The 10th Research Meeting of the Ushioda Initiative of Arts (UIA) was held on April 20, 2023. Professor Yoshiyuki Yama from Kwansei Gakuin University delivered a lecture titled “Human Co-Designing from the Perspective of Community Building,” resonating with the concept of “human co-becoming” proposed by East Asian Academy for New Liberal Arts (EAA) Director Takahiro Nakajima at the Eighth Meeting of the UIA.
Professor Yama is a researcher known for his free and open exchanges across various fields and regions. His work spans structuralism, folklore, anthropology, studies on intellectuals, and Japanese thought, offering a unique and highly interdisciplinary perspective. He has also reflected on the practice of “research,” which lies between people’s lives and academic knowledge. His sense of guilt about “writing papers solely for his interests based on data from fieldwork” was a significant motivation for his involvement in community building. While studying in France in 2013, he encountered the concept of the “philosophy Café (café philosophique).” Sensing its potential for community development, he attempted to implement this in Higashimiyoshi, Tokushima Prefecture, upon returning to Japan. In March 2023, the Higashimiyoshi Philosophy Café held its 30th session.
At the UIA meeting, Professor Yama spoke about how lumping multiple small communities together under the term “depopulated areas (kaso chiiki, 過疎地域)” can narrow our perspective. Creating spaces to make these issues “audible (kachō-ka, 可聴化)” rather than imposing our preconceived notions as “outsiders (gaibu-sha, 外部者)” is crucial. Instead of focusing solely on what is “missing (naimono, ないもの)” from a community, creating outlets for the “existing (arumono, あるもの)” aspects is a key aspect of community building. One example is collaborating with “mediating intellectuals (baikaiteki chishikijin, 媒介的知識人)” who can gather information, funds, knowledge, and human resources from both in- and outside the community. This approach fosters a sense of living and participating in a community and building a future together in a polyphonic space, which is the “Human Co-designing” in the title of Professor Yama’s talk. Even if these efforts do not immediately lead to achieving administrative growth targets, they provide a sense of fulfillment to those involved. This latter aspect is what should be considered true “community development (chiiki kaihatsu, 地域開発).”
Listening to Professor Yama’s lecture provided many insights. While discussions based on knowledge and logic are essential to address a vast array of community development challenges, we must also consider the everyday aspects of that development. When revitalizing the daily lives of residents, spaces like “Philosophy Cafés,” where people can freely express their thoughts and concerns, are vital. The idea of “spontaneous development (shizen hassei-tekina kaihatsu, 自然発生的な開発)” through increased opportunities for “transformative encounters (shokuhen, 触変)” is a fascinating one. How this approach can overcome the blind spots of traditional “planned development (keikaku-tekina kaihatsu, 計画的な開発)” and bring new developments to the community is a point of interest. We look forward to future updates.
Reporter: Muyun Wang (EAA Project Research Fellow)
Translator: Dan Yi (EAA Project Research Fellow)