Potential of Japanese Scholars in Aboriginal Studies: perspectives from personhood theories

Abstract

In this chapter, I discuss prospect of contribution by Japanese scholars to Australian Aboriginal studies, in which Western-Anglophone-Australian scholars are dominant. Focusing on personhood studies, I examine theoretical development of personhood studies regarding Aboriginies, such as social, relational, and dividual model which have been significantly influenced by Melanesian studies in Australian academic contexts. I argue that Japanese anthropologists might possibly present different perspectives in Aboriginal (personhood) studies, based on theoretical discomfort in non-Western personhood model applied to Japanese society in prior studies. For this step, I propose that Japanese anthropologists should be conscious of the fact that main stream of Anthropological studies are founded on Western (Australian) interests and concepts, through which anthropological practices have been conducted, more or less, in Japan and non-Western institutions. Based on this conscious, one of the possible development for Aboriginal studies are to examine non-Japanese personhood with Japanese local concepts.