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Norio Akasaka

あかさか のりお

Akasaka Norio

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1953-05-23 （Tokyo, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan

Career

Occupations
folklorist, university professor, museum director, critic, researcher
Active Years
1978-
Affiliations
Gakushuin University, Fukushima Prefectural Museum (former director), Tohoku University of Art and Design, Tohoku Cultural Research Center
Memberships
Japan Writers' Association
Influenced By
Kunio Yanagita, Yoshihiko Amino, Takaaki Yoshimoto
Influenced
Eiji Oguma, Yusuke Miura, Tatsushi Fujiwara

Education

University of Tokyo
Faculty of Letters
Year of Graduation: 1978
Country: Japan

Awards

Yamazaki Prize
1995
Result: 受賞
Makabe Hitoshi / No-no Culture Prize
1999
Result: 受賞
Yamagata Shimbun 3P Prize
2000
Organization: Yamagata Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Ihatov Prize
2003
Result: 受賞
Bunkamura Dumago Literary Prize
2007
Work: Japan as Seen by Taro Okamoto
Organization: Bunkamura
Result: 受賞
Arts Selection Minister of Education Award
2008
Work: Japan as Seen by Taro Okamoto
Category: 評論等部門
Organization: Agency for Cultural Affairs
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

An Introduction to the Theory of the Stranger

1985 Essay/Criticism

A collection of essays that introduced Akasaka to the public intellectual scene, discussing Japanese thought, the theory of the Other, and incorporating folkloristic perspectives.

Japanese thoughttheory of the Otherfolklore

The Phenomenology of Exclusion

1986 Scholarly nonfiction

A study analyzing cultural and historical structures of exclusion and discrimination, crossing perspectives from folklore studies and intellectual history.

discriminationexclusionfolkloreintellectual history

Japan as Seen by Taro Okamoto

2007 Criticism / Essays

A series of critical essays reading Japanese culture through the perspective of artist Taro Okamoto, using his thought and expression as a lens for cultural critique.

Taro Okamotocultural critiqueart

Tohoku as a Method

2007 Scholarly nonfiction

A work proposing the concept and methodology of 'Tohoku studies,' attempting to reframe discussions about Japan from a regional cultural perspective.

Tohoku studiesregional studiesfolklore

Godzilla and Nausicaä: Visitors from Beyond the Sea

2014 Cultural Criticism

An essay collection that uses Godzilla and Nausicaä to discuss the relationship between popular culture, myth, and folkloric imagination.

pop culturekaiju (giant monsters)environmentmyth

Is Folkloric Knowledge Possible?

2020 Scholarly nonfiction

A book re-examining the nature of folkloric knowledge, considering the relationship between theory and fieldwork.

folklore studiesepistemologymethodology

Bibliography

  • An Introduction to the Theory of the Stranger (1985)
  • The Phenomenology of Exclusion (1986)
  • Kings and the Emperor (1988)
  • The Emergence of Boundaries (1989)
  • The Story Called the Symbolic Emperor System (1990)
  • Spiritual History of the Mountains: The Emergence of Kunio Yanagita (1991)
  • Associations and Royal Power (1993)
  • Spiritual History of Wandering: The Emergence of Kunio Yanagita (1994)
  • Tono / On Stories (1994)
  • The Birth of Lullabies (1994)
  • Toward Tohoku Studies (3 vols) (1996-1998)
  • Mandala of Mountains, Fields, Rivers and Seas: Weaving Folklore from Tohoku (1999)
  • East-West / North-South: Toward Multiple Japans (2000)
  • Japan as Seen by Taro Okamoto (2007)
  • Tohoku as a Method (2007)
  • Records of Resonating Voices: Dialogues of Norio Akasaka (2011)
  • Rethinking the Shape of This Country since 3.11 (2012)
  • Godzilla and Nausicaä (2014)
  • Is Folkloric Knowledge Possible? (2020)
  • Living Through Disasters (2023)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Essayistic criticism combining folkloric observation and scholarly analysisInterdisciplinary, dialogic essays
Recurring Motifs
Tohoku regiondiscrimination and marginalized communitiesfolklore and traditiondisaster and reconstructionauthority and symbolic emperorship

Legacy

As proponent of 'Tohoku studies,' he significantly contributed to reevaluating regional culture and advancing contemporary folklore studies. He also influenced post-3/11 reconstruction discourse and public debate on disaster recovery.

Museums

  • Fukushima Prefectural Museum Fukushima Prefecture, Japan

Academic Societies

  • Japan Writers' Association

Archives

  • Articles indexed at CiNii (National Institute of Informatics)
  • Gakushuin University faculty profile / researcher information
  • J-GLOBAL researcher data

In Popular Culture

  • His essays on Godzilla and Nausicaä brought academic perspectives into pop-culture debates

Quotes

  • I am proud of a 'Tohoku without discrimination.'
    Source: Fukushima Minpo (2011-09-18) (2011)

Trivia

  • Proposed 'Tohoku studies' and launched the journal 'Tohoku Gaku'.
  • Former director of the Fukushima Prefectural Museum.
  • Recipient of the Bunkamura Dumago Literary Prize (2007) and the Arts Selection Minister of Education Award (2008, criticism category).
  • Served as a professor at Gakushuin University.
  • Active in public discourse after the 2011 earthquake: lectures, symposia, and participation in reconstruction advisory bodies.