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living in a particular place. However, it also involves developing close relationships, and often long-term and deep friendships, with people who choose to take the time to help with the research. After more than thirty years collecting data in Iwate, the line between research participant (or whatever other word is in fashion at the moment—subject, informant, interlocutor, etc.) and friend has become quite blurry and many who have, over the years, helped me with my research as teachers have also become close friends.
Elements of chapters 1 and 2 appeared in different form in the journals Asian Anthropology (16(2): 77–94) and The Journal of Anthropological Research (56(3): 365–385, copyright University of New Mexico). Research for this book was funded by grants from the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, the Michigan Center for the Demography of Aging at the University of Michigan, as well as the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Endowment and the IC2 Institute both at the University of Texas at Austin. I am also appreciative of a Franklin Research Grant provided by the American Philosophical Society and a travel grant provided by the Northeast Asia Council of the Association for Asian Studies both of which supported research specifically related to Chapter 7.
Note on Translation and Naming Conventions
In general, I have included both Japanese and Romanized Japanese when I make use of Japanese terms or phrases in the text. Also, I follow the Japanese convention of using the family name first, followed by given name, when referring to individuals who have participated in my fieldwork. In many cases, I only make use of given names, because when writing about couples or members of the same family, it avoids confusion. All names of participants in my research presented here are pseudonyms; this is done to protect the identities of those who kindly gave their time and energies to help with my research.