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The Stranger and Others: The Life and Legacy of the Japanese Ethnologist Oka Masao

The Stranger and Others: The Life and Legacy of the Japanese Ethnologist Oka Masao AbstractOka Masao (1898–1982) was a leading figure in the establishment of Japanese ethnology (cultural anthropology) since the 1930s and taught many of the next generation of ethnologists from Japan. He travelled to Vienna in 1929 to learn the methodology for studying the ethnogenesis of his own country, putting forward theories that questioned tennō-ideology of the time and became highly influential. During the war, he pushed for the establishment of an Ethnic Research Institute (Minken) to support the government in their ethnic policy in the occupied territories. Oka was also the founder of Japanese Studies at the University of Vienna in 1938. Despite these important—and at time controversial—roles, he is relatively unknown today. This article introduces recent scholarship on Oka’s life and legacy. It raises important questions about the role of ethnologists in politically sensitive times and counter-balances the Anglo-American narrative of the history of ethnology or social and cultural anthropology of Japan. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Vienna Journal of East Asian Studies de Gruyter

The Stranger and Others: The Life and Legacy of the Japanese Ethnologist Oka Masao

Steger, Brigitte
Vienna Journal of East Asian Studies , Volume 11 (1): 32 – Dec 1, 2019
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Publisher
de Gruyter
Copyright
© 2019 Brigitte Steger, published by Sciendo
ISSN
2521-7038
eISSN
2521-7038
DOI
10.2478/vjeas-2019-0003
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

AbstractOka Masao (1898–1982) was a leading figure in the establishment of Japanese ethnology (cultural anthropology) since the 1930s and taught many of the next generation of ethnologists from Japan. He travelled to Vienna in 1929 to learn the methodology for studying the ethnogenesis of his own country, putting forward theories that questioned tennō-ideology of the time and became highly influential. During the war, he pushed for the establishment of an Ethnic Research Institute (Minken) to support the government in their ethnic policy in the occupied territories. Oka was also the founder of Japanese Studies at the University of Vienna in 1938. Despite these important—and at time controversial—roles, he is relatively unknown today. This article introduces recent scholarship on Oka’s life and legacy. It raises important questions about the role of ethnologists in politically sensitive times and counter-balances the Anglo-American narrative of the history of ethnology or social and cultural anthropology of Japan.

Journal

Vienna Journal of East Asian Studies – de Gruyter

Published: Dec 1, 2019

Keywords: Oka Masao; history of Japanese ethnology; war-time anthropology; Kulturkreislehre; Japanese Studies at the University of Vienna; Ethnic Research Institute ( Minzoku kenkyūjo or Minken )

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