ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSITION THROUGH THE LENS OF ‘BEING’ AND ‘DOING’

The author relocated to Ofunato City, an area affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake, to conduct fieldwork. This paper examines the environmental transition through a case study of the author’ s experience. The findings reveal that environmental transition unfolds in three stages: first, the author consciously takes on roles that can be fulfilled; second, the author is able to be in the place before these roles are recognized by the community; and third, the awareness of the need to take on roles faded, and the self-perception shifted from being an outsider to someone standing on the boundary of the community.