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Yoshiharu Sekino

せきの よしはる

Sekino Yoshiharu

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1949-01-20 （Sumida, Tokyo, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese, some English

Career

Occupations
Explorer, Anthropologist, Surgeon, University professor, Author
Active Years
1970-
Affiliations
Musashino Art University (Professor Emeritus)

Education

Hitotsubashi University, Faculty of Law
Faculty of Law / Law
Degree: 学士
Period: 1968-1975
Year of Graduation: 1975
Country: Japan
Founded an expedition club while enrolled; took leaves and transfers before graduating.
Hitotsubashi University, Faculty of Social Sciences (transferred)
Faculty of Social Sciences / Cultural Anthropology seminar
Period: 1975 (編入・中退)
Country: Japan
Transferred to study anthropology for exploration purposes; did not complete degree.
Yokohama City University, School of Medicine
School of Medicine / Medicine
Degree: 医学士
Period: 1976-1982
Year of Graduation: 1982
Country: Japan
After obtaining a medical license, worked as a surgeon while continuing explorations.

Awards

Naoki Uemura Adventure Award
1999
Organization: Naoki Uemura Adventure Award Committee
Result: winner
Travel Culture Award
2000
Organization: Institute for Travel Culture
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Great Journey: 4 Million Years of Human Travel, Vol.1

1995 Travel / Anthropology

Part of a long-term expedition tracing human origins and migrations; travelogue documenting peoples and lifestyles encountered.

human originsjourneyethnography
Adaptations
  • [TV series] The Great Journey (1993)

Guiana Highlands: The Lost World

1989 Expedition narrative

An expedition account of visiting the Guiana Highlands; records of nature, local cultures, and discoveries.

natureexplorationinteraction with indigenous peoples

Making Curry Rice From Scratch

2018 Essay / Documentary tie-in

Bookization of a documentary following a seminar at Musashino Art University; contains dialogues about food and culture.

food cultureeducationlocal life
Adaptations
  • [Film (documentary)] Making Curry Rice From Scratch / 前田亜紀 (2016)

Bibliography

  • Gutarar Genshi-ko (1974)
  • Happiness Without Civilization (1978)
  • Guiana Highlands: The Lost World (1989)
  • The Great Journey: 4 Million Years of Human Travel (1995-2002, series)
  • Making Curry Rice From Scratch (2018)

Adaptations

  • Fuji TV "The Great Journey" series (TV)
  • Documentary film "Making Curry Rice From Scratch" (2016, dir. Aki Maeda)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
travelogue narrationanthropological observationnonfiction grounded in local life
Recurring Motifs
journeyhuman origins and migrationindigenous knowledgecoexistence with nature

Legacy

Through long-term field research and the TV series "The Great Journey," he broadened public understanding of human migrations and local lifeways. He has also promoted public education through exhibitions (e.g., special exhibition at the National Museum of Nature and Science) and lectures.

Museums

  • National Museum of Nature and Science (Special Exhibition "The Great Journey: The Journey of Humankind") Ueno, Tokyo, Japan Opened in 2013

In Popular Culture

  • The "Great Journey" series broadcast on Fuji TV
  • Subject of the documentary film "Making Curry Rice From Scratch"

Trivia

  • Founded an expedition club while at Hitotsubashi University.
  • Has a medical license and continued explorations while working as a surgeon.