Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney

Who is Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney?

Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney is an anthropologist who has been working on the question of power of symbols and its absence in political spaces since the mid-1980s. Her most recent works began as a study of symbolism of cherry blossoms and their viewing in relation to Japanese identities and led to an exploration of the cherry blossom symbol as a major trope utilized to both encourage and aestheticize sacrifice for the country during its military period. This research culminated in two recent books, Kamikaze, Cherry Blossoms, and Nationalisms: The Militarization of Aesthetics in Japanese History and Kamikaze Diaries: Reflections on Japanese Student Soldiers.

She has continued to work on the question of "aesthetic", ubiquitous in wars of all types, from “tribal warfare” to conflicts between nation-states. This is done against the basic theoretical question of communicative opacity—how people fail to recognize the absence of communication.

A native of Japan, Ohnuki-Tierney received a B.A. degree from Tsuda College in Tokyo and came to the United States on a Fulbright Scholarship. Her interest in anthropology began when someone told her that she was making too many “cultural” mistakes and should take a course in anthropology.