An Abstract of the Thesis Of

An Abstract of The Thesis of Hideki Yoshikawa for the degree of Maget_ofligs_ in Applied Anthropology presented on October 11. 1996. Title: Living with a Military Base: A Study of the Relationship between a US Military Base and Kin Town, Okinawa. Japan. Abstract approved: /24_41 Nancy R. Rosenberger This thesis is an exploratory and descriptive study of the relationship between a US military base and Kin Town, Okinawa, Japan, presented in the form of ethnography. Guided by James Scott's theory of "weapons of the weak," it explores the relationship between the two in terms of how the townspeople deal with the hegemony of the military base in the context of their daily life. Especially, it attempts to examine whether the townspeople's strategies to live with the base can challenge the hegemonic claim that the base exists to help create peace in the world. This thesis first describes the historical process in which a complex relationship between the two has emerged. Focusing on three important characteristics of pre-war Kin, close knit communal membership, "the home of emigrant pioneers," and communal land management, it illustrates how Kin has changed and/or has not changed in relation to the construction of a military base in the town. Secondly, this thesis describes how the townspeople perceive the base and their relationship with the base. Pointing out that the base is never perceived by the townspeople as a mere military institution, it shows that the base is perceived as both "the root cause of problems" and the most important fmancial resource with imposing international power. It argues that this paradoxical situation has created many dilemmas in the town, including the townspeople's ambivalent view regarding the hegemonic claim.Thirdly, this thesis shows that, with such perceptions of the base, the townspeople have developed various strategies to live with the base. Non-native Kin bar owners have developed the "American Bar System" and practice the hiring of Filipino women to interact with military personnel. Native Kin people employ the strategies of disassociation from the base and "independent" protests to live with the base. In addition, this thesis also examines native Kin people's "money redistributing system" and their reconstruction of the town as "the home of emigrant pioneers" in the framework of strategies to live with the base. It argues, however, that while these strategies enable the townspeople to live with the base, they cannot challenge the hegemony of the base and its hegemonic claim. Finally, this thesis shows how the history of the relationship, the townspeople's perceptions of the base, and their strategies to live with the base are related to each other. It also presents a scenario of how the townspeople can challenge the hegemony of the base and its hegemonic claim by expanding James Scott's theory and the townspeople's present strategies. The scenario is then translated into specific recommendations for the town. Living with a Military Base: A Study of the Relationship between a US military base and Kin Town, Okinawa, Japan by Hideki Yoshikawa A Thesis Submitted to Oregon State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Presented October 11, 1996 Commencement June 1997 Master of Arts thesis of Hideki Yoshikawa presented on October 11. 1996 APPROVED: Major Profesr representing ApplieAnthropology Chair ofDepaidnientof Anthro Dean of GraduatelSchool I understand that my thesis will become part of the permanent collection of Oregon State University libraries. My signature below authorizes release of my thesis to any reader upon request. AA/7/\, 7d'idekiYoshikawa Acknowledgments There are many people to whom I would like to express my appreciation. Without their support and input, this thesis would not have been completed. I would like to first thank Dr. Nancy Rosenberger, my major professor. It is Dr. Rosenberger who helped me to start my graduate career at Oregon State University, and pursue the topic of this thesis. She has been extremely supportive and patient throughout my slow but fulfilling graduate career at Oregon State University. Her scholarship and willingness to help students as both an anthropologist and a teacher have been inspirational. Several other professors and instructors at Oregon State University have also contributed enormously to my graduate career and my thesis. I would like to thank them as well. Dr. John Young introduced me to the field of applied anthropology. He has taught me how important it is for an anthropologist to go beyond the academic, and use his or her knowledge of anthropology to help contribute to the communities he or she studies. His firm stance on the applied dimension of anthropology in may ways has shaped not only my thesis but also the way I approach anthropology. Dr. Rebecca Warner, my minor professor, has also been inspirational and supportive in providing me with important sociological views. It was in her class on gender and development that I began to realize the importance of incorporating gendered views of military bases. In fact, my focus on bar women in the thesis was a result of taking her class. Dr. Court Smith has also provided important anthropological knowledge. It was his class on natural resource management that has led me to realize the important relationship between communal identities and land. As a result, I was able to purse the very complex and difficult subject of the money redistribution system in Kin Town. Dr. Kevin Lanning was willing to accept my request to be on my thesis committee as my graduate council representative. He has shown great interest in my research and has provided me with additional support and incentive to finish my thesis. Dianne Hart, my former graduate council representative, has also been very supportive not only for my thesis but for my graduate career. There are many other people and organizations who have provided me with important support and input during my fieldwork in Kin and my writing of the thesis. I would like to thank them as well. Kin Town Office accepted me as an intern and researcher and allowed me to study the town's relationship with the US base. Despite the difficulties and complications of their relationship with the base, the town office was open to my study, providing access to public documents and interviews as much as possible. Especially instrumental were former Mayor Kikuo Nakama and Sectional Chief of Development and Planning Yohimasa Matsuda. Without them, I could not have even began my research in the town. The main portion of this thesis is based upon interviews with my informants. Although I cannot name my informants, their willingness to share with me their life experiences and creative strategies to live with the base is truly appreciated. Indeed, I have learned a great deal from them. Dr. Kiyoshi Nakachi, a Kin native, has also provided me with his views and insights on the relationship between the town and the base. Professor Masaaki Aniya introduced me the important aspect of the town as the "home of emigrant pioneers." Liz Stigger has also provided tremendous emotional and technical support in finishing this thesis. I really hope that my thesis can give something back to the people who have helped me finish this thesis. Thank you to all of them. Table of Contents page Introduction 1 Meeting the Town 1 Four Approaches to the Ethnography 4 Literature Review: In Search of Perspectives 8 The Relationships between US bases Overseas and Their "host" Communities 8 Studies with Perspectives from Above 9 Studies with Perspectives from Below 13 Studies with Deconstruction Perspectives 17 Studies on Strategies of the Powerless in Unequal Power Relationships 20 Summary of Literature Review 25 Methods, Data, and Limitations 27 Ethnographic Methods and Ethnographic Data 27 Non-Ethnographic Data 29 Limitations of the Methods and Data: Partiality of the Ethnography 30 Cultural History of the Relationship 34 Pre-War Kin: Rural Community with a Proud History 34 World War II and Post-War Kin 40 Construction of A Military Base in the Village 41 "Taking Over of Land" 45 The Base Economy 49 Toward the Reversion of Okinawa and After the Reversion 54 Interpretive Summary and Discussion 56 Perceptions of the Base and the Relationship in the Post Cold War Era 60 The Base as a Military Institution with International Power 61 The Base as "the Root Cause of Problems" 67 The Base as the Most Important Financial Resource: The Dilemma 75 More Dilemmas: Kin Town in the Context of Okinawa 78 Interpretive Summary and Discussion 81 Table of Contents (Continued) Page Kin Town as a "Base Town": Everyday Strategies of Living with the Base 84 Non-native Kin Bar Owners 84 "The American Bar System" 87 Hiring of Filipino Women 89 Strategies or Obstacles 92 Native Kin People 94 Disassociation from the Base 95 The "Independent" Protests 105 Interpretive Summary and Discussion 108 Communal Strategies: Creating and Recreating a True Kin Town 112 The New Form of the Somayama Land Management 113 Still "the Home of Emigrant Pioneers" 117 Divisiveness in the Town 121 Interpretive Summary and Discussion 126 Interpretive Conclusion and policy Recommendation 130 An Interplay of Town, Base, People, History, and power 130 A Scenario for Challenging the Hegemonic Claim 133 Recommendations for the Town 135 Bibliography 138 APPENDIX 147 Living with a Military Base: A Study of the Relationship between a US Military Base and Kin Town, Okinawa, Japan. Chapter 1 Introduction Meeting the Town On a sunny August afternoon of 1993, Mr. Haga, a junior clerk of the Kin Town office in Kin Town, Okinawa, Japan, took me for a brief tour of the town.' In that summer, I was working as an intern in the Office of Town History Compilation, a subsection of the Development and Planning Section of the Town Office.2 At the same time, I was also conducting my thesis research on the town's relationship with the US military base, Camp Hansen, which is located in the town.

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