Embodied Memory, Affective Imagination, and Vigilance: Navigating Food Allergies in Japan
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Embodied Memory, Affective Imagination, and Vigilance: Navigating Food Allergies in Japan Emma E. Cook1
Accepted: 13 September 2020 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract ‘‘Food is relationships isn’t it,’’ Yamada san stated in 2017, neatly capturing the importance of food in social life. This article, drawing on the experiences of people with severe food allergies in Japan, illustrates the complexities of safely managing allergies when food—and the importance of sharing the same food—is so important to social life. In particular, I argue that individuals develop and practice skills of vigilance and situational awareness to mitigate physical and social risk which emerge through an affective imagination of what they feel could happen in the future, built on embodied memories of what has been experienced prior (e.g., severe allergic reactions and difficult social experiences with food). The development and enactment of these skills of vigilance happen through an ‘education of attention’ (Gibson in The ecological approach to visual perception, Psychology Press, New York, 1979; Ingold in The perception of the environment: essays on livelihood, dwelling and skill, Routledge, London, 2000) developed over time and in different social settings and constitute a somatic mode of attention (Csordas in Cult Anthropol 8:135–156, 1993) which shapes social interactions and aims to mitigate against any potential perceived social costs for not being able to eat everything. Keywords Food allergies Embodied memory Affective imagination Education of attention Vigilance Japan
& Emma E. Cook [email protected] 1
Modern Japanese Studies Program, Hokkaido University, Kita 15, Nishi 8, Kita Ku, Sapporo 060-0815, Japan
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Cult Med Psychiatry
Introduction Ten-year-old Hana Suzuki1 walks along the lake pathway, holding hands with her mother. It’s a hot day and lots of people are out and about, relaxing, chatting, and enjoying the view of the lake. As they walk, I notice Hana suddenly tenses slightly. I follow her line of sight and see that she is watching an ice cream coming towards her. While continuing to engage in the conversation, Hana keeps track of where the cone is. As the ice cream draws nearer, she edges her body towards the side of the path until it moves past. Her mom is also aware and tracking the cone and she also shifts her bodily positioning, angling slightly forward as if to protect Hana as they open some space between themselves and the cone. Throughout such tracking the conversation between us all continues. After we pass the ice cream, I ask them about their movements and Hana’s mom replies that because of Hana’s severe allergy to milk they always try to be aware of her allergens. In summer, when so many people are walking in the park with ice creams in hand, it is easy to notice them. Hana nods at this and says that she prefers to avoid them if possible.2 We can see, in this short example, how a parent and child are navigating their environment through practicing
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