Yoshinori Kasai

My new post on children and communities is now live on the CRFR blog.

パブリックヒストリー研究会　　　書評会（オンライン）笠井賢紀・田島英一編『パブリック・ヒストリーの実践：オルタナティブで多声的な歴史を紡ぐ』（慶應義塾大学出版会、2025年） :: Public-history21 パブリックヒストリー研究会では、次のように笠井賢紀 ・田島英一編『パブリック・ヒストリーの実践：オルタナティブで多声的な歴史を紡ぐ』（慶應義塾大学出版会、2025年）の書評会をオンラインで開催いたします。

On Saturday, 1 November, from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. (JST), the Japanese Association of Public History will host an online book review session on my edited volume Practicing Public History.
Please note that this event will be conducted in Japanese.
public-history9.webnode.jp/l/new2/
#publichistory

This article introduces my project supported by the internal research fund, focusing on qualitative methods and community studies, including collaborative approaches with local people. I am grateful for this opportunity to share my work with a broader audience.

My research report, "Exploring Methods for Understanding Local Communities," has been published on Keio University's Research Highlights.

You can read it here:
research-highlights.keio.ac.jp/2025/08/b.html

Note: The word “thereforegzou” in the text is a typo for “Therefore”. It will be corrected shortly.

The one just published was originally submitted in June, and the Centre already has a second draft I submitted in July. I began this series by reflecting on past studies I conducted in Japan, but I hope to move toward more recent topics during the remainder of my stay here.

where I am currently an associate researcher, as well as a visiting scholar at the School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh. @uoe-sps.bsky.social

This is part of a planned series of posts.

Beyond Religion: Social Functions of Japan’s Traditional Pilgrimage Groups - Centre for Research on Families and Relationships Read Yoshinori Kasai on Japan’s traditional pilgrimage associations and their social functions, including the Ise-kō, an organization formed to carry out pilgrimages to the Ise Shrine, one of Japan’s ...

www.crfr.ac.uk/beyond-relig...
‪I have contributed a blog post on my research into Ise-kō (伊勢講) to the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships (CRFR),

This is part of a planned series of posts. The one just published was originally submitted in June, and the Centre already has a second draft I submitted in July.

柳田国男と現代　問う…生誕１５０年 【読売新聞】

Unfortunately, the article appears to be accessible only to subscribers.
www.yomiuri.co.jp/culture/2025...

In the section that mentions me, it reports that I highlighted recent trends in public history and suggested that Yanagita’s work and related activities might be regarded as early examples of public history practice in Japan.

This morning's Yomiuri Shimbun, one of Japan’s major newspapers, featured an article marking the 150th anniversary of Kunio Yanagita, the founder of Japanese folklore studies. It referred to a symposium held at Waseda University in March, where I gave a short talk as a panelist.

I'm honoured to have been elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS). Many thanks to those who supported my application.

royalhistsoc.org/society-elec...

From April 1, I’m joining the School of Social and Political Science (@uoe-sps.bsky.social) at the University of Edinburgh as a visiting researcher.

The book "Lifelong Sciences for Everyone" edited by Takashi Tsukiura, et al. (2025, Nakanishiya Shuppan, Kyoto) has been published. My paper, "Repertoire for Better Living Together," is also included.

▼I had the pleasure of introducing and discussing our book Practices of Public History, at Kuífǔ Bookstore in Taipei, hosted by the Taiwan Association for Public History!

▼在臺灣大眾史學協會的主辦下，我在台北的奎府聚書店介紹並討論了我們的新書《實踐大眾史學》！

▼台湾パブリックヒストリー協会主催で台北の奎府聚書店にて私たちの『パブリック・ヒストリーの実践』について紹介し議論してきました！

The book "Modern Legal Understanding of Landscapes" edited by Hiroya Ushio (2025, Nippon Hyoron sha, Tokyo) has been published. My paper, "Distortions in the Cadastral Maps and Distribution of Small Place Names in Ritto City, Shiga Prefecture," is also included.
www.nippyo.co.jp/shop/book/94...

I believe I was able to highlight his lasting significance as a platform for connecting diverse people. I also pointed out that Yanagita-related initiatives, like Jomin Daigaku (literally ‘university of ordinary people’), can be seen as practices of public history.

I gave a brief lecture at a symposium marking the 150th anniversary of Kunio Yanagita’s birth, the founder of Japanese folklore studies. The event included a keynote speech and four short lectures, including mine. Although I don't specialize in Yanagita's folklore,

土地空間の近代法的把握｜日本評論社 土地空間の近代法的把握。牛尾洋也氏。日本評論社は1918年創業。法律時報、法学セミナー、数学セミナー、経済セミナー、こころの科学、そだちの科学、統合失調症のひろば、など評価の高い雑誌を定期刊行しています。

"Modern Legal Understandings of Landscapes," edited by H. Ushio, will be published soon by Nippon Hyoron Sha Co. Ltd., Tokyo. I'm pleased to share that my paper, "Distortions in Cadastral Maps and Small Place Names: Based on Maps of Ritto History Museum," is included
www.nippyo.co.jp/shop/book/94...

PDF file drive.google.com/file/d/1OqzZ...

Some chapter titles include the phrase "practice of weaving histories" as a translation of "歴史実践." While the original phrase could be literally translated as "historical practice," I chose this phrasing to better retain the original nuance.

Afterword (Yoshinori Kasai)

Part V: Creating the Practice of Weaving Histories

Chapter 11: Utilizing Memory History Research on Housing for Sustainable Community Building (Kazuhiro Takeyama)
Chapter 12: Embraced by the Shikoku Pilgrimage: Death of Self and the Practice of Weaving Histories as Revival (Kazuki Goto)

Chapter 9: Between Religious Experience and the Practice of Weaving Histories: A Case Study of a Sufi Brotherhood in Senegal (Kae Amo)
Chapter 10: From Public History to Genocide: Conflicts in the Practice of Weaving Histories Related to Palestine/Israel (Hani Abdelhadi)

Part IV: Who Weaves Histories?

Chapter 8: Possibilities and Limitations of Public History for/by Hikikomori (Hiroki Fujitani)

Chapter 7: From "Not Narrating" to "Beginning to Narrate": Focusing on the Postwar Experiences of Hiroko Tsuchiya, a Manchurian Repatriate (Makie Yukawa)

Part III: Beyond the Challenges of Narration

Chapter 6: Under What Conditions Can People Narrate Their Experiences of Disaster?: Reflecting Together Through Filmmaking (Kana Ohashi)

Chapter 5: Disaster Heritage Sites of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Public History: Voices Woven Through Google Maps Reviews (Taichi Uchio)

Part II: Histories Embedded in Practice

Chapter 3: Resonating "Parent-Child (Oyako) Radio": Another History Woven Through Radio Broadcasts in US-Occupied Okinawa (Akinobu Matsumoto)
Chapter 4: Russian "Chastushka" and the Practice of Weaving Histories (Yoko Kumanoya)