Yumi KATO　Assistant ProfessorAlumni
  • Period
    4th（Term: from Apr. 2013 to Mar. 2018）
    グローバル型
  • Research Interests
    Cultural Anthropology, Ethnology
  • Research Topic
    Plantation Development and People’s Livelihood Stability in Tropical Areas

Yumi was born and raised in the countryside of Saitama prefecture. Growing up in a rich natural environment, she became interested in the relation between humans and nature. While majoring in cultural anthropology for her bachelor studies, she developed a special interest in indigenous peoples and minorities. For her Ph.D. degree, she studied the social transformation of hunter-gatherers in Malaysian Borneo. Currently, natural forests in tropical Asia are drastically decreasing due to plantation development. In the Hakubi project, she will examine how people can maintain a stable livelihood in areas where plantation development is in progress by comparing situations in several regions of Southeast Asia. In addition, she will clarify the possibility for coexistence between naturalresource development and the integrity of people’s livelihood which relies on these resources.

Related News

2018.03.25 Publications
Yumi Kato published “Trans-river migration of the Iban and the Bekatan to the Tatau River Basin in Bintulu”in Ngingit vol 10, p3-11 (Tun Jugah Foundation, Malaysia). 【December, 2017】
2018.03.25 Publications
Yumi Kato published “Edible meat or Inedible meat: Ambiguity of meat concept among the Sihan in Borneo”in the book titled as “Study of Meat Eating” A., Nobayashi (ed.), p62-89 (Tokyo: Heibonsha).【March, 2018】
2017.12.11 Publications
Yumi Kato published “Co-living among Indonesian migrant workers in longhouse communities.” in Malaysian Studies Journal Vol.6, pp.71-85 (Japan Association for Malaysian Studies (JAMS)). 【Oct, 2017】
2017.09.14 Publications
Yumi Kato published ” Perceptions of Iban in the Sihan ethnoscape.” in Ngingit 9: 49-58. (The Tun Jugah Foundation, Malaysia)【July, 2017】
2017.03.29 Publications
Yumi Kato contributed an article “Forest camps, settled village, and town: Contemporary mobility of Sihan hunters in Borneo” to ” Hunter-gatherers perception on global environment history: Nature, neighbor, and civilization.” (pp.270-283., Kazunobu Ikeya (ed.), Tokyo University Press.)
2017.01.05 Publications
Yumi Kato published “Social and ecological factors associated with the use of non-timber forest products by people in rural Borneo” in Biological Conservation.
2017.01.05 Publications
Yumi Kato published “Resilience and flexibility: history of hunter-gatherers’ relationships with their neighbors in Borneo” in Senri Ethnological Studies.
2017.01.05 Presentation
Yumi Kato gave a talk on “Localization of Indonesian workers in Sarawak, Malaysia” at the 25th Conference of Japan Malaysian Studies (Kyoto University, Nov. 27, 2016).
2017.01.05 Presentation
Yumi Kato gave a talk on “Inter-ethnic relation of Sihan with neighboring ethnic groups” at the Borneo Research Council 2016 Conference (Mulawarman University, Sep. 21, 2016).
2017.01.05 Presentation
Yumi Kato gave a talk on “Unsettled life and contemporary mobility of Sihan hunter-gatherers in Malaysian Borneo” at the Inter-Congress of International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (Dubrovnik Palace Hotel, May, 6th, 2016).
2015.12.25 Publications
Yumi Kato published a paper titled as “The diversity of small-scale oil palm cultivation in Sarawak, Malaysia”, in the Geographical Journal.
2015.12.25 Presentation
Yumi Kato gave a talk, titled as “Hunting for subsistence? : Sihan’s hunting practice between tradition and modern way of life” at the 11th Conference on Hunting and Gathering Societies (8th September, 2015, at University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria).
2014.12.06 Presentation
Yumi Kato gave a presentation on ‘Transformation of Practical Knowledge for Wild Animals: View from Sihan in Borneo’ at the 113th American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting. 3-7, December, 2014. Washington D.C., USA.
2014.09.13 Presentation
Yumi Kato gave a talk at “The 51st Annual Meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation”
2014.09.13 Publications
Yumi Kato published “The extent of biodiversity recovery during reforestation after swidden cultivation and the impacts of land-use changes on the biodiversity of a tropical rainforests region in Borneo” in Social-Ecological System in Transition
2014.09.13 Publications
Yumi Kato published “Changes in resource use and subsistence activities under the plantation expansion in Sarawak, Malaysia” in Social-Ecological System in Transition
2014.05.21 Presentation
Yumi Kato gave a talk at “Inter-Congress of the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences”