※開催日が10月26日（日）に変更となりました。

[Date] October 26, 2025, 11:00～17:00

[日時] 10月26日（日）11:00～17:00

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

[会場]国立民族学博物館　第四セミナー室

[Language] English

[言語] 英語（通訳なし）

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

[対象] どなたでもご参加いただけます（事前登録不要）

*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.

※本研究会にご参加の方は万博記念公園各ゲート有人窓口で、みんぱくへ行くことをお申し出いただき、通行証をお受け取りください。

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

［主催］ NIHUグローバル地域研究事業・東ユーラシアプロジェクト・みんぱく拠点 

［Contact／問い合わせ］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］

”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.

［趣旨］

グレゴリー・デラプラス、島村一平

いまや人類学者たちが強調するのは、西洋における、そしてそれを越えたモダニティの精神が、不可視の存在や力に満ちており、じつのところ19世紀の学者や（自称「近代の呪術師」を含む）公的知識人が「合理性」の領域から排除するために理論化した「呪術的思考」にきわめて透過的である、という点である（Meyer et Pels 2003; Jones 2017）。

世界は脱呪術化されたどころか、むしろ技術によってますます深く魅了され続けてきたのであり（Gell 1992; Nova 2024）、近年では人工知能の登場によってこの技術のもたらす魅了は新たな段階に入った。AIはもはや単なる道具ではなく、召使いや同僚、倫理的助言者、あるいは「想像上の友人」とも言える存在として、私たちの活動の隅々に浸透している。一方で、環境破壊が進むことで、私たちが生きる世界はどこか幽霊が取り憑いたような気配を帯びている（Tsing et al. 2017; Morimoto 2023）。そこには戦争の幽霊（Kwon 2008）や記憶の幽霊（Carsten 2008）が、パレスチナやウクライナでの侵攻や植民地状況からより直接的に立ち現れる危うさもある。

社会文化人類学は、人間世界における不可視の諸存在の移ろいに関して何か言えるはずである。というのも、人類学はその成立以来、世界中の「宗教」「文化」「コスモロジー」「オントロジー」を構成する多様な存在たちに関心を寄せてきたからである。しかし、日々その環境を生きる者たちが知覚する不可視の要素（Ingold 2013）、あるいは視点の転換によって明らかになるもの（Viveiros de Castro 2014）を、災厄の後に増殖する不可視の存在とどのように調停すればよいのか。知覚（あるいは単なる視覚）から一時的にでも逸脱した瞬間、あらゆる事物や存在が不可視になるというばかげたほど多様な可能性を、どのように秩序づければよいのか（Trower 2012）。さらに、社会制度としての「国民」すら、呪術に類する「不可視」として構想できるかもしれない。一度想像されたそれは、ヘイトスピーチや深い愛着といった現象に現実的な形で顕れるのである（Shimamura 2013）。もし人類学が、人間の変わりゆく生活と不可視の世界について語る挑戦を引き受け続けたいならば、人類学者はまず、この語で自分たちが何を意味するのかを明らかにする必要があるだろう（Delaplace 2022）。

本研究集会は、「不可視とは何か」を再考するためのささやかな呼びかけである。東ユーラシアというマクロ地域を基盤としつつ、この問題についての異文化的な視点を奨励し、さまざまな地域を専門とする研究者に対し、自らのフィールドで不可視のものに民族誌的にどのようにアプローチできるか、あるいはその土地で意味をもつために不可視を人類学的にどう定義すべきかについて議論していただきたい。不可視の人類学について協働的に思考することで、私たちはこの世界の理解に対して人類学が期待される固有の貢献をよりよく把握したいと考える。

ここで議論に付したい基本的な提案のひとつは、不可視とは知覚を逃れるというよりも、文化的に定義された、したがって偶有的な住まい方のあり方を超えることである、というものである。この視点からすると、不可視の出現とは、世界が社会につまずくとき、力が確立された権力構造をあふれ出すとき、存在が自らのオントロジーから逸脱するときに起こる出来事である。こうした不可視のあふれ出しが、さまざまな歴史的状況で経験される仕方の多様性は、どの程度まで根本的な人間経験を指し示し、人間が自ら十分には理解できない存在や次元と関係を結ぶ特有の能力を示すのだろうか。要するに本会議は、人間が自らが構築した社会的・文化的な枠組みを超えて世界の諸側面や諸次元に影響されるあり方を、民族誌的に考察する試みである。

この研究集会は、2022年から人間文化研究機構（NIHU）の「グローバル地域研究事業」の「東ユーラシア研究」プロジェクトの一環として開催される。「東ユーラシア」は、中国とロシア、そしてモンゴルや朝鮮半島などの隣接地域を含む広域的な概念である。私たちは、ロシアによるウクライナ侵攻が地政学的な構造を変容させ、西ヨーロッパ対東ユーラシアという新たな構造を生み出したと考える。この文脈において、ウクライナは「西ヨーロッパ」側の境界上に位置づけられるようになった。また朝鮮半島も、冷戦時代の単純な東西分断では捉えきれない複雑な様相を呈している。北朝鮮はロシア側につく一方で、韓国には多くのロシア人労働者が働いているからである。 こうした背景のもと、東ユーラシア研究プロジェクトは、中国とロシアという二大国を抱える地域における文化的衝突、ウェルビーイング、そして共生のかたちを探究している。本シンポジウムでは、東ユーラシアに焦点をあてつつ、他地域にも議論を広げることで比較的な視点を取り入れ、「不可視」との関わりのなかで人々がいかにしてウェルビーイングと衝突を生み出しているのかを議論していきたい。