著者

IRIMOTO Takashi

出版者

日本文化人類学会

雑誌

Japanese Review of Cultural Anthropology

巻号頁・発行日

vol.5, pp.55-89, 2004

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Northern culture refers to the mode of life unique to northern areas in terms of ecology, society and culture, dating back to the advance into Northern Eurasia by modern man (Homo sapiens sapiens) in the history of human evolution and proliferation to North America. "Northern culture" describes a whole body of cultures, which have changed, descended and developed up to today. On the basis of this definition of northern cultures, changes of and products from northern studies in Japan are reviewed in each period: the Age of Exploration (c. 400-1867), the Age of Academics (1868-1945), and the Age of the World (1946-2000). As a result, research subjects for northern studies have changed from Ainu culture to a variety of cultures in broad northern circumpolar areas including Northern Eurasia, Japan and North America. Study methodology also has changed from folklore and ethnology to shizenshi - anthropology of nature and culture - and study objectives have shifted from the clarification of the origin of the Japanese and their culture to the clarification of universal issues in anthropological studies; i.e., "What are human beings?" Finally, since the northern studies have been developed to search for the universality of human beings, I present an outlook for the 21st century of anthropology as the Age of the Humanity.