Division of Southeast Asian Area Studies

Like Africa, Southeast Asia has spontaneously given rise to its own history, which has been developed and influenced by the characteristic ecology of the tropical zones around the equator. Over the last few decades, this region has seen a rapid transformation in its economy and societies at the level of the nation-state. At the same time, we have also witnessed several movements toward regional integration that transcend the boundaries of the nation-state. Along with the dramatic economic developments that are taking place, Southeast Asia is in fact in the process of achieving a multi-faceted transformation, one in which its ecology, society and cultures are all working together to produce something entirely new.

The Division of Southeast Asian Area Studies offers a program comprising three areas of research guidance that are designed to reflect the three points outlined above, and to allow investigation of the particular issues involved in each. These are: “Ecology and Environment”; “Society and Development”and “Environment, Society and Culture”

Division of Southeast Asian Area Studies

 

1: Ecology and Environment:

A program of education and research in ecological history and environmental ecology, designed to introduce the distinct features of the ecology and environment of Southeast Asia, so shaped by interaction with human beings.

Shinya TAKEDA

E-mail: takeda@asafas [add “.kyoto-u.ac.jp”]

My primary interest is in the forestry in the monsoon forests of Southeast Asia, and my research has been on agroforestry and non-timber forest products. Looking in particular at rainforest fragments and regenerated forests, I am conducting research with a focus on the relationship between tropical forests and human beings.

[Environmental Ecology II, Introduction to Area Studies, Research Seminar on Ecology and Environment I-IV, Guided Research on Southeast Asian Area Studies I-III, Open Seminar on Asian Area Studies, Asian Area Studies On-site Seminar I-III]

Takuro FURUSAWA

E-mail: furusawa@asafas [add “.kyoto-u.ac.jp”]

As living organisms, humans have always had to adapt themselves biologically, in their physical traits and so on, so that they can survive and thrive in a given environment. At the same time, they have had to develop technologies and to acquire knowledge to help them obtain sustenance. My research covers a variety of aspects to do with this issue, the relationship between human beings and the ecosystems in which they find themselves, and its transformations, in the Asian and Pacific areas.

[Ecological History II, Area Informatics A, Research Seminar on Ecology and Environment I-IV, Guided Research on Southeast Asian Area Studies I-III, Open Seminar on Asian Area Studies, Asian Area Studies On-site Seminar I-III]

Yasuyuki KOSAKA

E-mail: kosaka@asafas [add “.kyoto-u.ac.jp”]

I study changes in the natural environment in Asia, modernization of agriculture, and depopulation of rural villages, using relations between humans and plants as indices. In specific terms, my research focuses on the flora in agricultural ecological systems, expanded distribution of exotic plants, and wild plants that are sold in the marketplace.

[Ecological History I, Research Seminar on Ecology and Environment I-IV, Guided Research on Southeast Asian Area Studies I-III, Open Seminar on Asian Area Studies, Asian Area Studies On-site Seminar I-III]

Ryota SAKAMOTO

E-mail: sakamoto65@cseas [add “.kyoto-u.ac.jp”]

The topics of my previous researches were infectious sources of sporadic legionellosis, relationship between aging and adaptation to high altitude environment, health and happiness among the elderly living in Domkhar valley, Ladakh, health care system for the elderly in Bhutan, and so on. I would like to study focused on relationships among human health, natural environments, and cultural backgrounds.

[Research Seminar on Ecology and Environment I-IV, Guided Research on Southeast Asian Area Studies I-III, Open Seminar on Asian Area Studies, Asian Area Studies On-site Seminar I-III]

Kodzue KINOSHITA

E-mail: kinoshita.kodzue.8v@ [add “kyoto-u.ac.jp”]

Over the years, each animal has adapted to its environment and evolved species-specific reproductive patterns. How does a change in habitat affect their reproduction? is a major theme of my research from the viewpoints of endocrinology and ethology. Although I hve mainly focused on the ecological apex predator, felids, I’ve been involved in research on a wide variety of endangered species, including birds, terrestrial mammals, and marine mammals.

[Environmental Ecology I, Research Seminar on Ecology and Environment I-IV, Guided Research on Southeast Asian Area Studies I-III, Seminar on Asian and African Area Studies, Asian Area Studies On-site Seminar I-III]

Ryosuke NAKAMURA

E-mail: nakamura.ryosuke.7x@ [add “kyoto-u.ac.jp”]

Species-rich tropical forests are supported by elemental cycling. I have conducted research primarily in Borneo to reveal novel aspects of plant-soil interactions. Current research interests include understanding mechanisms of silicon cycling via plants, litter decomposition and plant ecological strategies in tropical ecosystems underlaid by a variety of rocks. Recently, I have strong interests in long-term strategies for tropical forest conservation and anthropogenic impacts on ecosystem functions.

[Research Seminar on Ecology and Environment I-IV, Guided Research on Southeast Asian Area Studies I-III, Open Seminar on Asian Area Studies, Asian Area Studies On-site Seminar I-III]

 

2: Society and Development:

A program of education and research on regional development and transformation, with a focus on the spontaneously generated energy and dynamism that lie behind development and transformation in Southeast Asia.

Yoshifumi TAMADA

E-mail: tamada@asafas [add “.kyoto-u.ac.jp”]

My research is on contemporary politics and political history in Thailand. My major topics include democratization, civil-military relations, the political role of the judiciary, immigrant laborers, nationalism, and so on. I have tried to put these topics in comparative perspective with other countries in Asia and Europe.

[Politics and Society I-III, Introduction to Area Studies, Research Seminar on Society and Development I-IV, Reading in Thai Studies I-II, Guided Research on Southeast Asian Area Studies I-III, Open Seminar on Asian Area Studies, Asian Area Studies On-site Seminar I-III]

Tatsuki KATAOKA

E-mail: kataoka@asafas [add “.kyoto-u.ac.jp”]

My interest is in the dynamics of cross-border cultural and religious movements of the uplanders in Southeast Asia. I previously focussed attention on ethnic minorities in mountain areas of northern Thailand. Right now, I am trying to expand this to encompass Burma (Myanmar), and the southwest regions of China. I have also started to conduct investigations of religious practice among ethnic Chinese in areas of southern Thailand and the Malay Peninsula.

[Religion and Society, Research Seminar on Society and Development I-IV, Guided Research on Southeast Asian Area Studies I-III, Open Seminar on Asian Area Studies, Asian Area Studies On-site Seminar I-III]

Yoko HAYAMI

E-mail: yhayami@cseas [add “.kyoto-u.ac.jp”]

My research involves anthropological study of the relationship between upland and lowland communities in continental Southeast Asia. My main topics, based on surveys of upland areas, have been the changing roles of religion and ceremony, gender, and inter-ethnic relations, highlighted against state power and communities living in low-lying areas. I am currently beginning a comparative investigation of Myanmar.

[State and Society II (Gender and Society), Research Seminar on Society and Development I-IV, Guided Research on Southeast Asian Area Studies I-III, Open Seminar on Asian Area Studies, Asian Area Studies On-site Seminar I-III]

Masako ITO

E-mail: itomasak@asafas [add “.kyoto-u.ac.jp”]

My research is on the contemporary history of Vietnam, which I have studied looking at national government policy towards ethnic minorities, and their response, and conducting field research in mountain areas. At present, I am doing comparative study in Vietnam and South Korea about how the people describe their memories about the Vietnam War, , with the idea of discussing these things in the context of aspects of nationalism.

[History and Society, Vietnamese III, Seminar on Asian and African Area Studies, Research Seminar on Society and Development I-IV, Guided Research on Southeast Asian Area Studies I-III, Open Seminar on Asian Area Studies, Asian Area Studies On-site Seminar I-III]

Masaaki OKAMOTO

E-mail: okamoto@cseas [add “.kyoto-u.ac.jp”]

My principal current research interest is in formulating a framework to analyze the kinds of transformations in regional politics brought about by the radical decentralization of power (in a form often referred to as a “big bang” approach) that occurred in Indonesia after the collapse of the dictatorship of the Suharto regime. In tandem with this project, I am also reviewing research literature on regional politics in other areas of Southeast Asia, and one of the aims of this is to draw comparisons with Indonesia.

[Religious History, Introduction to Area Studies, Research Seminar on Society and Development I-IV, Guided Research on Southeast Asian Area Studies I-III, Open Seminar on Asian Area Studies, Asian Area Studies On-site Seminar I-III]

Motoki YAMAGUCHI

E-mail: yamaguchi.motoki.7n@ [add “kyoto-u.ac.jp”]

I have studied the Islamic movement in Indonesia from the Dutch colonial era to the early Independence period. My research has focused on the activities of Arab minorities and their social integration during the early twentieth century. At present, I am primarily conducting investigations into the Islamic movement and nation-building, considering its relationship with the Arab Middle East, and also with other regions of Southeast Asia, such as Singapore and Malaysia.

[State and Society I (Comparative State Formation), Research Seminar on Society and Development I-IV, Guided Research on Southeast Asian Area Studies I-III, Open Seminar on Asian Area Studies, Asian Area Studies On-site Seminar I-III]

Fumiko MOROTA

E-mail: morota.fumiko.8p@ [add “kyoto-u.ac.jp”]

I have been conducting anthropological research on how people deal with uncertainty in the practice of gambling, such as lottery, cockfighting, and treasure hunting in the Philippines. Based on participatory observation, the study aims to clarify people’s intrinsic motives for betting and to recapture the dynamics of Philippine society through the phenomenon of gambling.

[Research Seminar on Society and Development I-IV, Guided Research on Southeast Asian Area Studies I-III, Open Seminar on Asian Area Studies, Asian Area Studies On-site Seminar I-III]

 

3: Environment, Society and Culture:

A program of education and research on the interactions between environment, society and region, with a focus on actual case histories that show the diverse ways in which such interactions take place.

Noboru ISHIKAWA

E-mail: ishikawa@cseas [add “.kyoto-u.ac.jp”]

My research consists of social anthropological studies into the societies of Malaysia and Indonesia, which I conduct using the twin pillars of historical investigation and synchronous understanding based on field research. My recent work has involved looking at the interfaces between social dynamics from the macro and micro perspectives focusing on nation-state formation, ethnogenesis, mobilization of labor, culture and power, commodity chains, and transnationalism. My latest projects have involved research into the idea of humanosphere in communities where tropical biomass has been subsumed by monocultural plantations (oil palm and acacia); as well as historical anthropological studies looking from a multiplicity of angles at the construct of “forest” as it exists in Japan and Borneo (including secondary forests and cash crop plantations).

[Area Studies Project Designing, Research Seminar on Environment, Society and Culture I-IV, Guided Research on Southeast Asian Area Studies I-III, Open Seminar on Asian Area Studies, Asian Area Studies On-site Seminar I-III]

Masayuki YANAGISAWA

E-mail: masa@cseas [add “.kyoto-u.ac.jp”]

I am interested in a long history of human-nature interaction in Southeast Asia. A word of “human” means an individual, a group as an assembly of individuals, and society. In another word, my focus includes not only on a technological issue on agronomy, but also on a relationship between rural socio-economic system and ecological situation, which creates area history.

[Nature and Agriculture in Southeast Asia, Introduction to Area Studies, Research Seminar on Environment, Society and Culture I-IV, Guided Research on Southeast Asian Area Studies I-III, Open Seminar on Asian Area Studies, Asian Area Studies On-site Seminar I-III]

Osamu KOZAN

E-mail: kozan@cseas [add “.kyoto-u.ac.jp”]

My research involves the analysis of the impact of human activities on the natural environment over an area that ranges from Japan, East Asian and Central Asia to Southeast Asia, which I measure using calculations obtained by hydrological cycle modeling. In my research I look not only at sustainability in the natural environment, but also at the mutual impact of human activities and the natural environment, to clarify the particular features and issues of the region. So far my research has concerned evaluation of the impact of continental-scale irrigation projects being carried out in China on water inflow and outflow in the rainy season, the impact on the regional climate of changes in water use in the Aral Sea inland lake region, and the impact of the largescale forest plantations on the natural environment in Indonesia.

[Hydrology and Climatology, Research Seminar on Environment, Society and Culture I-IV, Guided Research on Southeast Asian Area Studies I-III, Open Seminar on Asian Area Studies, Asian Area Studies On-site Seminar I-III]

Fumiharu MIENO

E-mail: mieno@cseas [add “.kyoto-u.ac.jp”]

I conduct empirical research into the economies of countries in Southeast Asia, looking in particular at their financial systems. Recent projects I have carried out include a comparison of the features of the financial systems of Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines with those of Thailand; an examination of rural finance organizations in villages in northeastern Thailand and Laos; an examination of economic structures in Myanmar; and commodity and capital trading structures in small- and medium-scale enterprises in Thailand and Myanmar. For future topics of research, I am interested in the history of the development of business and finance sectors in response to structures of ethnicity in Southeast Asia, the structural characteristics of ownership rights and commercial trade, the possibilities for a different kind of economic growth that transcends the old model of industrialization based on direct capital investment and relocation of manufacturing process, and the possible forms of new kinds of labor and financial systems that would support this.

[Economic Approach to Southeast Asia, Research Seminar on Environment, Society and Culture I-IV, Guided Research on Southeast Asian Area Studies I-III, Open Seminar on Asian Area Studies, Asian Area Studies On-site Seminar I-III]

Satoru KOBAYASHI

E-mail: kobasa@cseas [add “.kyoto-u.ac.jp”]

I started research aiming to write ethnographical accounts of the changes that have taken place over time in Cambodian society, based on field research of rural villages. Nearly 20 years have passed since the rebirth of Cambodia, after years of civil war and totalitarian state rule, and isolation from other countries. What are the ways in which rule by a new government that was created by members of the international community on behalf of Cambodia has impinged on local communities during those 20 years? Evidence-based clarification of this question is what concerns me most at the present time. I am also interested in the commonalities as well as the diversity of the communities of believers in Theravada Buddhism who populate mainland Southeast Asia, and I am conducting field research into this subject.

[Comparative Studies of Rural Societies, Research Seminar on Environment,Society and Culture I-IV, Guided Research on Southeast Asian Area Studies I-III, Open Seminar on Asian Area Studies, Asian Area Studies On-site Seminar I-III]

Yoshihiro NAKANISHI

E-mail: nakanishi@cseas [add “.kyoto-u.ac.jp”]

My research focuses on civil-military relations and political regime in Southeast Asia, especially in Burma/Myanmar, from the perspective of comparative politics and security studies. The recent political and economic reform in the country has broadened my perspective to embrace following issues such as president-parliament relationship, political movement, and foreign policy-making. He is also interested in comparative study of violent conflict and peace-building in Southeast Asia.

[Conflict and Peace in Southeast Asia, Research Seminar on Environment, Society and Culture I-IV, Guided Research on Southeast Asian Area Studies I-III, Open Seminar on Asian Area Studies, Asian Area Studies On-site Seminar I-III]

Tomohiro MACHIKITA

E-mail: machi@cseas [add “.kyoto-u.ac.jp”]

My research areas are in labor economics and industrial development. To get a better and deeper understanding about the process of economic development, my research covers: (1) building relationship specificity, firmto-firm matching with technology transfers, and acquisitions of managerial capabilities along the local and global production chains; (2) micro empirics and aggregate patterns of firm growth and urban labor markets in developing economies including Japanese historical experiences in the late 19th century. A number of my papers have been focused on firm growth and product/process upgrading with a special emphasis on production chains in Southeast Asia. Recently I am working on traffic accidents and among other topics to explore improving mobility in developing economies.

[[Economic Approach to Southeast Asia II, Research Seminar on Environment, Society and Culture I-IV, Guided Research on Southeast Asian Area Studies I-III, Open Seminar on Southeast Asian Area Studies, Asian Area Studies Onsite Seminar I-III]

R. Michael FEENER

E-mail: feener@cseas [add “.kyoto-u.ac.jp”]

The main focus of my work is on Islamic Studies, with a particular emphasis on the history of Muslim societies of Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean World. Within that geographic area, my first two monographs dealt with the history of legal thought and practice in Indonesia. My research interests extend across the broader maritime world of Islam around the Indian Ocean littoral. Across the broad region ranging from Egypt to Eastern Indonesia I have researched and published on topics including Muslim networks, Qur’anic studies, Sufism, ShⅡsm, trans-regional histories, local histories (especially of Aceh and the Maldives), religion and development, humanitarianism and post disaster reconstruction, as well as archaeological field survey work. I am concurrently an Associate Member of the History Faculty at the University of Oxford, a Senior Associate of the Melbourne Law School’s Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society, and Director of the Maritime Asia Heritage Survey.

[[History of Islam in Southeast Asia, Research Seminar on Environment, Society and Culture I-IV, Guided Research on Southeast Asian Area Studies I-III, Open Seminar on Southeast Asian Area Studies, Asian Area Studies Onsite Seminar I-III]