[Date] October 25, 2025, 11:00～17:00

[Venue] National Museum of Ethnology (Minpaku), Seminar Room ＃４

[Eligibility] Open to all (no registration required)*

*Participants in this conference should inform staff at any staffed ticket window at the Expo '70 Commemorative Park gates that they are visiting the National Museum of Ethnology (Minpaku) and receive a pass.

Organized by National Institutes for the Humanities (NIHU), “East Eurasian Studies” Project by National Museum of Ethnology

［Contact］royterek@minpaku.ac.jp

［Overview］ by Gregory Delaplace and Ippei Shimamura It has now become commonplace for anthropologists to stress that the spirit of Modernity, in the West and beyond, is suffused with invisible beings and forces, quite permeable actually to the “magical thinking” that 19th century scholars and public figures (not least self-styled “modern magicians”) theorized in order to expel it from the realm of “rationality” (Meyer et Pels 2003; Jones 2017). Far from disenchanting minds and the world, technology has never ceased to enchant it more deeply (Gell 1992; Nova 2024); the enchantment of technology has indeed taken a new turn with the advent of artificial intelligences that pervade all our activities to the point of becoming robotized servants, colleagues, ethical advisors or not-so-imaginary friends. Meanwhile, ecological devastation gives a haunted feel to the world we are left with (Tsing et al. 2017; Morimoto 2023), when ghosts of war (Kwon 2008) or ghosts of memory (Carsten 2008) do not threaten to spring more directly from invasions and colonial situations crushing lives in Palestine and Ukraine.

Social and cultural anthropology may have something to say about the shifting presences of the invisible within human realms, seeing how much it has been concerned since its inception with the variety of beings that make up “religions”, “cultures”, “cosmologies” or “ontologies” throughout the world(s). Yet, how to reconcile invisible components of the environment perceived daily by those who navigate it (Ingold 2013), or that which becomes apparent thanks to perspectival shifts (Viveiros de Castro 2014), with the invisible that proliferate in the wake of catastrophes? How to order the ridiculously multifarious possibilities for any thing or being to become invisible as soon as it escapes (more or less momentarily) perception, or even just sight (Trower 2012)? "Otherwise, we might also conceive of social institutions such as the « nation » as an ‘invisible’ akin to magic. Once imagined, it nevertheless carries a tangible reality, manifesting in phenomena such as hate speech or deep attachment (Shimamura 2013)."

"If anthropology wishes to retain a chance to take up the challenge of speaking to human changing lives with and within the invisible, anthropologists may need to start figuring out what they mean by this term (Delaplace 2022).

This conference is a modest appeal to rethink what the invisible is. Based in the East Eurasia macro-region yet encouraging a cross-cultural perspective on the issue at hand, we invite scholars specialized in various areas to either reflect on how to approach invisible things ethnographically in their field, or to discuss how the invisible should be defined anthropologically in order to be meaningful where they work. Thinking collaboratively about the anthropology of the invisible, we intend to get a better grasp on the specific contribution our discipline may be expected to give to the understanding of the world we dwell in.

One basic proposition we wish to submit for discussion is that the invisible might be less a matter of eluding perception than exceeding culturally defined, and therefore contingent, established ways of dwelling. Apparition of the invisible, in this perspective, has to do with the not so rare occasions when the world stumbles into society, when forces overflow established structures of power, when beings break out from their ontology. To what extent does the diversity of the ways this invisible overrun is experienced in various historical situations point to a fundamental human experience, and a distinctive human ability to strike relations with beings and dimensions they cannot quite or always fully apprehend? With this conference, in a word, we wish to think ethnographically through the ways in which humans may become affected by aspects or dimensions of the world that exceed the social and cultural constructions they set up to navigate it.

”This conference is part of the ‘Eastern Eurasia Studies’ project, which has been conducted since 2022 under the ‘Global Area Studies’ program of the National Institutes for the Humanities (NIHU)." “Eastern Eurasia” refers to a broad regional concept that includes China and Russia, along with neighboring areas such as Mongolia and the Korean Peninsula. We take the view that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has reshaped the geopolitical landscape, creating a new structure of Western Europe versus Eastern Eurasia. In this context, Ukraine can now be seen as lying on the boundary of the “Western Europe” side. The Korean Peninsula also presents a more complex picture than the familiar Cold War–era East–West division: while North Korea aligns itself with Russia, South Korea hosts a significant number of Russian workers, revealing a more nuanced reality.

Against this backdrop, the Eastern Eurasia Research Project explores cultural conflicts, well-being, and forms of coexistence in a region dominated by the two vast states of China and Russia. With this conference, we invite participants to reflect on how people generate both well-being and conflict in relation to the “invisible,” focusing on Eastern Eurasia while also extending the discussion to other regions for a broader, comparative perspective.

〈References〉

Carsten, Janet, éd. 2008. Ghosts of Memory: Essays on Remembrance and Relatedness. Malden (MA): Blackwell Publishing.

Delaplace, Grégory. 2022. « Introduction: L’invisible tel qu’il apparaît ». Ateliers d’anthropologie, no 52 (octobre). https://doi.org/10.4000/ateliers.16779.

Gell, Alfred. 1992. « The technologies of enchantment and the enchantment of technology ». In Anthropology, art and aesthetic, édité par Jeremy Coote et Anthony Shelton, 40‑63. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Ingold, Tim. 2013. Making: anthropology, archaeology, art and architecture. London ; New York: Routledge.

Jones, Graham M. 2017. Magic’s reason: an anthropology of analogy. Chicago ; London: The University of Chicago Press.

Kwon, Heonik. 2008. Ghosts of War in Vietnam. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Meyer, Birgit, et Peter Pels, éd. 2003. Magic and modernity: interfaces of revelation and concealment. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press.

Morimoto, Ryo. 2023. Nuclear ghost. Atomic livelihoods in Fukushima’s gray zone. Oakland, California: University of California Press.

Nova, Nicolas. 2024. Persistance du Merveilleux. Québec: PREMIER PARALLèLE.

Trower, Shelley. 2012. Senses of vibration: a history of the pleasure and pain of sound. New York: Continuum.

Tsing, Anna Lowenhaupt, Heather Swanson, Elaine Gan, et Nils Bubandt, éd. 2017. Arts of living on a damaged planet. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Viveiros de Castro, Eduardo. 2014. Cannibal Metaphysics. Traduit par Peter Skafish. Univocal. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Shimamura, Ippei,2014, The Roots Seekers: Shamanism and Ethnicity among the Mongol-Buryats. Shumpusha Publishing: Yokohama.

［Program］

11:00-11:20 Opening Remark

Gregory Delaplace (EPHE, France)

(25 minutes for presentation 10 minutes for Q and A )

11:20-12:00 "Ukrainian Popular Culture and Mythical Motifs during the War against Russia"

Mitsuharu Akao (MINPAKU)

12:00-12:40 "Martyrs Are Alive: The Social Inclusion of the Dead in Contemporary Iran"

Kenji Kuroda (MINPAKU)

12:40-13:40 Lunch Time

13:40-14:20 "Evil to whom? Transition in Practice of 'Witchcraft' among Lugbara of Contemporary north-western Uganda"

Nobuko Yamazaki (MINPAKU)

14:20-14:40 Coffee Break

14:40-15:20 "Specters of Change: Ghost Stories and the Dilemmas of Modern Mongolia"

Ippei Shimamura (MINPAKU)

15:20-16:00 "Invisible Authority and Denunciation in the Practice of Contemporary Mongolia: from Religious Ritual to Political Protest"

Alevtina Solovyeva (University of Tartu, Estonia)

16:00-16:40 Discussion

Chair: Gregory Delaplace

16:40- 17:00 Closing Remark

Ippei Shimamura

［Abstract of Paper］

Ukrainian Popular Culture and Mythical Motifs during the War against Russia

Mitsuharu Akao (MINPAKU)

After Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukrainian socio-cyberspace experienced a revival of popular culture of resistance. Mythical figures like the “Ghost of Kyiv” and the “Holy Javelin,” along with Cossack resistance songs and independence-era anthems, resurfaced. Folkloric motifs—such as goddesses devouring enemies and witches’ curses—were also reactivated to boost morale and reshape Ukraine’s global image. While this hero-centric culture reinforced resistance and helped cope with loss, it also sidelined mourning rituals for fallen soldiers and civilians.

This paper first surveys the major trends in mythical motifs within the popular culture that flourished during wartime Ukraine. Using the songs of Stasik, a veteran of the Donbas War, as a reference point, it then examines how, within a discourse space saturated with legends and myths aimed at boosting morale, the trauma of wounded soldiers and the tragic circumstances of the fallen—often rendered invisible and silenced—are addressed, and explores how such trauma and loss might be acknowledged, consoled, and mourned.

”Martyrs Are Alive: The Social Inclusion of the Dead in Contemporary Iran”

Kenji Kuroda

In the aftermath of the revolution in 1979, the new Iranian state adopted the Islamic Republic system based on a Shi'a Islamic political theory. Under this regime, which advocated political and social governance aligned with Islamic principles, Islamic discourse assumed a significant role in various contexts. For instance, the deaths of citizens who were sacrificed for nation-building and governance were interpreted as falling on the path of Islam, thus being regarded as martyrdom. The Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) resulted in over 200,000 war casualties, leading to a significant increase in the number of martyrs. Concurrently, a variety of narratives concerning martyrs emerged, encompassing accounts of their apparition before bereaved families as part of miraculous tales.

This paper explores such narratives function not only to reinforce the regime's ideology but also as a practice for bereaved families to express their affection for the deceased and socially incorporate death by examining both fieldwork and literature.

"Specters of Change: Ghost Stories and the Dilemmas of Modern Mongolia"

Ippei Shimamura

This study explores how Mongolian people generate ghost narratives through their lived social experiences. Ghosts emerge within specific social contexts while simultaneously constituting social contexts in their own right. Ghost stories, common across cultures, serve as moral lessons, explanations of inequality, or expressions of fear. In Mongolia, unlike in Japan, Korea, or China, ghost lore remains under-researched. Using published collections from Ulaanbaatar, the author analyzes four representative tales. Each story presents a binary opposition—urban vs. rural, Khalkha vs. Oirat, men vs. women, capitalist winners vs. losers—whose hierarchy is inverted through ghostly intervention. These reversals express anxieties about democratization, privatization, ethnic conflict, gender roles, and late marriage. Ghosts act as narrative tools that punish greed, selfishness, or betrayal, while giving voice to the frustrations of disadvantaged groups. The tales also encode pastoral values, particularly the contrast between mobility (freedom, virtue) and immobility (constraint, vice). Thus, Mongolian ghost stories metaphorically highlight contradictions in modern society and function as cultural admonitions for building a better social order.

"Invisible Authority and Denunciation in the Practice of Contemporary Mongolia: From Religious Ritual to Political Protest"

Alevtina Solovyeva

In the Mongolian cultural environment, denunciation as a ritual practice has a long history and is popular today in both traditional and modified forms. The practice is based on traditional beliefs about the unity of the landscape, people and divine patrons, and the connections, relationships and responsibilities between them. Harmful and disrespectful acts against the members of this unity (nature, people or spirits) provoke the anger and revenge of the divine patrons. Revenge can take the form of various calamities and misfortunes, affecting individuals as well as the whole community. The tradition of directing, concentrating and, in some cases, redirecting the revenge of the sacred patrons on particular agents of responsibility is reflected in various ritual practices performed by specialists (lamas and shamans) and ordinary people. Today, this tradition is actively evolving, involving new situations and actors, in broad social, political and international contexts.

This paper discusses emic terms, characters and practices related to Mongolian cosmology and ritual denunciation in earlier historical and contemporary conditions. It pays particular attention to the current popular applications of this practice in political and social protests, including recent and ongoing events, local and foreign officials, politicians and businessmen, and figures of public disgrace. The paper will show and discuss how and why the activities of these figures are often exposed to (and opposed by) the authority of divine patrons. 

"Ukrainian Popular Culture and Mythical Motifs during the War against Russia"

Mitsuharu Akao (MINPAKU)

After Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukrainian social and cyberspace experienced a revival of popular culture of resistance. Mythical figures like the “Ghost of Kyiv” and the “Holy Javelin,” along with Cossack resistance songs and independence-era anthems, resurfaced. Folkloric motifs—such as goddesses devouring enemies and witches’ curses—were also reactivated to boost morale and reshape Ukraine’s global image. While this hero-centric culture reinforced resistance and helped cope with loss, it also sidelined mourning rituals for fallen soldiers and civilians.

This paper first surveys the major trends in mythical motifs within the popular culture that flourished during wartime Ukraine. Using the songs of Stasik, a veteran of the Donbas War, as a reference point, it then examines how, within a discourse space saturated with legends and myths aimed at boosting morale, the trauma of wounded soldiers and the tragic circumstances of the fallen—often rendered invisible and silenced—are addressed, and explores how such trauma and loss might be acknowledged, consoled, and mourned.