Ogata-Mura

Donald C. Wood is an Associate Professor at Akita University, where he has worked since earning a PhD in cultural anthropology at the University of Tokyo in 2004. He is currently editor of the Research in Economic Anthropology book series.

"In his densely detailed, long-term study of Ogata-mura, Wood has taken us a lifetime away from the first studies of Japanese villages carried out by foreigners in the 1930s and 1950s… Wood presents an excellent analysis of the conflict between the view held by some residents that farming is a way of life and the conviction by others that it is a business like any other. The authorities have proved remarkably tone-deaf to the implications of this contrast, not only in Ogata-mura, but on the national level as well. Wood is able to provide a degree of detail that most ethnographers would envy.”  ·  Asian Anthropology“This is a very interesting text written about a very important subject.  The ‘saga’ of Ogata-mura speaks to a number of issues (agriculture, rural development, centralized bureaucratic planning, ecological impact and other such areas) that are very important for modern Japan and, by extension, many other societies.”  ·  John Mock, Temple University Japan

• PrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: The Village and the IssuesPutting Ogata-mura under the LensProblems – Community Planning, Transition Economy, and ConflictChapter 1. Agricultural Policy and Regional Politics in JapanAgricultural and Regional PolicyCarrots from HeavenAgricultural Policy and Regional Politics – ReflectionsChapter 2. Reclamation and the Old Social OrderHachirōgata Before the ReclamationThe ReclamationSettlementLoneliness, Depression and TensionsThe Cooperative GroupsSocial Organization Beyond the Group LevelThe End of the Settlement PhaseUtopia Lost?Chapter 3. The Storm and the AftermathDark Clouds on the HorizonThe DelugeWhy did the Clouds Burst?The Beautification Campaign AcceleratesBig Plans and High HopesThe Sociopolitical Costs of Cosmetic SurgeryChapter 4. Rice: Alliances, Institutions, FrictionsRice Marketing in the VillageBusiness and Politics in an Ogata-mura NeighborhoodRice Farming and Business IntertwinedChapter 5. Politics and the New Social OrderThe Interplay of Opposing “Parties”The Election of 2000Developments Following the Election of 2000The Election of 2004A Fracture Forms in the Opposition PartyThe Election of 2008The Changing Political LandscapeChapter 6. What Can We Learn from Ogata-mura?Plans, Policies, and Politics – The Big PicturePlans, Policies, and Politics – The Small PictureA Model Farming Village?BibliographyIndex