After earning his PhD in Environmental Anthropology, Dr. Hiroaki Hayashi has published his first book, Natsuyo Port in Naruto City, the Node of East-West Shipping, to the Japanese Heritage of Kitamae-Ships.

Kitamae-bune ships were the forerunners of Japan’s modern capitalist economy before Japan’s Industrial Revolution. Muya Port in Naruto City, Tokushima Prefecture, was an important port in Japan that supported the prosperity of Kitamae-bune, which must serve as a beacon for Japan in its quest for a sustainable society.

This book is considered as a significant contribution to the newly developing academic discipline of Environmental Anthropology in Japan.