Oya Soichi Nonfiction Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 51 (2020) award
Sayaka Ogawa
おがわ さやか
Ogawa Sayaka
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1978-02-25 （Owariasahi, Aichi, Japan）
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese, English, Swahili (research)
Career
- Occupations
- cultural anthropologist, university professor, researcher
- Active Years
- 2001-
- Affiliations
- Ritsumeikan University, Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences (Graduate School of Advanced Studies), National Museum of Ethnology (Research Strategy Center), Kyoto Koka Women's University (part-time lecturer), Osaka University (part-time lecturer), Kyoto Seika University (part-time lecturer)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shinshu University | Faculty of Arts and Letters | Department of Human Informatics | — | 1996-2000 | Japan |
| Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, Kyoto University | — | Area Studies | 博士（地域研究） | 2000-2009 | Japan |
Shinshu University
Faculty of Arts and Letters
/ Department of Human Informatics
Period:
1996-2000
Year of Graduation:
2000
Country:
Japan
Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, Kyoto University
Area Studies
Degree:
博士（地域研究）
Period:
2000-2009
Year of Graduation:
2009
Country:
Japan
PhD (Area Studies). Thesis: "Anthropological study of business practices of urban small-scale traders in Africa."
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Suntory Academic Award | Crafty Wisdom for Urban Survival: An Ethnography of Small-Scale Traders (Machinga) in Tanzania | 社会・風俗部門 | Suntory | 受賞 |
| 2020 | Kawai Hayao Academic Award | The Boss of Chungking Mansion Knows: Anthropology of the Underground Economy | — | Kawai Hayao Memorial Foundation | 受賞 |
| 2020 | Oya Soichi Nonfiction Prize | The Boss of Chungking Mansion Knows: Anthropology of the Underground Economy | — | Oya Soichi Memorial Foundation | 受賞 |
Suntory Academic Award
2011
Work:
Crafty Wisdom for Urban Survival: An Ethnography of Small-Scale Traders (Machinga) in Tanzania
Category:
社会・風俗部門
Organization:
Suntory
Result:
受賞
Kawai Hayao Academic Award
2020
Work:
The Boss of Chungking Mansion Knows: Anthropology of the Underground Economy
Organization:
Kawai Hayao Memorial Foundation
Result:
受賞
Oya Soichi Nonfiction Prize
2020
Work:
The Boss of Chungking Mansion Knows: Anthropology of the Underground Economy
Organization:
Oya Soichi Memorial Foundation
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Crafty Wisdom for Urban Survival: An Ethnography of Small-Scale Traders (Machinga) in Tanzania
2011 ethnography / African studiesAn ethnography based on participant observation of small-scale traders (machinga) in Mwanza, Tanzania, examining business practices and crafty tactics for urban survival (ujanja).
African studiesurban anthropologyinformal economybusiness practices
Anthropology of Day-to-Day Survival: Another Capitalist Economy
2016 academic non-fictionA public-facing anthropological examination of the economic practices of people living day-to-day, offering an alternative perspective on capitalist economies.
economic anthropologylivelihoodsinformal labor
The Boss of Chungking Mansion Knows: Anthropology of the Underground Economy
2019 ethnography / urban studiesA reportage-style ethnography based on fieldwork in Hong Kong's Chungking Mansion, investigating trade and underground economic practices of migrant merchants (including African traders), and discussing mobility, informal economies, and social dynamics.
migration and tradeunderground economyinter-urban exchange
Bibliography
- Crafty Wisdom for Urban Survival: An Ethnography of Small-Scale Traders (Machinga) in Tanzania (Sekai Shiso Sha, 2011)
- Anthropology of Day-to-Day Survival: Another Capitalist Economy (Kobunsha Shinsho, 2016)
- The Boss of Chungking Mansion Knows: Anthropology of the Underground Economy (Shunjusha, 2019)
- The Anthropology of Debt and Credit: Contemporary Human Economies (co-authored, Ibunsha, 2023)
- What Is Ownership?: Roots of People, Society, and Capitalism (co-authored, Chuokoron-Shinsha, 2023)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- scholarly, ethnographic descriptiondetailed participant-observation based fieldwork writingmix of reportage and analytic essays accessible to general readers
- Recurring Motifs
- strategies for urban survivalinformal and underground economiesmobile merchants and tradecrafty tactics (ujanja) and negotiation
Legacy
Through detailed ethnographies of African and transnational informal economies, she has deepened understanding in urban and economic anthropology. Her fieldwork-driven scholarship and accessible writing bridge academia and the public, earning recognition in both spheres.
Academic Societies
- The Japan Society of Cultural Anthropology
Trivia
- Conducted long-term participant observation in Mwanza, Tanzania, starting as a graduate student.
- Did fieldwork based in Hong Kong's Chungking Mansion to study trade by African-origin merchants.
- Awarded the Suntory Academic Award (2011), Kawai Hayao Academic Award (2020), and Oya Soichi Nonfiction Prize (2020).