Abstract

“Question common sense” is easier said than done, and not as easy as it sounds. Try to do so while ill-prepared and you will find yourself trapped in outdated ideas of “common sense” without realizing it—the “common sense” of life, of men and women, of companies and jobs, of economies and cultures, of nations… As each undergoes dramatic change, we need superlative tools for breaking from convention.
Cultural anthropology provides just such tools, and this book is an encouraging toolbox providing the reader with a complete set. Rarely have I found a book so useful. Whether you are a businessperson, creator, or student, I recommend keeping this on hand rather than some poorly written how-to book.

Recommended (Kei Wakabayashi, former editor-in-chief, Wired Japan)
“Question common sense” is easier said than done, and not as easy as it sounds. Try to do so while ill-prepared and you will find yourself trapped in outdated ideas of “common sense” without realizing it—the “common sense” of life, of men and women, of companies and jobs, of economies and cultures, of nations… As each undergoes dramatic change, we need superlative tools for breaking from convention.
Cultural anthropology provides just such tools, and this book is an encouraging toolbox providing the reader with a complete set. Rarely have I found a book so useful. Whether you are a businessperson, creator, or student, I recommend keeping this on hand rather than some poorly written how-to book.

Author’s Information

Keiichiro Matsumura
Associate Professor at the Faculty of Letters, Okayama University. His fields of research are Ethiopia and the Middle East. His research themes are property and distribution, and economic anthropology. He is the author of “Anthropology of Property and Distribution” (Sekai Shisosha) and “Anthropology of Guilt” (Misima-sha).

Nakagawa Osamu
Associate Professor, Department of Global Studies, National Museum of Ethnology. Field of study: France. Research interests: Ethnography of markets, states and marginality. Publications include “Ido suru Hitobito: Tayo-sei kara Kangaeru” (Ko-yo Shobo, co-authored)

Miho Ishii
Professor at the Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University. Her fields of research are Tanzania, Ghana and India. Her research themes are religious practice and environmental movements. She is the author of “Seirei-tachi no Frontier” (Seikatsusha) and “Kansai no Jinruigaku” (Kyoto University Press).