifetime of "Yanagita studies" by Iwamoto Yoshiteru), we attempt to uncover his intellectual and ideological foundations, and to argue that Yanagita's formative education and experiences in agricultural policy shaped the aims, nature, and theoretical development of his folklore studies. Moreover, in exploring such themes as the village, family, rural poverty, urban migration, and pastoral romanticism, we recontextualize Yanagita's thoughts and actions, and ultimately reevaluate the man mythologized as Japan's pioneering folklorist.