Australian Aboriginal Studies in Japan, 1892-2006

This article reviews Australian Aboriginal Studies by Japanese scholars over the period from 1892 to 2006. Both literature-based and fieldwork-based studies are reviewed, and transformations in the representations of Aboriginal people are described. Especially following the reorganization of anthropology in Japan after the U.S. occupation, a rich variety of research results concerning Aboriginal people have accumulated through studies by Japanese scholars. Major contributions by Japanese ethnographers to the study of remote, urban and rural Aboriginal communities are introduced. In conclusion, I propose four categories of ethnographic description as a blueprint by which Japanese anthropologists can further cooperate in Australian Aboriginal studies in the future.