TRIAL OF MANIFESTATION OF RINSHO-NO-CHI THROUGH REFLECTION OF PRACTICE WITH PICTORIAL AND VERBAL EXPRESSION ASSOCIATED WITH THE PRACTICE

Abstract
The ultimate goal of this study is to propose a methodology of inheriting vernacular technology by letting it co-exist with modern technology. Some vernacular technology is still valuable to keep the identity of a local region even though it is endangered by modern technology. This study tries to manifest rinsho-no-chi, which is hard to be formally expressed, from its pictorial and verbal expression of experience of participant observation of practice of vernacular technology. The authors are taking part in construction project of coral stone fences in Izena Island in Okinawa prefecture, and are observing and learning, through our experience, the construction technology of the coral stone fences. A series of experiments to express verbally our knowledge and skill of evaluating whether coral stone fences are well built or not, which are important in the vernacular technology. This paper describes the characteristics of the process of co-creating verbal expression of the judgement skill. Seven types of the verbal expressions, which are made to evaluate the workmanship of the coral stone fences on the basis of visual information of the coral stone fences shown in the pictures, are extracted from the conversations to discuss about the workmanship as follows; 1. Implication of the existence of the typical styles of the coral stone fences, 2. Depiction, with a positive, negative, or neutral point of view, of the scenes related to the coral stone fences, 3. Figurative depiction of the scenes, 4. Declaration of axiomatic understanding, 5. Declaration of empirical laws employed in the evaluation of the workmanship, 6. Reference to the actions in the coral fence construction with a positive, negative, or neutral point of view, and, 7. Proposal of the actions to improve the coral stone fences. Types 1-5 suggest that the common understanding of the structure of evaluation which derives the result on the basis of the objectively observed information even though the evaluation of the workmanship may involve subjective judgement. Types 6 and 7 suggest that the knowledge that is never acquired without the experience of practice. The types also suggest that the knowledge concerning how to construct a good stone fence is derived from the conversation among people who experienced the construction even though the setting of the conversation doesn’t ask them to talk about how to make the fence. The conversation contains some interesting patterns of processes of co-creating the empirical knowledge concerning the coral stone fences as follows; 1. Process of co-creating the logical structures of evaluating the workmanship of the coral stone fences, 2. Process of co-creating the commonality of the usage – semantic or pragmatic - of ambiguous or abstract words, 3. Process of establishing and fixing the logical structures of evaluating the workmanship of the coral stone fences, and, 4. Process of making mutual understanding of the structure of evaluation even though the dialogue is irrelevant and incoherent. These processes may be some representative types of processes of constructing empirical knowledge, which is regarded as rinsho-no-chi. It is concluded that rinsho-no-chi in practice may be manifested through the conversation wherein the experience of the practice is naturally reflected.