Minzokugaku wa, minzokugaku (esunorojī) ya bunka jinruigaku (karuchuraru ansuroporojī) to wa betsu ni, minkan denshō o tsūjite minzoku no seikatsu bunka shi o akiraka ni suru gakumon to sareteiru.
Folklore studies, separate from ethnology and cultural anthropology, is the discipline that examines a people’s life and cultural history through their folklore.
2011, Kokubu Naoichi, Nihon minzoku bunka shi [History of Japanese people and culture], page 300:
Yanagita Kunio ga waga minzokugaku no ari kata o nashonaru na gaku to shite sō shiteita koto wa shirareteiru ga, esunorojī (minzokugaku) to no kakawari ni tsuite mo kangaeteita to omowareru.
It is well known that Yanagita Kunio thought of his folklore studies as the study of the nation, but it is also likely that he was concerned with its relation to ethnology (the study of ethnic groups).