Daniel White (University College London) gives a lecture on “Follow the Joy! The Pleasures of Circular Care among Natural Farmers in Contemporary Japan”, as part of the Kyoto Lectures, organised by the EFEO, ISEAS and the Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University.
This hybrid lecture will be held on site and via Zoom (meeting ID: 820 7088 9460).
In an evocative story of awakening in the 1930s, researcher Fukuoka Masanobu described the joy of seeing “true nature,” whereupon he quit his job and returned to his family farm to put his realization into practice. Today, young professionals opting out of consumer lifestyles follow natural farming methods inspired by Fukuoka and others to rediscover what they imagine as natural cycles (junkan) of human-nature care. Based on fieldwork among new farmers in Kyoto, this lecture explores joy as a method for restoring human-nature flourishing in times of socio-ecological crisis.
Daniel White is a research fellow in anthropology at University College London. He researches emotion, artificial intelligence, and the effects of technological development on human-environmental health in Japan and the Asia-Pacific. His books include Administering Affect (2022), Affect as Cultural Critique (2026), and the forthcoming Modeling Emotion.
Monday November 09 2026
At 6pm (Japan) or 10 am (France)
EFEO Centre in Kyoto
Kitashirakawa bettō-chō 29, Sakyō-ku
606-8276 Kyōto Japon
〒606-8276 京都市左京区北白川別当町29