Essay about Ethnography: Ainu

Ethnography tells about a culture and the members that comprise this culture. A definition is the scientific description of the customs and individual people of a culture. The process of doing this assignment allowed me to explore another aspect of a cultural group. I was able to learn extensively about interactions between individuals and how see them as a culture. The group that comprises my ethnography is a cultural group very common to Utah. The culture I focused on was the LDS culture, to be more specific I studied a sub-culture of this group. My subculture was a group of 12 year old adolescents that are a Sunday school class in this culture.

Ethnographic research is the scientific description of specific human cultures, foreign to the ethnographer. Each ethnographer has his or her own way of conducting research and all of these different ideas can be transmitted and understood in a number of different ways. Because there is no one set idea of how an ethnographer should go about his or her research, conflicts arise. In Reflections on Fieldwork in Morocco, Paul Rabinow uses a story like process to discuss his experiences during his research in Morocco. This makes it easier for the reader to understand his ideas then just having a technical book about the many different aspects of Moroccan life that he may have discovered. In Writing Culture: the Poetics and Politics of

This research essay will examine how the Isolation policy, introduced by the Tokugawa shogunate, was a turning point in Japanese history. The first section of the essay will discuss the rationale for the policy’s introduction. This will be followed by an analysis of the short and long term effects this policy had on Japanese Society.

The Japanese empire was in great power by this time period, and they thought themselves as the king of the East Asian race. Japan, the “old order”, also believed that some day Europe and America would take over their power and become the “new orders”(Doc A). Japan was one

I set out to find a place to begin my observations, not knowing what to fully expect, what I may find. So I decided to look around at what is close to my home that isn’t a place I frequent or have even visited at all. Then it came to me, the Starbucks that is only about a mile away is a perfect place for me to observe subjects that I would consider different from myself, seeing as how I consider such obscene prices for coffee ridiculous. Starbucks is a very popular chain of coffee vendors that describe their product as more about quality than what Americans are used to in typical coffee joints.

James P. Spradley (1979) described the insider approach to understanding culture as "a quiet revolution" among the social sciences (p. iii). Cultural anthropologists, however, have long emphasized the importance of the ethnographic method, an approach to understanding a different culture through participation, observation, the use of key informants, and interviews. Cultural anthropologists have employed the ethnographic method in an attempt to surmount several formidable cultural questions: How can one understand another's culture? How can culture be qualitatively and quantitatively assessed? What aspects of a culture make it unique and which connect it to other cultures? If

He is well aware that his defense of Japan's tight society is subject to criticism, and at the end of his book he concedes the widespread corruption underlying so many Confucian societies, the diversity that makes overall judgments tricky and the racial homogeneity that may play a great part in enforcing Confucian harmony. But he sticks to his central thesis, fortified by his obviously pleasant recollections of living in Japan.

1991 Japanese Mothers and Bentos: The Lunch Box as Ideological State Apparatus. Anthropological Quarterly 64(4):195-208.

Of the many motifs and themes of Bending Adversity by David Pilling is the effect of culture and perception on individuals, and in his focus of this theme, he places the lens on Japan. There are numerous eccentricities that he focuses on and catalogs in the book itself, and the way that he highlights these specific aspects breathes life into representations of the culture of Japan. As an outsider, Pilling’s interpretation of the culture and viewpoints of the country are compelling in the sense that he has an intimate knowledge of the country, and he details this extensively in this book. He wrote this book to illustrate the incredible ability of the people of the Japan to overcome adversity time and time again.

In terms of the social aspect, the Mapuche lack central organization and concomitantly suffer from internal division. Some are fighting for land, while others focus on politics, with others focusing more strongly on the importance of maintaining cultural identity. There is therefore no singular common cause, which makes it difficult to obtain external support that might lend some fortification to the struggle in the eyes of leaders and politicians (G. Remain, personal communication April, 2012).

Yet, conforming to daily routines were more of the underlying lesson with the obentōs Once the routine was set, the mother and child become more susceptible to the expected system that a Japanese citizen has to conform within. Therefore, obedience and uniformity becomes instilled in the essence of Japanese culture and its culture as a whole unit. This control eventually changes how people feel about themselves and indoctrinate the principles of Japanese living: precision, group life, and obedience. In principle, this type of ideology helps shape the mindset and structure of Japanese society at its core, beginning with concepts instilled in nursery school for future use and application. The painted picture of a ‘constructed motherhood’ or ‘constructed citizen’ therefore is a central claim of Allison’s article, it defines obentōs as more than just a daily chore, but a concept that gives social order, power and authority to the government that ISA was created for in the first

While others claim that photography captures the inner soul of a person, or deliberately defines it as painting or writing with light, but in my case, it is just simply a newfound love hobby. I undeniably adore and look up to expert photographers I encounter down the road may it face-to-face or the other way around. In my heart, I silently desire that someday, with hard work, determination, and perseverance, I will become professional and famous as they are. Since my husband bought a Digital Single-Lens Reflex (DSLR) as an anniversary gift, my penchant for photography commenced and ignited. Let me detail the essential truths behind my passion over photography.

Ainu are the oldest inhabitants of Japan, also the minority in Japan, they live in the Hokkaido region of Japan, has a long history and rich cultural background. The content will describe the Ainu language and their culture. By understanding the language and culture of Ainu, will help us better to understand the cultural diversity of modern Japanese society.

Native religions take place throughout the world. Among Ainu in far northern Japan, the Inuit (Eskimo) in Canada; the aboriginal peoples of Australia, the Maori of New Zealand, and the many indigenous peoples of Africa and the Americas. The characteristics may live on in local stories and customs (Molloy, 2010). Stories and customs such as the people will continue to lose the fight for the protection of traditional cultural sites and properties. Indigenous people believe certain sites are occupied by the spirits of their ancestors, who continue to carry on the daily life as they did when they lived within these sites. People who support indigenous people argue that, despite their diversity, they share common problems and issues in dealing

Anthropology is field where research plays the biggest part in dissecting and understanding a topic. Surveys and questionnaires, are not as effective in this field as it would have been in engineering is because, anthropology deals with people. According to me people would not be slight bit interested divulging the details of their life with a stranger, whom they just met on a piece of flimsy paper. Even if they are willing to do that, they may only give a vague sketch of their life or the worst case scenario, where the participants are illiterate. Thus Field work regardless how excruciatingly long and hard it is, it is very important because it gives the holistic view on a topic as an outsider as well as an insider.