IZUMO-JIN: The People of Izumo, by Daisetsu Fujioka, translated by Caroline E. Kano and Toshiko Yamakuse. Matsue: Harvest Publications, 2002, 138 pp., with maps. 1200 yen (paper).
This curiously provincial investigation sets out to discover the qualities of the inhabitants of the province of Izumo (Izumo-jin) in Shimane Prefecture. Professor Daisetsu Fujioka¡¯s method is that of a fellow seeker, Takao Sobue, who in 1971 wrote a book called ¡°Prefectural Character¡± in which he discovered that the people of Nagano are ¡°fond of theorizing,¡± while those of Shiga are ¡°grasping, cunning,¡± and folks in Kochi are ¡°stubborn . . . fond of alcohol.¡±
The people of Shimane, according to Sobue, are ¡°negative and unassertive,¡± as well as ¡°gloomy, introvertive and poor at socializing.¡±
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