SHIMIZU, Hiromu
Professor
- Division of Integrated Area Studies
- Cultural Anthropology, Phillipine Studies
- B.A. in Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1974
D. Soc., The University of Tokyo, 1987．
Current Research Interests
- Resiliency of indigenous communities in a remote area against globalization
- Japanese retirees’ migration to Southeast Asia
- Socio-cultural history of Yokosuka City under the shadow of the US Naval
Base
One of my research topics is the resiliency of indigenous communities in
a remote area against globalization. Almost every year since 1997 I have
visited Hapao village with 350 households and surrounding areas in Ifugao
province of northern Luzon to study people-initiated projects of reforestation,
cultural revitalization,and socio-economic development. Anthropologically,
the Ifugao are well known not only for magnificent rice terraces, which
were inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List as a living cultural heritage
in 1995, but also for customary laws, myths and rituals, woodcarving production,
and so forth. Today more than 100 villagers among have been abroad to work
as domestic helpers and care givers.
Hapao is located at the center of a mountainous area where the main force
of the Japanese army led by the commander in chief General Yamashita entrenched
itself in the final phase of the World War II. Mr. Lopez Nauyac, a native
intellectual and the president of a small NGO (Ifugao Global Forest City
Movement) in Hapao, insisted that world peace finally descended on Hapao
at the cost of villagers’ suffering and death, and he succeeded in obtaining
funds for his projects from several Japanese agencies including JICA. The
total amount exceeds 70 million yen. I am very much interested in the signifying
practice of Mr. Nauyac as well the global connections of villagers.
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