Thomas Itsuo Fujishima

The Epistemology of More-Than-Human Resistance: Imaginaries of ‘Life’ Within Ecological Protest in Japan

In what ways do alternative farmers in Japan work with the concept of ‘inochi’ (“life itself”) against the backdrop of ecological crises unfolding worldwide? The ‘ontological turn’ in anthropology has sparked a revaluation of dominant Western epistemology but has largely overlooked East Asian discourses. My study addresses this gap, exploring the Japanese concept of ‘life/inochi’ which represents a relational ontology at the core of ecological resistance. Focusing on hybrid rural production landscapes, it contributes to the growing field of multispecies ethnography and searches, within constellations of more-than-human existences, for political practices and imagination that withstand the impending biospheric collapse.