1st Edition
War as Entertainment and Contents Tourism in Japan
This book examines the phenomenon of war-related contents tourism throughout Japanese history, from conflicts described in ancient Japanese myth through to contemporary depictions of fantasy and futuristic warfare.
It tackles two crucial questions: first, how does war transition from being traumatic to entertaining in the public imagination and works of popular culture; and second, how does visitation to war-related sites transition from being an act of mourning or commemorative pilgrimage into an act of devotion or fan pilgrimage? Representing the collaboration of ten expert researchers of Japanese popular culture and travel, it develops a theoretical framework for understanding war-related contents tourism and demonstrates the framework in practice via numerous short case studies across a millennium of warfare in Japan including: the tales of heroic deities in the Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters, AD 712), the Edo poetry of Matsuo Basho, and the Pacific war through lens of popular media such as the animated film Grave of the Fireflies.
This book will be of interest to researchers and students in tourism studies and cultural studies, as well as more general issues of war and peace in Japan, East Asia and beyond.
1. Theorizing war-related contents tourism
Philip Seaton and Takayoshi Yamamura
Part 1: From myths to the middle ages
2. The narrative worlds of ancient wars: travelling heroes in Kojiki
Takayoshi Yamamura
3. The Mongol invasions of Japan and Tsushima tourism
Kyungjae Jang
4: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and contents tourism in Aizu-Wakamatsu
Aleksandra Jaworowicz-Zimny
5. History girls and women’s war-related contents tourism
Akiko Sugawa-Shimada
Part 2: The rise and fall of the Tokugawas
6. Satsuma’s invasion of the Ryukyu Kingdom in 1609 and Okinawa tourism
Kyungjae Jang
7. War-related narratives and contents tourism during the ‘Tokugawa peace’
Takayoshi Yamamura
8. Tōken Ranbu and samurai swords as tourist attractions
Akiko Sugawa-Shimada
9. Castles and castle towns in Japanese tourism
Yosuke Fujiki and Hitoshi Nakai
10. Festivals of war: travelling the Shinsengumi in 2019
Part 3: Imperial Japan
11. Hokkaido as imperial acquisition and the Ainu in popular culture and tourism
Ryo Koarai
12. The Russo-Japanese War and (contents) tourism
Philip Seaton
13. Tourism relating to the new culture introduced by First World War German POWs
Kyungjae Jang
14. Theatre (contents) tourism and war as a backdrop to romance
Akiko Sugawa-Shimada
Part 4: The Asia-Pacific War
15. Yasukuni Shrine’s□Yūshūkan museum as a site of contents tourism
Philip Seaton and Takayoshi Yamamura
16. The sense of belonging created by In this Corner of the World
Luli van der Does
17. Travelling Grave of the Fireflies: the gap between creators’ intentions and audiences’/tourists’ interpretations
Takayoshi Yamamura
18. Tours of Tokkōtai (kamikaze) training bases □
Luli van der Does
19. Repatriation and the enka ballad Ganpeki no haha
Akiko Sugawa-Shimada
Part 5: Postwar Japan
20. Kantai Collection and entertainmentization of the Second World War
Kyungjae Jang
21. The war metaphors underpinning Mizuki Shigeru yōkai tourism
Qiaodan Wang and Philip Seaton
22. Shin Godzilla: tourism consuming images of JSDF, kaiju characters, and destroyed sites
Aleksandra Jaworowicz-Zimny and Takayoshi Yamamura
23. Fantasy wars and their real-life inspirations: tourism and international conflicts caused by Attack on Titan
Ryo Koarai and Takayoshi Yamamura
Biography
Takayoshi Yamamura is a Professor at Hokkaido University, Japan.
Philip Seaton is a Professor at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Japan.
