At the end of July, as a student of the Wan AC II cohort, I finally got the chance to meet Professor Ueno and the rest of the members. It was an exciting moment for me, not just because I would meet my idol, Professor Ueno, but also because it meant we students would be able to learn the most important knowledge—the Uenoʼs Qualitative Analysis.

Ueno’s Qualitative Analysis is an information categorization tool rooted in the KJ Method established by the cultural anthropologist and geographer, Jiro Kawakita.Through detailed interviews or other methods, we are able to gain information for distillation. In my opinion, this is a re-creation of a new context, a new text, and a new vision. This is because what we say is not always what we mean. Often, the information we provide contains a “common-sense” that we take for granted. By re-synthesizing this information, we are able to arrive at a new text composed of new contexts. This new text is our key to analysis.

On that day, to practice this profound analysis, we were divided into several groups and embarked on the practice with great passion. In each group, two students volunteered as the interviewer and the interviewee, while the rest of the group organized the information by making card-type stickers. Through two-days and one-night of effort (on the first day, everyone stayed up late to study), we finally organized the information and condensed it into a cohesive text. After this intense brainstorming, we finally had a satisfying result. I think everyone was happy to be learning new knowledge.

The Uenoʼs Qualitative Analysis is characterized by its strict rules and clear steps. Thus, when we use the Uenoʼs Qualitative Analysis, the results we get can be easily traced back if we follow the process, and issues like a lack of evidence can be avoided. What's more, its clear steps are simple to learn, whether it's your first time practicing or not. If you can remember the key points and practice a few times, you can master the Uenoʼs Qualitative Analysis as well.

Due to the language barrier, the Uenoʼs Qualitative Analysis is not well known by many scholars in other countries. However, after practicing it, I deeply experienced its convenience and power. In an era of information overflow, we are not only faced with the urgent need to improve our ability to deal with information, but also with the rise of AI and the series of impacts on academia and ethics that it brings. From my point of view, the Uenoʼs Qualitative Analysis is one of the answers to this challenge. It provides a simple, clear methodology: we can distill any information we want from any text or interview by comprehending it ourselves, and in doing so, create a new context and narrative.

Whether distilling or organizing information, this entire process is full of challenges and is interesting. It sometimes requires a certain "sense for language" or "sense of literature." A precise judgment of information requires both our insight and our imagination. But regardless of whether we have excellent research capabilities, we can use the Uenoʼs Qualitative Analysis anytime and anywhere to practice and enter a bigger world—one where we identify problems, understand them, and solve them. This is an interlocking process, and the Uenoʼs Qualitative Analysis is, without a doubt, a brilliant tool to dissect it. So, when you encounter a new question, why not design a simple Uenoʼs Qualitative Analysis process? You're sure to find an interesting and exciting answer.

After this enriching and unforgettable training camp, I'm confident that I can now teach others how to use the Uenoʼs Qualitative Analysis, just like the other members of the WAN AC II cohort. After saying a final goodbye to everyone and to my idol, Professor Ueno, I started a new research journey with a deep appreciation for her. Her contributions and promotion of the Uenoʼs Qualitative Analysis are the biggest reasons we were able to gather and learn it. I truly want to thank Professor Ueno for her selfless dedication to the Uenoʼs Qualitative Analysis, to Japanese higher education, and to the development of humanities and social sciences. Her rigorous yet lovably strict teaching is one of the best parts of this memory. I will always remember the sea breeze of this city where we gathered at the end of July, the classroom, and everyone's serious faces.

WAN AC II Cohort: Wang Qiwen