Human-Animal Interaction in Post-Tsunami Japan

This paper explores the interaction between humans and their companion animals after the large tsunami which hit the northeast coast of Japan on 11 March 2011. Interviews, observation and fieldwork were used to assemble ethnographic accounts for 35 owners of companion animals who were assigned to t...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Hazuki Kajiwara
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Humanimalia 2016-03-01
Series:Humanimalia
Online Access:https://humanimalia.org/article/view/9667
_version_ 1797657375022252032
author Hazuki Kajiwara
author_facet Hazuki Kajiwara
author_sort Hazuki Kajiwara
collection DOAJ
description This paper explores the interaction between humans and their companion animals after the large tsunami which hit the northeast coast of Japan on 11 March 2011. Interviews, observation and fieldwork were used to assemble ethnographic accounts for 35 owners of companion animals who were assigned to temporary housing complexes where they are still living. A notion of “companion animal first” could be detected in the data.  This way of thinking might be defined as an ethical stance whereby the companion animal is given a very high value or net worth. Since there are few studies on companion animal in Japan at times when large-scale natural disasters occur, this research may contribute to the small but growing amount of qualitative research on human-animal relationships and interaction during and after disasters in an Asian country, thereby adding a sense of urgency to the need for comparative research in this important sphere of social life in most societies.
first_indexed 2024-03-11T17:43:35Z
format Article
id doaj.art-2895455c274445ffac0bc49b94ca9198
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2151-8645
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-11T17:43:35Z
publishDate 2016-03-01
publisher Humanimalia
record_format Article
series Humanimalia
spelling doaj.art-2895455c274445ffac0bc49b94ca91982023-10-18T08:40:03ZengHumanimaliaHumanimalia2151-86452016-03-017210.52537/humanimalia.9667Human-Animal Interaction in Post-Tsunami JapanHazuki Kajiwara0Rikkyo University This paper explores the interaction between humans and their companion animals after the large tsunami which hit the northeast coast of Japan on 11 March 2011. Interviews, observation and fieldwork were used to assemble ethnographic accounts for 35 owners of companion animals who were assigned to temporary housing complexes where they are still living. A notion of “companion animal first” could be detected in the data.  This way of thinking might be defined as an ethical stance whereby the companion animal is given a very high value or net worth. Since there are few studies on companion animal in Japan at times when large-scale natural disasters occur, this research may contribute to the small but growing amount of qualitative research on human-animal relationships and interaction during and after disasters in an Asian country, thereby adding a sense of urgency to the need for comparative research in this important sphere of social life in most societies. https://humanimalia.org/article/view/9667
spellingShingle Hazuki Kajiwara
Human-Animal Interaction in Post-Tsunami Japan
Humanimalia
title Human-Animal Interaction in Post-Tsunami Japan
title_full Human-Animal Interaction in Post-Tsunami Japan
title_fullStr Human-Animal Interaction in Post-Tsunami Japan
title_full_unstemmed Human-Animal Interaction in Post-Tsunami Japan
title_short Human-Animal Interaction in Post-Tsunami Japan
title_sort human animal interaction in post tsunami japan
url https://humanimalia.org/article/view/9667
work_keys_str_mv AT hazukikajiwara humananimalinteractioninposttsunamijapan