Changes

* ''Japanese'': 柳田 國男 ''(Yanagita Kunio)''

* ''Japanese'': 柳田 國男 ''(Yanagita Kunio)''

'''Yanagita Kunio'''' was a scholar best known for his works in the fields of ethnology and folklore studies.  He is often said to have been the founder of both of these fields within Japan, but others long before him had contributed to each, most notably Inoue Enryô and Minakata Kumagusu.  His first and most well known work was ''Tôno monogatari'', a collection of folktales from the village of Tôno in [[Iwate Prefecture|Iwate]].   

[[Image:Yanagita_Kunio.jpg|thumb|209px|Yanagita Kunio]]'''Yanagita Kunio'''' was a scholar best known for his works in the fields of ethnology and folklore studies.  He is often said to have been the founder of both of these fields within Japan, but others long before him had contributed to each, most notably Inoue Enryô and Minakata Kumagusu.  His first and most well known work was ''Tôno monogatari'', a collection of folktales from the village of Tôno in [[Iwate Prefecture|Iwate]].   

==Before Folk Studies==

==Before Folk Studies==

==Minzokugaku==

==Minzokugaku==

While Yanagita was not the first to study folk tales and beliefs, his work reshaped the approach to the field that largely still exists today.  He believed that folklore and ethnology (民俗学 and 民族学, both ''minzokugaku'') were interesting and worthy of study in and of themselves, rather than for the purposes of their eradication or of their dissection for use in other fields such as psychology.  His views dictated that by studying the strange, mysterious and fantastic elements of folklore, one could better understand the mindset and character of the everyday Japanese person of antiquity (and, presumably, of today); or in his own words, "the feelings of ordinary people in the past [''mukashi no bonjin no kokoromochi'']".  (Figal 113)  In the course of his studies, he coined the word ''jômin'' (常民, "continuing man") to describe the sort of common folk that were the object of his interest.  He felt that history in general was too concerned with broad strokes and trends -- "the ruling class and a number of heroes" -- , and not enough with the ordinary people.  He also believed that the imagination of the Japanese folk was unrivaled in the world.  (Mori 91)  Modern folklorists believe that some of his views were flawed for various reasons, such as his assumption that there was an unchanging, universal character common to all Japanese in all regions and all times.  Further criticism of Yanagita’s work stems from the suggestion that his ideas were merely subjective responses to the material he had studied.  Regardless, Yanagita was the first to see such cultural value in the field of folk studies, and the present form of the field owes its current shape to his work.   

[[Image:Tabi_to_densetsu.jpg|thumb|110px|An issue of ''Tabi to densetsu'', "Travels and Legends".]]While Yanagita was not the first to study folk tales and beliefs, his work reshaped the approach to the field that largely still exists today.  He believed that folklore and ethnology (民俗学 and 民族学, both ''minzokugaku'') were interesting and worthy of study in and of themselves, rather than for the purposes of their eradication or of their dissection for use in other fields such as psychology.  His views dictated that by studying the strange, mysterious and fantastic elements of folklore, one could better understand the mindset and character of the everyday Japanese person of antiquity (and, presumably, of today); or in his own words, "the feelings of ordinary people in the past [''mukashi no bonjin no kokoromochi'']".  (Figal 113)  In the course of his studies, he coined the word ''jômin'' (常民, "continuing man") to describe the sort of common folk that were the object of his interest.  He felt that history in general was too concerned with broad strokes and trends -- "the ruling class and a number of heroes" -- , and not enough with the ordinary people.  He also believed that the imagination of the Japanese folk was unrivaled in the world.  (Mori 91)  Modern folklorists believe that some of his views were flawed for various reasons, such as his assumption that there was an unchanging, universal character common to all Japanese in all regions and all times.  Further criticism of Yanagita’s work stems from the suggestion that his ideas were merely subjective responses to the material he had studied.  Regardless, Yanagita was the first to see such cultural value in the field of folk studies, and the present form of the field owes its current shape to his work.   

The main importance of folk studies to Yanagita was uncovering the history of Japanese faith (Mori 93).  The means for him and his followers toward investigating these and other matters of folk belief were not through examination of historical documents and texts, but through firsthand collection of folktales and descriptions of customs and beliefs as told to him and others orally.   

The main importance of folk studies to Yanagita was uncovering the history of Japanese faith (Mori 93).  The means for him and his followers toward investigating these and other matters of folk belief were not through examination of historical documents and texts, but through firsthand collection of folktales and descriptions of customs and beliefs as told to him and others orally.