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Yang Haiying

よう かいえい

Yo Kaiei

Aliases: 大野 旭（おおの あきら） / オーノス・チョクト / Оонос Цогт / オーノス・ツォクト / Oghonos Chogtu
Pen Names: Yang Haiying（Pen name used in Chinese-language publications）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1964-09-15 （Ordos, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China）
Nationality
China, Japan
Languages
Mongolian, Chinese, Japanese, English
Residence History
Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China → Beijing, China → Beppu, Japan (research stay) → Shizuoka, Japan (Shizuoka University) → Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia → Russian Federation (research stays) → Kazakhstan & Uzbekistan (research)

Career

Occupations
Cultural anthropologist, Historical anthropologist, University professor, Researcher, Author
Active Years
1989-
Affiliations
Shizuoka University, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Chukyo Women's University (former), National Museum of Ethnology (collaborator)
Memberships
World Mongol People's Federation (Chairperson), The Japan Society of Cultural Anthropology (member)
Influenced By
Tadao Umesao, Takaaki Sasaki, Masaki Matsubara, Naomichi Ishige, Akitoshi Shimizu, Masaaki Sugiyama, Eihiro Okada

Education

Beijing Second Foreign Language University
Faculty of Asian and African Languages / Japanese Language Department
Degree: 学士
Country: China
Admitted and graduated from the Japanese language department with excellent results as an ethnic minority
The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)
Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences / Cultural Anthropology
Degree: 文学博士
Country: Japan
Graduate research in cultural anthropology; awarded Doctor of Literature (year unknown)
Beppu University (research student)
Period: 1989（研究生）
Country: Japan
Research stay in Japan during 1989 visit

Awards

Shiba Ryotaro Prize (14th)
2010
Work: Graves Without Headstones: Records of the Cultural Revolution and Massacres in Inner Mongolia
Organization: Shiba Ryotaro Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Daido Life Area Studies Encouragement Award
2015
Organization: Daido Life International Cultural Foundation
Result: 受賞
Kashiyama Junzo Prize
2015
Work: Swords Dancing in Tibet: The Modern History of Mongolian Cavalry
Organization: Kashiyama Junzo Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Japan Research Award (3rd) — The Japan Institute for National Fundamentals
2016
Work: Japan's Army and Mongolia: The Unknown Battles of the Kōan Military Academy; and Swords Dancing in Tibet: The Modern History of Mongolian Cavalry
Organization: The Japan Institute for National Fundamentals
Result: 受賞
Seiron Shinpu Award (Seiron Grand Prize series)
2018
Organization: Sankei Shimbun 'Seiron' editorial
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Graves Without Headstones: Records of the Cultural Revolution and Massacres in Inner Mongolia

2009 Non-fiction / History / Anthropology

A documentation and study of purges and massacres in Inner Mongolia during the Cultural Revolution, based on primary sources, victim testimonies and extensive fieldwork. It compiles victim reports and perpetrators' records to present a regional history.

Cultural RevolutionGenocideEthnic issuesMemory and trauma
Adaptations
  • [Manga] Genocide on the Mongolian Steppe (manga adaptation) / 清水ともみ (2022)
  • [Manga (English edition)] GENOCIDE ON THE MONGOLIAN STEPPE (English edition) / 清水ともみ / English edition (2023)
Translations
  • Chinese translation
  • English translation
  • Mongolian translation
  • Russian translation

Swords Dancing in Tibet: The Modern History of Mongolian Cavalry

2014 Non-fiction / Military history / Modern history

Examines the modern history of Mongolian cavalry and their connections with Tibet and Central Asia, combining military history and ethnic history through documentary research.

Mongolian cavalryModern historyJapan–Mongolia relationsInterregional exchange
Translations
  • Reissued editions (e.g. paperback retitled editions)

Writers of the Mongolian Steppe: Ethnography Told by Manuscripts

2005 Ethnography / Anthropology

An ethnographic work based on manuscript collections from the Ordos region, portraying literati and manuscript culture of the steppe and their relation to history and ethnic consciousness.

Manuscript sourcesSteppe cultureEthnic consciousness

The Mongol Empire: Steppe Dynamism and Women

2024 History / Popular history

Reconstructs the social dynamics of the Mongol Empire, focusing on women's roles and steppe societal mechanisms, aimed at a general readership.

Mongol EmpireGender historySteppe society

Bibliography

  • Graves Without Headstones: Records of the Cultural Revolution and Massacres in Inner Mongolia (2009)
  • Continued: Graves Without Headstones (2011)
  • Writers of the Mongolian Steppe: Ethnography Told by Manuscripts (2005)
  • Swords Dancing in Tibet: The Modern History of Mongolian Cavalry (2014)
  • Mongolia and an Islamic China: A Historical-Anthropological Travelogue (2007)
  • Mongolia as a Colony: Chinese Official Nationalism and Revolutionary Thought (2013)
  • The Mongol Empire: Steppe Dynamism and Women (2024)

Adaptations

  • Graves Without Headstones (manga adaptation: Tomomi Shimizu, 2022)
  • GENOCIDE ON THE MONGOLIAN STEPPE (English comic edition, 2023)

Translations by Author

  • A Mongolian Version of the Old Testament from Ordos (editor), 2023

Translations of Works

  • Graves Without Headstones has been translated into Chinese, English, Mongolian and Russian

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Fieldwork-drivenPrimary-source criticalPublic-facing, polemical essays and commentary
Recurring Motifs
Ethnicity and identityGenocide and mass violenceNomadism vs. sedentarizationMemory and erasure of history

Legacy

A prominent scholar who conducted extensive documentation and analysis of massacres and ethnic issues in Inner Mongolia during the Cultural Revolution. His works have influenced both academia and the public, have been translated into multiple languages, and he has contributed to archival publication and preservation through edited source series.

Museums

  • National Museum of Ethnology (collections / collaborator) Suita, Osaka Prefecture (Expo '70 Commemorative Park)
  • Ordos City Archives (manuscript holdings) Ordos, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China

Academic Societies

  • The Japan Society of Cultural Anthropology
  • International Society for the Study of the Culture and Economy of the Ordos Mongols (OMS e. V.)

Archives

  • Shizuoka University research archives / faculty database
  • Collections of the National Museum of Ethnology
  • Manuscript holdings at Ordos City Archives

In Popular Culture

  • Manga adaptation of Graves Without Headstones (art by Tomomi Shimizu)
  • English comic edition 'GENOCIDE ON THE MONGOLIAN STEPPE'

Quotes

  • Mongolia is facing its greatest historical crisis. It is a question of whether Mongols will survive as Mongols or be assimilated and disappear into China. We will stand with compatriots around the world to fight for the dignity and future of Mongol people.
    Source: Comment at the founding of the World Mongol People's Federation (regarding petition activity) (2020)
  • Every night my mother came back from the (forced) political assemblies and would tell me 'Today so-and-so died.' People around us kept dying. It was terrifying.
    Source: Interview in Weekly Bunshun (2025)

Trivia

  • Birth name (Mongolian): Oghonos Chogtu (also written Oonos Chogt / Оонос Цогт).
  • Naturalized Japanese citizen in 2000; registered Japanese name: Ohno Akira.
  • Graves Without Headstones has been translated into Chinese, English, Mongolian and Russian.
  • Led a petition in 2020 to preserve Mongolian-language education, collecting 3,641 signatures.
  • Graves Without Headstones was adapted into a manga and an English comic edition.
  • Edited a multi-volume series of Cultural Revolution source materials related to Inner Mongolia.