Description
This paper aims to examine a conflict between local e´ lites and local forest workers in relation
to the designation of Kumano Kodo in Japan as a World Heritage site. Aesthetics of landscapes are
highly politicized, which creates conflicts for forest workers.
International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research
World heritage and cultural tourism in Japan
Hiroko Yasuda
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Vol. 4 Iss 4 pp. 366 - 375
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Regular paper
World heritage and cultural tourism in
Japan
Hiroko Yasuda
Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to examine a con?ict between local e´ lites and local forest workers in relation
to the designation of Kumano Kodo in Japan as a World Heritage site. Aesthetics of landscapes are
highly politicized, which creates con?icts for forest workers.
Design/methodology/approach – The study examines two concepts of ‘‘heritage’’ and ‘‘authenticity,’’
that World Heritage emphasizes. Types of authenticity are compared, and a post-structuralist’s model of
authenticity is developed. The study uses empirical research data to showa process of authentication of
tourist sites.
Findings – The value associated with World Heritage, while proclaimed as ‘‘universal value’’,
represents a Eurocentric hegemonic power that local e´ lites use symbolically. The construction of
Kumano Kodo as a World Heritage site entails masking local histories and memories.
Originality/value – Many scholars discuss heritage sites from the viewpoint of a con?ict between
nationalism and globalism. This paper, however, views heritage tourism from multiple perspectives,
such as globalism, cosmopolitanism and localism.
Keywords Heritage, Tourism, Globalization, Japan
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
In 2003 the Japanese government adopted ‘‘Visit Japan Campaign’’ that would promote the
development of national tourism, through which they hoped to attract more tourists from
abroad (Ministry of Land and Traf?c, 2004). Scholars have commented on the fact and the
government has been concerned about the fact, that Japan has not been as attractive to
foreign tourists as many European nations. This concern relates to the recent boom in The
World Heritage, that local self-governing bodies strongly promote. As of January 2008,
Japan had three natural sites and 11 cultural properties designated as World Heritage Sites
and eight more sites are on a tentative list. However, the designation of sites as World
Heritage areas in some cases has created problems between hosts and guests, and
between local of?cials and local residents. Tourism is a post-industrial phenomenon and a
way to alleviate poverty (Craik, 2000). The expansion of tourism cannot be separated from
the development of globalization, which enhances transmigration of people. Therefore, the
studies of globalization are crucial for tourism studies.
The term, ‘‘globalization’’ appears in discourses ranging from the academic to the everyday
in contemporary society. Cunningham (2000, p. 583) argues, ‘‘At no time has this phrase
seemed more ?tting or more complex than it does today, as globalization captures the
intellectual imagination.’’ Peckham argues that the concept of a monolithic national identity
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Hiroko Yasuda is based in
Komatsu City, Japan.
Received: November 2008
Revised: March 2009
Accepted: January 2010
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is being brought into question against a background of globalization, which, in many senses,
has blurred national borders.
At the beginning of the twenty-?rst century, many conventional assumptions about the inevitability
of the nation-state are being called in question. Globalization has undermined many of those
borders within which we are accustomed to de?ne ‘‘ourselves’’ and ‘‘others.’’ As European
societies become increasingly secular and multicultural, the concept of a monolithic,
encompassing and integrative heritage becomes untenable (Peckham, 2003, p. 2).
However, most tourism scholars still discuss tourism from a perspective of nationalism and
nationhood, and do not place tourism in a multi-level perspective, taking globalization,
nationalism and localism into account. Palmer argues that heritage tourism encourages the
construction of nationalism. For example, the promotion of certain English sites may
encourage people to share a national identity of Englishness. As such the sites are examples
of what Hitchcock (1999) refers to as situational constructions of nationalism, the creation
and re-creation of ethnic identity through ‘‘international agency’’, in this instance heritage
tourism. This construction is not identity as a primordial given but as a set of social
processes and relations that are manipulative within a variety of social-tourist situations
(Palmer, 2005).
For Palmer, Englishness is a seamless entity, where all English men and women
mechanically reproduce their identities. She objecti?es a national identity of ‘‘English,’’
embedded in historic sites in England, by ignoring local diversities and differentiation. She
reduces local diversities into national conformity. She also refers to an ‘‘imagined
community,’’ where people are united to a nation through ‘‘the notion of felt history’’ that
national historic sites invoke. However, a concept of globalization is entirely absent from her
analysis, in spite of having been written in the present era, when an imagined community is
shared at the global level.
The present analysis challenges her essentialist concept of nationalism and neglect of
globalization. I employ more complex and sophisticated theoretical frameworks, through
which I explore tensions between globalism, cosmopolitanism, nationalism and localism. I
do this through examination of the case of Kumano Kodo, a World Heritage site, where
serious con?icts have arisen between local residents and local authorities. In this case, the
construction of national heritage promoted by local authorities is not necessarily the result of
the countermeasures against globalization. Rather, the authorities used ‘‘the global’’
symbolically to exercise their top-down power over local residents who opposed to the
designation of the World Heritage site. Local authorities (cities and prefectures) and the
Agency of Cultural Affairs (2007) took positions that emphasized their role as part of the
cosmopolitan elites, who emphasize ‘‘the global’’ rather than ‘‘the local.’’ They relied on ‘‘the
global,’’ the World Heritage de?ned by UNESCO, for their sites to be guaranteed as
authentic landscapes, which, they believe, would result in the promotion of cultural tourism.
‘‘Globalization’’ is the symbolic representation of Eurocentrism in the aesthetics of art,
architecture, landscapes, and so on. It constructs a universal value that exercises
hegemonic power. Mosquera (2005) argues that Eurocentrism is a speci?c culture, whose
hegemonic power imposes ethnocentrism as a universal value. Eurocentrism also impacts
on culture tourism. I view globalization as cultural hegemony rather than economic
hegemony. Adorno (2007) argues that culture is not an immediate expression of economy,
but is mediated through the total social process. World Heritage appears to produce a
global ranking of natural and cultural landscapes, but that ranking is, in fact, an act of
cultural imperialism. World Heritage is a ‘‘symbol of the new global order’’ (Cunningham,
2000, p. 583).
World Heritage, linked to global power, impacts powerfully on the tourist gaze directed to
landscapes and tourists’ senses of place. The most important criterion for a designation as a
World Cultural Heritage site is the ‘‘authenticity’’ and ‘‘sincerity’’ of a candidate site, which
are necessarily demonstrated as an exempli?cation of national properties. In this process,
local cultural diversities are masked, and local histories are manipulated or reduced into a
grand, national heritage. ‘‘Vernacular narratives’’ (Waitt, 2000, p. 841) are transformed into
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an of?cial version of narratives. The construction of national heritage promoted by local elites
is relevant to the con?scation of the means of production from those engaging in forestry,
and also the suppression of their local histories and memories. Therefore, this paper
problematises ‘‘heritage’’ and ‘‘authenticity’’ of the built environment of Kumano Kodo
although they are often considered to be important elements for tourism. World Heritage
places great emphasis on those criteria in its rationale for designation. This paper explores
how ‘‘heritage’’ and ‘‘authenticity’’ are politicized through construction of the World Heritage
site, and how local residents have developed resistance against this.
Kumano and Kumano Kodo, Pilgrimage Routes
‘‘Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range’’ were designated as a
World Heritage site in July 2004. This is the twelfth World Heritage site in Japan. Sacred Sites
in the Kii Mountain Range consist of Kumano Sanzan, Yoshino, Ohgake, and Koyasan, and
are the religious amalgamation of Shinto, Buddhism, and Shugendo. The Sacred Sites have
attracted a large number of pilgrims from all over Japan. In particular, the Kumano area is
considered to be a heritage site as it is deeply associated with the creation myth of Japan.
Two deities, Izanagi (a male god) and Izanami (a goddess) gave birth to the Japanese islets,
the origin of the Japanese island, and many gods. According to Nihon Shoki, when Izanami
had Kagutsuchi, a ?re god, she was burned to death. Local people buried her corpse at
Arima mura, Kumano in the Kii region (Ujitani, 1990). Hanano Iwaya (a rock cave), a famous
tourist spot is associated with this legend. Also, according to Kojiki, it is Kumano where
Emperor Jinmu arrived for the conquest of Yamato (the Kinki region) in the guide of a
three-legged Yatagarasu (a raven), a messenger of the gods. Japanese emperors are
considered to be descendants from Izanami.
Kumano Kodo are pilgrimage routes for Kumano Sanzan (three shrines). There are primarily
four routes, Koheji, Nakaheji, Oheji, and Iseji, which are accessible from various areas.
Kumano Moude (pilgrimage) began in the middle of the Heian era (the tenth century).
Kumano Sanzan was regarded as a heaven, and emperors and aristocrats often went on a
pilgrimage wishing for a cure for illness or for material bene?ts. The whole Kumano area was
regarded as another world. Therefore Kumano is a mythical place representing Japanese
cosmology.
Emperor Uda began Kumano Moude (pilgrimage) for the ?rst time in 907, and Emperor
Shirakawa popularized it. Gotoba Joukou went on pilgrimage 28 times in his life. Kumano
Moude took root as a para-national event. It played an important role as ‘‘a political
performance’’ for publicizing the emperors’ roots and his descent from the Sun Goddess
(Koyama, 2001). Later, in the latter half of the ?fteenth century, Kumano Moude was brought
into fashion among samurais and common folks, which was described as Arino Kumano
Moude (pilgrimage of ants) (Koyama, 2001, p. 67). Therefore, Kumano was recognized as
being related to a religious power that the emperors controlled, and linked with memories
shared with the common people. As Peckham (2003) points out, the construction of heritage
links power, control and memory, and heritage plays a crucial role in the nation-building
process.
As Kumano is associated with the nation’s past, it is legitimized as a national heritage site.
Therefore, Kumano demonstrates itself to be the most authentic place in Japan and its
designation as a World Heritage site reinforces such authenticity. Palmer (2005) argues that
visiting heritage sites representing a nation’s past contributes to the construction of a
national identity. Heritage tourism plays an important role in the ‘‘imagined community’’
through which tourists share social values and beliefs.
The notion of felt history is signi?cant because heritage tourism is experienced primarily from
within the con?nes of the imagination, becoming in a sense an intimate communicator of
nationness. The three sites thus resemble what Anderson (1991) has referred to as ‘‘imagined
communities’’ wherein each individual imagines their fellow compatriots have the same basic
understanding of what the nation is all about (Palmer, 2005, p. 10).
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Palmer, however, perceives a national identity to be a monolithic concept, and people thus
experience homogeneous cultural identities through heritage sites. This thing acts as a
mechanismof social order. She ignores the fact of the construction of national identity entails
distortion of local histories and suppression of cultural diversities. She focuses on tourists
sharing a national identity through an imagined community, whereas homogeneity is called
into question if the views of local residents, rather than tourists, are taken into account. When
the Kii mountain ranges, including Kumano Sanzan, were put forward as a site of the World
Heritage, Kumano roads were renamed in Kumano Kodo (ancient roads). This means that
Kumano roads were transformed from roads for local life to pilgrimage routes leading to
sacred sites.
The con?icts between the local authority and forest-owners
The passage of Yakiyama has of?cially become one of Kumano Kodo, Iseji pilgrimage
routes, as part of the World Heritage. It is well-known as the most perilous and steepest
mountain in the Kinki region. Yakiyama recently has gained nation-wide attention because of
radical protests by its owners. After 10 to 15 minutes’ climbing on the Yanohama side,
slogans such as ‘‘Oppose World Heritage,’’ and ‘‘End IKOMOS’’ can be seen, written in
colored ink on trees and huge rocks for 200 to 300 meters. While climbing, such scenes can
be seen in various places. Climbing down the passage, the similar scenes can be also found
at some spots along the Mikisato side. I interviewed the forest owners about these scribbled
messages. They told me it was not ‘‘scribbling,’’ but their protests activities against World
Heritage.
The key industries in this region are forestry and ?shery, and local people have traditionally
lived from them. Japanese cypress trees grow from Kii Nagashima to Owase, and are
famous for their high quality. Forest-owners and their forefathers have preserved this
mountain for 400 years. It takes 50 to 60 years for cypresses to grow large enough to be cut.
Mr Tanaka, one of the locals, asserts that he is very attached to the cypresses, as does his
children. It will take at least ten years for the damaged cypresses to recover fully even if the
slogans are removed from them.
The protests began as a form of ‘‘scribbling’’ on the trees a year before Kumano Kodo’s
designation as a World Heritage site. First, the forest-owners put up billboards saying
‘‘Oppose World Heritage’’ near their houses. The local authorities, however, paid no attention
to this, so they took the more extreme measure of ‘‘scribbling’’ on their trees in colored ink in
order to gain more attention both from tourists and the local authorities.
Tourismscholars (Hughes, 1995) often suggest that people’s concern for national heritage is
the consequences of globalization and a reaction against it. In Kumano, however, local
authorities appropriated globalization rather than resisting it. They symbolically used ‘‘the
global’’ to deal with local con?icts, as well as for marketing tourism. Local authorities, such
as cities and prefectures adopted the stance of cosmopolitan elites, who tend to favor ‘‘the
global’’ rather than ‘‘the local,’’ even though their lives are embedded in ‘‘the local.’’ The
notion of cosmopolitanism is to refer to being a capacity to open to others who are often
geographically distant (Lash and Urry, 1994). They play the role of agents of global culture
rather than representatives of local culture. They rely on a global culture, the authority of
World Heritage, UNESCO, to create authentic landscapes of Kumano Kodo.
Since Kumano Kodo was designated a World Heritage site, forest-owners have not been
allowed to cut their own trees without permission. As a result, those cutting trees and
thinning forests have been unemployed since that time. It is, as it were, a matter of life
and death for those engaging in forestry. World Heritage is associated with a regulation
and protection of landscapes and of national historic relics. The regulation of landscape
restricts the development of the buffer zone around the World Heritage site, which
extends 50 meters on either side of the Kumano Kodo. Thus, the forest owners have to
submit an application every time they want to cut their own trees. Also, if they damage
stone steps which tourists perceive as authentic in the process of planting or thinning
trees, they are penalized. One forest owner of Yakiyama, Mr Doi argues that he pays the
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municipal property tax for his forest, and that if the development of his forest is
restricted, the mortgage value drops. This fact, he says, violates his right to bene?t from
his assets.
In addition, the barks of 20 to 30 year-old cypresses have been entirely eaten by deer on the
Mikisato side of Yakiyama. Forest-owners are worried that the forest will be destroyed before
long. The Mikisato side of the forest is a copse, some 80 per cent of which consists of small
trees and bushes, and the rest consists of cypresses. This fact creates an environment in
which deer multiply rapidly. The forest-owners are very concerned about deer damage, but
they are not allowed to shoot beasts. Mr Tanaka, a representative of forest- owners at
Mikisato, argues that around ten years ago, Yakiyama michi (road) began to be called as
Kumano Kodo. Since then, shooting of animals has been prohibited, which has promoted
the destruction of cypress trees. The local authority enforced a rule that the landscapes and
national historic spots of Kumano Kodo must be protected as a prerequisite condition of
World Heritage designation.
Cultural politics and the construction of authenticity in heritage sites
Yakiyama is known as a highlight of Kumano Kodo, Iseji routes – 7.2 kilometers from a
walking route of 12 kilometers in the mountain are designated as World Heritage.
Kumano Kodo, Iseji comprises 17 routes. In most cases, only some parts of the routes
are included in the World Heritage. Most of the local bodies taking charge of the 17
routes, excluded privately-owned forests from the regulations for conserving landscapes.
The problem seems to be that W City (pseudonym) applied it to Yakiyama without
adequate consultation with the forest-owners. The city argues that even if the forest
belongs to the forest-owners, Kumano Kodo is a municipal road, so the agreement of
forest owners is not necessarily required.
W City has a signi?cantly different idea about ‘‘Kumano Kodo’’ from the forest owners. The
city perceives ‘‘Kumano Kodo, Iseji’’ not just as a mountain passage, but as a ‘‘pilgrimage
route’’ in relation to the stories of pilgrimage and their authentic ancient history. The city
considers ‘‘the past’’ should be commoditized as a resource for tourism and ‘‘authenticity’’
should be appropriated for the tourist gaze. Hewison argues that the past is the last
resource, which is reshaped and its meaning is shifted to meet the needs of the present. The
substitute, imaginary past has become of?cial policy in the heritage industry.
As on Tyneside, as in the Rhondda Valley, the past is no longer a ?nite entity but a resource,
sometimes the last resource. As such it is shaped and moulded to the needs of the present, and in
the process ?ltered, polished, and drained of meaning. Yet the substitution of this imaginary past
has become of?cial policy, even as the same government elsewhere has allowed the present to
decline (Hewison, 1987, p. 99).
What makes the sites or toured objects authentic? Authenticity is conventionally de?ned as
originality, genuineness or sincerity. Post-structuralists (Baudrillard, 1994), however,
question whether there can be objective criteria to measure genuineness or sincerity.
Wang (1999, p. 354) argues, ‘‘To view authenticity as the original or the attribute of the
original is too simple to capture its complexity’’ because ‘‘authenticity involves a range of
different meanings’’.
Yakiyama has many historic spots. There are the monumental stones for pilgrim casualties,
the sites of tea stalls, and the Koujindo temple along Kumano Kodo. In addition, there is a
spot called Kagotateba (a place for a palanquin), where noble people, including the Daimyo
of Kishu, are thought to have taken a rest coming out of a palanquin. A Kagotateba, however,
was relocated from the original place. That is to say, this route and sites show the ‘‘imagined
evidence’’ that noble people and pilgrims traveled through them, and tourists may imagine
that stone steps had made their walking easy.
Of?cial narratives by tour guides also help legitimize the ‘‘interpretation of the past to the
needs of the present’’ (Hewison, 1987, p. 85) and authenticate the landscape of the heritage
sites, which increase the value of the place. Thus, authenticity is not an absolute truth, but a
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social construct, on which tourists project ‘‘their own beliefs, expectations, preferences, and
stereotyped images’’ (Wang, 1999, p. 355). Therefore, authenticity is socially constructed
and symbolically perceived through ‘‘physical artifacts’’ (Waitt, 2000, p. 849), such as stone
steps and sites overtaken by hegemony and ideology.
The local authorities are proud that their authentic sites have been designated as World
Heritage. They often speak about the ‘‘world’’ or the ‘‘global.’’ For them, ‘‘evaluated in the
world’’ is synonymous with ‘‘evaluated by Western society.’’ The governor of Mie prefecture
commented, ‘‘‘Kumano Kodo’ was included in a list of World Heritage. We have long looked
forward to it. I am very proud that the cultural heritage of Mie was evaluated on a global
scale’’ (The Nankainichinichi, 2004).
Local life histories and collective memories
On the contrary, those engaging in forestry, including forest owners, perceive Kumano Kodo
as merely mountain passes or life roads, where they have piled and distributed timbers. For
them, Yakiyama and its passages are a pragmatic ‘‘place’’ associated with their ‘‘intimate
experiences’’ (Tuan, 2007, p. 182) and memories.
One can climb down from Yakiyama to Mikisato, by one of two routes, Edo michi, and Meiji
michi. Edo michi commands beautiful scenes of the Kuki gulf, but it is a roundabout route.
According to Itou (2005), a village headman of Nagara developed another, shortcut, route,
Meiji michi in 1895. Local people saved money monthly for a fund, which was used for the
building of the road. Nagara villagers have had to deliver of?cial mails since the Edo period,
so a new road was very helpful for them. Mr Tanaka asserts, ‘‘When the roads collapsed, the
villagers saved money and repaired them. Therefore, Yakiyama michi were their living
roads.’’ Their sense of place has been constructed based on their experiences and
memories throughout their life history. Their rootedness in Yakiyama and attachment to trees
and roads are certainly derived from this sense of place.
The municipal history (Owase Municipal Of?ce, 1969), however, stresses that the mountain
passages of Yakiyama were paved with stones for pilgrims. The city appears to be
concerned about the appropriation of authenticity by directing the tourist gaze toward the
stone steps. Itou (2007), however, argues that although Kumano Kodo, Iseji route is
characterized by stone steps, not all parts of the roads are paved with stones and a
pavement is generally observed on steep slopes rather than on the gentle slope of roads.
Also, there are ditches dug along the paved roads. Therefore, such paved roads appear to
have been constructed for protection from ?ash ?ooding or for the easy distribution of trees
rather than for pilgrims.
Another contradiction is that the World Cultural Heritage includes Kumano Kodo because
of its beauty. A regulation to protect the landscape restricts development of the buffer
zone along Kumano Kodo. However, the cultural landscape of Kumano Kodo cannot be
maintained without thinning the forest. Thinning the forest violates the regulation. If the
forest of cypress along Kumano Kodo had been left neglected, Kumano Kodo could not
have been a World Cultural Heritage site, even if it was well paved with stone steps and
has many authentic historic spots. Kumano Kodo and the cypress forest cannot be
detached from the construction of the cultural landscape, in which humans and nature
interact with each other. It is ironic for those maintained forests to be excluded from the
beautiful landscape.
World Heritage as a global brand and its contradictions
Why are the local authorities, including W City, so interested in World Heritage? Koizumi’s
economic reformreduced local subsidies and cut the revenues, of the authorities. This led to
the creation of a huge ?nancial gap between urban areas and local cities. Thus, local bodies
are seeking ways to survive. One strategy is branding, with which local bodies expect to
publicize their cities. Some attempt to brand their local products, towns, landscapes, and
even people for the attraction of tourists. A brand links merchandising of ‘‘difference’’ (Iwai,
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2007, p. 67). Thus, it creates a kind of symbolic value of ‘‘only one’’, creating distinctiveness
from others.
In this context, local bodies turn to the global brand of World Heritage that helps guarantee
their authenticity on a global scale. It is believed that a global brand might be a nationally
and internationally powerful vehicle for the promotion of tourism. As Ohyama (2007) points
out, the survival of a local culture is relevant to the constant process of differentiation and
justi?cation of itself among others in a global society. The strategy of branding stands as a
method of capitalism. A brand creates the distinction of one site from others, which might
bring it bene?ts as a principle of capitalism. There is a problem, however, if Japan were to be
covered with World Heritage sites, the ‘‘difference’’ would be diminished, and the worth of
such a global brand would also decrease. Iwai (2007) argues that the mechanism of
capitalism is paradoxical. When the ‘‘differentiation’’ among things is ?lled, capitalism has to
keep on seeking new ‘‘differentiation’’ in order to produce pro?ts.
In short, it is too optimistic to consider that World Heritage sites de?nitely attract tourists.
According to the Economic Policies Of?ce of the Cabinet (2005), the well-known sites,
such as Nikko Toshogu and Itsukushima, attracted tourists only in the ?rst year after their
designation, but two years later, the numbers of tourists had dropped or leveled off. In
this sense, Kumano Kodo, Iseji appears to be no exception. Kumano Sanzan was already
a famous sacred site. In addition, Kumano Kodo, Iseji is just one of pilgrimage routes
leading to sacred sites. A number of routes are available for tourists to choose. In 2003,
17 routes of Kumono Kodo, Iseji had 112,941 tourists in total. After its designation as
World Heritage in 2004, the number of tourists increased to 156,253. The number,
however, dropped by 6.5 per cent two years later (The Nankainichinichi, 2006). Although
300,000 tourists were expected a year after the designation, that number was not
reached. Some scholars have suggested that even if tourists are expected to increase,
most of them will not stay overnight. Tourists visit Kumano Kodo by bus or by train from
Nagoya or Osaka, and go back in the evening. There are no amenities or facilities, where
visitors may spend money there.
In addition, after the designation as the World Heritage, a vast amount of money was
invested in the maintenance of the properties. The expenses for maintenance were
supposed to fall on the cities or villages the properties were in. Why are Japanese
self-governing bodies still concerned about World Heritage, despite the ?nancial costs
involved? Certainly the designation of World Heritage might bring the sites much fame and
recognition of the authenticity of its landscape on a global scale. But, what hegemonic
power does such a global brand carry?
World Heritage, culture, and power
According to ‘‘The convention concerning the protection of the World Cultural and Natural
Heritage’’ (UNESCO World Heritage Center, 2005), the purpose of the World Heritage
Convention was to conserve both natural and cultural heritage as human legacies. What are
natural and cultural heritage?
‘‘Cultural heritage’’ are monuments, buildings and sites of outstanding universal value from
the point of view of history, art or science, and ‘‘natural heritage’’ are natural features and
natural sites of outstanding universal value from the aesthetic or scienti?c point of view
(UNESCO World Heritage Center, 2008).
Therefore, World Natural and Cultural Heritage are de?ned as properties, sites, and natural
features of ‘‘outstanding universal value.’’ What, however, is outstanding or exceptional
universal value? What aesthetic values do people universally share? Aesthetics are not
objective, nor the absolute truth. Gell (1998) argues that aesthetics is not to be used as a
universal parameter for assessment. Who has the authoritative power to evaluate
landscapes worthy of universal value?
The criteria for the assessment of outstanding universal value are: representing human
creative genius, a cultural tradition or a civilization, signi?cant stage in human history,
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exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance as such. Also a property must meet the
conditions of integrity and/or authenticity (UNESCO World Heritage Center, 2008). Such
criteria showthat the concept of ‘‘universal value’’ is associated with the category of Western
aesthetics, which emphasizes history, civilization, authenticity, and so on. It is also subject to
Eurocentric hegemonic power, which in?uences the rest of the world. Mosquera (2005)
argues that ‘‘universal value’’ in aesthetics is the myth created by European universality,
which is one of the heritages of Eurocentrism. The term, ‘‘universal value,’’ however, has
disguised this thing.
The de?nition of cultural landscapes for World Heritage also con?rms this thing. According
to ‘‘The operational guidelines for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention’’
(UNESCO World Heritage Center, 2008), cultural landscapes are cultural properties and
represent the ‘‘combined works of nature and man’’ and they are illustrative of the evolution
of human society and settlement over time, under the in?uence of the physical constructions
and/or opportunities presented by their natural environment and of successive social,
economic and cultural forces.
In other words, cultural landscapes are human societies or settlements indicating evolution
and progress over time. In the Western mind, culture is relevant to civilization. It assumes
that all societies are supposed to evolve at some point into modern society. This implies that
progress is essential for human society. The unequal concentration of the World Heritage
sites in Europe demonstrates this idea. As of January 2008, of the 851 sites of World
Heritage, 20 sites are Oceania, 105 sites in Africa, 85 sites in North and Middle America, 62
sites in South America, 174 sites in Asia, and 387 sites in Europe (UNESCO Japan
Association, 2007). Thus it is fair to say that the World Heritage has favored the area
re?ecting progress and civilization.
Henceforth, World Heritage classi?es and ranks a number of landscapes from all over the
world. This operation links ‘‘comparison’’ as well as ‘‘order’’ (Foucault, 1994, p. 53).
Almost all the labor accomplished by human reason consists without doubt in rendering this
operational possible [4]. There exist two forms of comparison, and only two: the comparison of
measurement and that of order (Foucault, 1994, p. 53).
It is true that each country independently proposes its site for World Heritage. The process of
nomination and selection of a site, however, obviously involved with the ‘‘comparison’’ and
‘‘order’’ of landscapes. In addition, this process entails rei?cation of diverse human aesthetic
values. In this process, local histories are masked and uni?ed into a national history, and
local voices are suppressed behind ‘‘authenticity’’ and ‘‘heritage’’ as in the case of Kumano
Kodo. In short, World Heritage creates a newformof global aesthetic values applied to world
landscapes, which in?uences viewers’ aesthetic values and promotes globalization of
cultures.
The Japanese perception of World Heritage is related to their admiration of Western culture
and its hegemonic power. Therefore, Japanese autonomous bodies enthusiastically want
their sites to be designated as World Heritage site, associating with Western aesthetics. The
terms, ‘‘world’’ and ‘‘global’’ are synonyms for the terms, ‘‘Western’’ and ‘‘Europe’’ for the
Japanese. The designation of the World Heritage indicates that the site is highly valued by
Western society.
The Japanese perceive Europe differently from other areas. This thing is shown in their
choice of tourist destinations. Ochiai (1996) argues that tourist spots are chosen according
to their purposes. Europe is a preferred destination for college graduation trips or
honeymoons, things that are important events in their lives. Thus, this phenomenon indicates
that the Japanese consider Europe worth visiting at least once in their lives. He compares
‘‘tours to Europe, for Japanese’’ to ‘‘a pilgrimage approaching high civilization of the North’’
(Ochiai, 1996, p. 56).
The Japanese attempt to purchase the World Heritage of a global cultural brand as cultural
capital even though they spend enormous amounts of money on it. Thus, World Heritage
works as an agency of Western culture promoting cultural imperialism, at least in Japan.
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Conclusion
Tourists who visit the Kumano area and even Kumano people are very interested in Kumano
Kodo as pilgrimage routes, the World Heritage site. With reference to Kumano, the
‘‘pilgrimage of ants’’ from Ryoujinhishou, written by Emperor Goshirakawa, was a phrase
that was commonly used (Nomoto, 1990). This phrase, however, has masked local people’s
lives and distorted their identities behind the ‘‘authenticity’’ and ‘‘heritage’’ that World
Heritage emphasizes. World Heritage affected particularly those engaging in forestry. Their
‘‘living place’’ was transformed into a ‘‘mythical place,’’ where local life histories and
memories were of?cially masked and local voices of resistance were silenced. It is ironic that
those conserving a forest, were alienated from the landscape they have constructed. The
notions of ‘‘authenticity’’ and ‘‘universal value’’ that the World Heritage emphasizes, relates
with power and ideology. Aesthetics of landscapes leads to the politics of exclusion (Duncan
and Duncan, 2004). World Heritage also helps to crystallize local histories and aesthetics of
landscapes.
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Nomoto, K. (1990), Folklore of Kumano People, Jimbun Shoin, Kyoto.
Ochiai, K. (1996), ‘‘Seeking South’’, in Yamashita, S. (Ed.), Anthropology and Tourism, Shinyosha, Tokyo,
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Further reading
Kurano, K. (2008), Kojiki, 76th ed., Iwanami Shoten, Tokyo.
Urry, J. (1990), The Tourist Gaze: Leisure, and Travel in Contemporary Societies, Sage Publications,
London.
Corresponding author
Hiroko Yasuda can be contacted at: [email protected]
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This article has been cited by:
1. Shevren Lai, Can-Seng Ooi. 2015. Branded as a World Heritage city: The politics afterwards. Place Branding and Public
Diplomacy 11, 276-292. [CrossRef]
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doc_181900701.pdf
This paper aims to examine a conflict between local e´ lites and local forest workers in relation
to the designation of Kumano Kodo in Japan as a World Heritage site. Aesthetics of landscapes are
highly politicized, which creates conflicts for forest workers.
International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research
World heritage and cultural tourism in Japan
Hiroko Yasuda
Article information:
To cite this document:
Hiroko Yasuda, (2010),"World heritage and cultural tourism in J apan", International J ournal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research,
Vol. 4 Iss 4 pp. 366 - 375
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Regular paper
World heritage and cultural tourism in
Japan
Hiroko Yasuda
Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to examine a con?ict between local e´ lites and local forest workers in relation
to the designation of Kumano Kodo in Japan as a World Heritage site. Aesthetics of landscapes are
highly politicized, which creates con?icts for forest workers.
Design/methodology/approach – The study examines two concepts of ‘‘heritage’’ and ‘‘authenticity,’’
that World Heritage emphasizes. Types of authenticity are compared, and a post-structuralist’s model of
authenticity is developed. The study uses empirical research data to showa process of authentication of
tourist sites.
Findings – The value associated with World Heritage, while proclaimed as ‘‘universal value’’,
represents a Eurocentric hegemonic power that local e´ lites use symbolically. The construction of
Kumano Kodo as a World Heritage site entails masking local histories and memories.
Originality/value – Many scholars discuss heritage sites from the viewpoint of a con?ict between
nationalism and globalism. This paper, however, views heritage tourism from multiple perspectives,
such as globalism, cosmopolitanism and localism.
Keywords Heritage, Tourism, Globalization, Japan
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
In 2003 the Japanese government adopted ‘‘Visit Japan Campaign’’ that would promote the
development of national tourism, through which they hoped to attract more tourists from
abroad (Ministry of Land and Traf?c, 2004). Scholars have commented on the fact and the
government has been concerned about the fact, that Japan has not been as attractive to
foreign tourists as many European nations. This concern relates to the recent boom in The
World Heritage, that local self-governing bodies strongly promote. As of January 2008,
Japan had three natural sites and 11 cultural properties designated as World Heritage Sites
and eight more sites are on a tentative list. However, the designation of sites as World
Heritage areas in some cases has created problems between hosts and guests, and
between local of?cials and local residents. Tourism is a post-industrial phenomenon and a
way to alleviate poverty (Craik, 2000). The expansion of tourism cannot be separated from
the development of globalization, which enhances transmigration of people. Therefore, the
studies of globalization are crucial for tourism studies.
The term, ‘‘globalization’’ appears in discourses ranging from the academic to the everyday
in contemporary society. Cunningham (2000, p. 583) argues, ‘‘At no time has this phrase
seemed more ?tting or more complex than it does today, as globalization captures the
intellectual imagination.’’ Peckham argues that the concept of a monolithic national identity
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VOL. 4 NO. 4 2010, pp. 366-375, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1750-6182 DOI 10.1108/17506181011081532
Hiroko Yasuda is based in
Komatsu City, Japan.
Received: November 2008
Revised: March 2009
Accepted: January 2010
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is being brought into question against a background of globalization, which, in many senses,
has blurred national borders.
At the beginning of the twenty-?rst century, many conventional assumptions about the inevitability
of the nation-state are being called in question. Globalization has undermined many of those
borders within which we are accustomed to de?ne ‘‘ourselves’’ and ‘‘others.’’ As European
societies become increasingly secular and multicultural, the concept of a monolithic,
encompassing and integrative heritage becomes untenable (Peckham, 2003, p. 2).
However, most tourism scholars still discuss tourism from a perspective of nationalism and
nationhood, and do not place tourism in a multi-level perspective, taking globalization,
nationalism and localism into account. Palmer argues that heritage tourism encourages the
construction of nationalism. For example, the promotion of certain English sites may
encourage people to share a national identity of Englishness. As such the sites are examples
of what Hitchcock (1999) refers to as situational constructions of nationalism, the creation
and re-creation of ethnic identity through ‘‘international agency’’, in this instance heritage
tourism. This construction is not identity as a primordial given but as a set of social
processes and relations that are manipulative within a variety of social-tourist situations
(Palmer, 2005).
For Palmer, Englishness is a seamless entity, where all English men and women
mechanically reproduce their identities. She objecti?es a national identity of ‘‘English,’’
embedded in historic sites in England, by ignoring local diversities and differentiation. She
reduces local diversities into national conformity. She also refers to an ‘‘imagined
community,’’ where people are united to a nation through ‘‘the notion of felt history’’ that
national historic sites invoke. However, a concept of globalization is entirely absent from her
analysis, in spite of having been written in the present era, when an imagined community is
shared at the global level.
The present analysis challenges her essentialist concept of nationalism and neglect of
globalization. I employ more complex and sophisticated theoretical frameworks, through
which I explore tensions between globalism, cosmopolitanism, nationalism and localism. I
do this through examination of the case of Kumano Kodo, a World Heritage site, where
serious con?icts have arisen between local residents and local authorities. In this case, the
construction of national heritage promoted by local authorities is not necessarily the result of
the countermeasures against globalization. Rather, the authorities used ‘‘the global’’
symbolically to exercise their top-down power over local residents who opposed to the
designation of the World Heritage site. Local authorities (cities and prefectures) and the
Agency of Cultural Affairs (2007) took positions that emphasized their role as part of the
cosmopolitan elites, who emphasize ‘‘the global’’ rather than ‘‘the local.’’ They relied on ‘‘the
global,’’ the World Heritage de?ned by UNESCO, for their sites to be guaranteed as
authentic landscapes, which, they believe, would result in the promotion of cultural tourism.
‘‘Globalization’’ is the symbolic representation of Eurocentrism in the aesthetics of art,
architecture, landscapes, and so on. It constructs a universal value that exercises
hegemonic power. Mosquera (2005) argues that Eurocentrism is a speci?c culture, whose
hegemonic power imposes ethnocentrism as a universal value. Eurocentrism also impacts
on culture tourism. I view globalization as cultural hegemony rather than economic
hegemony. Adorno (2007) argues that culture is not an immediate expression of economy,
but is mediated through the total social process. World Heritage appears to produce a
global ranking of natural and cultural landscapes, but that ranking is, in fact, an act of
cultural imperialism. World Heritage is a ‘‘symbol of the new global order’’ (Cunningham,
2000, p. 583).
World Heritage, linked to global power, impacts powerfully on the tourist gaze directed to
landscapes and tourists’ senses of place. The most important criterion for a designation as a
World Cultural Heritage site is the ‘‘authenticity’’ and ‘‘sincerity’’ of a candidate site, which
are necessarily demonstrated as an exempli?cation of national properties. In this process,
local cultural diversities are masked, and local histories are manipulated or reduced into a
grand, national heritage. ‘‘Vernacular narratives’’ (Waitt, 2000, p. 841) are transformed into
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an of?cial version of narratives. The construction of national heritage promoted by local elites
is relevant to the con?scation of the means of production from those engaging in forestry,
and also the suppression of their local histories and memories. Therefore, this paper
problematises ‘‘heritage’’ and ‘‘authenticity’’ of the built environment of Kumano Kodo
although they are often considered to be important elements for tourism. World Heritage
places great emphasis on those criteria in its rationale for designation. This paper explores
how ‘‘heritage’’ and ‘‘authenticity’’ are politicized through construction of the World Heritage
site, and how local residents have developed resistance against this.
Kumano and Kumano Kodo, Pilgrimage Routes
‘‘Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range’’ were designated as a
World Heritage site in July 2004. This is the twelfth World Heritage site in Japan. Sacred Sites
in the Kii Mountain Range consist of Kumano Sanzan, Yoshino, Ohgake, and Koyasan, and
are the religious amalgamation of Shinto, Buddhism, and Shugendo. The Sacred Sites have
attracted a large number of pilgrims from all over Japan. In particular, the Kumano area is
considered to be a heritage site as it is deeply associated with the creation myth of Japan.
Two deities, Izanagi (a male god) and Izanami (a goddess) gave birth to the Japanese islets,
the origin of the Japanese island, and many gods. According to Nihon Shoki, when Izanami
had Kagutsuchi, a ?re god, she was burned to death. Local people buried her corpse at
Arima mura, Kumano in the Kii region (Ujitani, 1990). Hanano Iwaya (a rock cave), a famous
tourist spot is associated with this legend. Also, according to Kojiki, it is Kumano where
Emperor Jinmu arrived for the conquest of Yamato (the Kinki region) in the guide of a
three-legged Yatagarasu (a raven), a messenger of the gods. Japanese emperors are
considered to be descendants from Izanami.
Kumano Kodo are pilgrimage routes for Kumano Sanzan (three shrines). There are primarily
four routes, Koheji, Nakaheji, Oheji, and Iseji, which are accessible from various areas.
Kumano Moude (pilgrimage) began in the middle of the Heian era (the tenth century).
Kumano Sanzan was regarded as a heaven, and emperors and aristocrats often went on a
pilgrimage wishing for a cure for illness or for material bene?ts. The whole Kumano area was
regarded as another world. Therefore Kumano is a mythical place representing Japanese
cosmology.
Emperor Uda began Kumano Moude (pilgrimage) for the ?rst time in 907, and Emperor
Shirakawa popularized it. Gotoba Joukou went on pilgrimage 28 times in his life. Kumano
Moude took root as a para-national event. It played an important role as ‘‘a political
performance’’ for publicizing the emperors’ roots and his descent from the Sun Goddess
(Koyama, 2001). Later, in the latter half of the ?fteenth century, Kumano Moude was brought
into fashion among samurais and common folks, which was described as Arino Kumano
Moude (pilgrimage of ants) (Koyama, 2001, p. 67). Therefore, Kumano was recognized as
being related to a religious power that the emperors controlled, and linked with memories
shared with the common people. As Peckham (2003) points out, the construction of heritage
links power, control and memory, and heritage plays a crucial role in the nation-building
process.
As Kumano is associated with the nation’s past, it is legitimized as a national heritage site.
Therefore, Kumano demonstrates itself to be the most authentic place in Japan and its
designation as a World Heritage site reinforces such authenticity. Palmer (2005) argues that
visiting heritage sites representing a nation’s past contributes to the construction of a
national identity. Heritage tourism plays an important role in the ‘‘imagined community’’
through which tourists share social values and beliefs.
The notion of felt history is signi?cant because heritage tourism is experienced primarily from
within the con?nes of the imagination, becoming in a sense an intimate communicator of
nationness. The three sites thus resemble what Anderson (1991) has referred to as ‘‘imagined
communities’’ wherein each individual imagines their fellow compatriots have the same basic
understanding of what the nation is all about (Palmer, 2005, p. 10).
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Palmer, however, perceives a national identity to be a monolithic concept, and people thus
experience homogeneous cultural identities through heritage sites. This thing acts as a
mechanismof social order. She ignores the fact of the construction of national identity entails
distortion of local histories and suppression of cultural diversities. She focuses on tourists
sharing a national identity through an imagined community, whereas homogeneity is called
into question if the views of local residents, rather than tourists, are taken into account. When
the Kii mountain ranges, including Kumano Sanzan, were put forward as a site of the World
Heritage, Kumano roads were renamed in Kumano Kodo (ancient roads). This means that
Kumano roads were transformed from roads for local life to pilgrimage routes leading to
sacred sites.
The con?icts between the local authority and forest-owners
The passage of Yakiyama has of?cially become one of Kumano Kodo, Iseji pilgrimage
routes, as part of the World Heritage. It is well-known as the most perilous and steepest
mountain in the Kinki region. Yakiyama recently has gained nation-wide attention because of
radical protests by its owners. After 10 to 15 minutes’ climbing on the Yanohama side,
slogans such as ‘‘Oppose World Heritage,’’ and ‘‘End IKOMOS’’ can be seen, written in
colored ink on trees and huge rocks for 200 to 300 meters. While climbing, such scenes can
be seen in various places. Climbing down the passage, the similar scenes can be also found
at some spots along the Mikisato side. I interviewed the forest owners about these scribbled
messages. They told me it was not ‘‘scribbling,’’ but their protests activities against World
Heritage.
The key industries in this region are forestry and ?shery, and local people have traditionally
lived from them. Japanese cypress trees grow from Kii Nagashima to Owase, and are
famous for their high quality. Forest-owners and their forefathers have preserved this
mountain for 400 years. It takes 50 to 60 years for cypresses to grow large enough to be cut.
Mr Tanaka, one of the locals, asserts that he is very attached to the cypresses, as does his
children. It will take at least ten years for the damaged cypresses to recover fully even if the
slogans are removed from them.
The protests began as a form of ‘‘scribbling’’ on the trees a year before Kumano Kodo’s
designation as a World Heritage site. First, the forest-owners put up billboards saying
‘‘Oppose World Heritage’’ near their houses. The local authorities, however, paid no attention
to this, so they took the more extreme measure of ‘‘scribbling’’ on their trees in colored ink in
order to gain more attention both from tourists and the local authorities.
Tourismscholars (Hughes, 1995) often suggest that people’s concern for national heritage is
the consequences of globalization and a reaction against it. In Kumano, however, local
authorities appropriated globalization rather than resisting it. They symbolically used ‘‘the
global’’ to deal with local con?icts, as well as for marketing tourism. Local authorities, such
as cities and prefectures adopted the stance of cosmopolitan elites, who tend to favor ‘‘the
global’’ rather than ‘‘the local,’’ even though their lives are embedded in ‘‘the local.’’ The
notion of cosmopolitanism is to refer to being a capacity to open to others who are often
geographically distant (Lash and Urry, 1994). They play the role of agents of global culture
rather than representatives of local culture. They rely on a global culture, the authority of
World Heritage, UNESCO, to create authentic landscapes of Kumano Kodo.
Since Kumano Kodo was designated a World Heritage site, forest-owners have not been
allowed to cut their own trees without permission. As a result, those cutting trees and
thinning forests have been unemployed since that time. It is, as it were, a matter of life
and death for those engaging in forestry. World Heritage is associated with a regulation
and protection of landscapes and of national historic relics. The regulation of landscape
restricts the development of the buffer zone around the World Heritage site, which
extends 50 meters on either side of the Kumano Kodo. Thus, the forest owners have to
submit an application every time they want to cut their own trees. Also, if they damage
stone steps which tourists perceive as authentic in the process of planting or thinning
trees, they are penalized. One forest owner of Yakiyama, Mr Doi argues that he pays the
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municipal property tax for his forest, and that if the development of his forest is
restricted, the mortgage value drops. This fact, he says, violates his right to bene?t from
his assets.
In addition, the barks of 20 to 30 year-old cypresses have been entirely eaten by deer on the
Mikisato side of Yakiyama. Forest-owners are worried that the forest will be destroyed before
long. The Mikisato side of the forest is a copse, some 80 per cent of which consists of small
trees and bushes, and the rest consists of cypresses. This fact creates an environment in
which deer multiply rapidly. The forest-owners are very concerned about deer damage, but
they are not allowed to shoot beasts. Mr Tanaka, a representative of forest- owners at
Mikisato, argues that around ten years ago, Yakiyama michi (road) began to be called as
Kumano Kodo. Since then, shooting of animals has been prohibited, which has promoted
the destruction of cypress trees. The local authority enforced a rule that the landscapes and
national historic spots of Kumano Kodo must be protected as a prerequisite condition of
World Heritage designation.
Cultural politics and the construction of authenticity in heritage sites
Yakiyama is known as a highlight of Kumano Kodo, Iseji routes – 7.2 kilometers from a
walking route of 12 kilometers in the mountain are designated as World Heritage.
Kumano Kodo, Iseji comprises 17 routes. In most cases, only some parts of the routes
are included in the World Heritage. Most of the local bodies taking charge of the 17
routes, excluded privately-owned forests from the regulations for conserving landscapes.
The problem seems to be that W City (pseudonym) applied it to Yakiyama without
adequate consultation with the forest-owners. The city argues that even if the forest
belongs to the forest-owners, Kumano Kodo is a municipal road, so the agreement of
forest owners is not necessarily required.
W City has a signi?cantly different idea about ‘‘Kumano Kodo’’ from the forest owners. The
city perceives ‘‘Kumano Kodo, Iseji’’ not just as a mountain passage, but as a ‘‘pilgrimage
route’’ in relation to the stories of pilgrimage and their authentic ancient history. The city
considers ‘‘the past’’ should be commoditized as a resource for tourism and ‘‘authenticity’’
should be appropriated for the tourist gaze. Hewison argues that the past is the last
resource, which is reshaped and its meaning is shifted to meet the needs of the present. The
substitute, imaginary past has become of?cial policy in the heritage industry.
As on Tyneside, as in the Rhondda Valley, the past is no longer a ?nite entity but a resource,
sometimes the last resource. As such it is shaped and moulded to the needs of the present, and in
the process ?ltered, polished, and drained of meaning. Yet the substitution of this imaginary past
has become of?cial policy, even as the same government elsewhere has allowed the present to
decline (Hewison, 1987, p. 99).
What makes the sites or toured objects authentic? Authenticity is conventionally de?ned as
originality, genuineness or sincerity. Post-structuralists (Baudrillard, 1994), however,
question whether there can be objective criteria to measure genuineness or sincerity.
Wang (1999, p. 354) argues, ‘‘To view authenticity as the original or the attribute of the
original is too simple to capture its complexity’’ because ‘‘authenticity involves a range of
different meanings’’.
Yakiyama has many historic spots. There are the monumental stones for pilgrim casualties,
the sites of tea stalls, and the Koujindo temple along Kumano Kodo. In addition, there is a
spot called Kagotateba (a place for a palanquin), where noble people, including the Daimyo
of Kishu, are thought to have taken a rest coming out of a palanquin. A Kagotateba, however,
was relocated from the original place. That is to say, this route and sites show the ‘‘imagined
evidence’’ that noble people and pilgrims traveled through them, and tourists may imagine
that stone steps had made their walking easy.
Of?cial narratives by tour guides also help legitimize the ‘‘interpretation of the past to the
needs of the present’’ (Hewison, 1987, p. 85) and authenticate the landscape of the heritage
sites, which increase the value of the place. Thus, authenticity is not an absolute truth, but a
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social construct, on which tourists project ‘‘their own beliefs, expectations, preferences, and
stereotyped images’’ (Wang, 1999, p. 355). Therefore, authenticity is socially constructed
and symbolically perceived through ‘‘physical artifacts’’ (Waitt, 2000, p. 849), such as stone
steps and sites overtaken by hegemony and ideology.
The local authorities are proud that their authentic sites have been designated as World
Heritage. They often speak about the ‘‘world’’ or the ‘‘global.’’ For them, ‘‘evaluated in the
world’’ is synonymous with ‘‘evaluated by Western society.’’ The governor of Mie prefecture
commented, ‘‘‘Kumano Kodo’ was included in a list of World Heritage. We have long looked
forward to it. I am very proud that the cultural heritage of Mie was evaluated on a global
scale’’ (The Nankainichinichi, 2004).
Local life histories and collective memories
On the contrary, those engaging in forestry, including forest owners, perceive Kumano Kodo
as merely mountain passes or life roads, where they have piled and distributed timbers. For
them, Yakiyama and its passages are a pragmatic ‘‘place’’ associated with their ‘‘intimate
experiences’’ (Tuan, 2007, p. 182) and memories.
One can climb down from Yakiyama to Mikisato, by one of two routes, Edo michi, and Meiji
michi. Edo michi commands beautiful scenes of the Kuki gulf, but it is a roundabout route.
According to Itou (2005), a village headman of Nagara developed another, shortcut, route,
Meiji michi in 1895. Local people saved money monthly for a fund, which was used for the
building of the road. Nagara villagers have had to deliver of?cial mails since the Edo period,
so a new road was very helpful for them. Mr Tanaka asserts, ‘‘When the roads collapsed, the
villagers saved money and repaired them. Therefore, Yakiyama michi were their living
roads.’’ Their sense of place has been constructed based on their experiences and
memories throughout their life history. Their rootedness in Yakiyama and attachment to trees
and roads are certainly derived from this sense of place.
The municipal history (Owase Municipal Of?ce, 1969), however, stresses that the mountain
passages of Yakiyama were paved with stones for pilgrims. The city appears to be
concerned about the appropriation of authenticity by directing the tourist gaze toward the
stone steps. Itou (2007), however, argues that although Kumano Kodo, Iseji route is
characterized by stone steps, not all parts of the roads are paved with stones and a
pavement is generally observed on steep slopes rather than on the gentle slope of roads.
Also, there are ditches dug along the paved roads. Therefore, such paved roads appear to
have been constructed for protection from ?ash ?ooding or for the easy distribution of trees
rather than for pilgrims.
Another contradiction is that the World Cultural Heritage includes Kumano Kodo because
of its beauty. A regulation to protect the landscape restricts development of the buffer
zone along Kumano Kodo. However, the cultural landscape of Kumano Kodo cannot be
maintained without thinning the forest. Thinning the forest violates the regulation. If the
forest of cypress along Kumano Kodo had been left neglected, Kumano Kodo could not
have been a World Cultural Heritage site, even if it was well paved with stone steps and
has many authentic historic spots. Kumano Kodo and the cypress forest cannot be
detached from the construction of the cultural landscape, in which humans and nature
interact with each other. It is ironic for those maintained forests to be excluded from the
beautiful landscape.
World Heritage as a global brand and its contradictions
Why are the local authorities, including W City, so interested in World Heritage? Koizumi’s
economic reformreduced local subsidies and cut the revenues, of the authorities. This led to
the creation of a huge ?nancial gap between urban areas and local cities. Thus, local bodies
are seeking ways to survive. One strategy is branding, with which local bodies expect to
publicize their cities. Some attempt to brand their local products, towns, landscapes, and
even people for the attraction of tourists. A brand links merchandising of ‘‘difference’’ (Iwai,
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2007, p. 67). Thus, it creates a kind of symbolic value of ‘‘only one’’, creating distinctiveness
from others.
In this context, local bodies turn to the global brand of World Heritage that helps guarantee
their authenticity on a global scale. It is believed that a global brand might be a nationally
and internationally powerful vehicle for the promotion of tourism. As Ohyama (2007) points
out, the survival of a local culture is relevant to the constant process of differentiation and
justi?cation of itself among others in a global society. The strategy of branding stands as a
method of capitalism. A brand creates the distinction of one site from others, which might
bring it bene?ts as a principle of capitalism. There is a problem, however, if Japan were to be
covered with World Heritage sites, the ‘‘difference’’ would be diminished, and the worth of
such a global brand would also decrease. Iwai (2007) argues that the mechanism of
capitalism is paradoxical. When the ‘‘differentiation’’ among things is ?lled, capitalism has to
keep on seeking new ‘‘differentiation’’ in order to produce pro?ts.
In short, it is too optimistic to consider that World Heritage sites de?nitely attract tourists.
According to the Economic Policies Of?ce of the Cabinet (2005), the well-known sites,
such as Nikko Toshogu and Itsukushima, attracted tourists only in the ?rst year after their
designation, but two years later, the numbers of tourists had dropped or leveled off. In
this sense, Kumano Kodo, Iseji appears to be no exception. Kumano Sanzan was already
a famous sacred site. In addition, Kumano Kodo, Iseji is just one of pilgrimage routes
leading to sacred sites. A number of routes are available for tourists to choose. In 2003,
17 routes of Kumono Kodo, Iseji had 112,941 tourists in total. After its designation as
World Heritage in 2004, the number of tourists increased to 156,253. The number,
however, dropped by 6.5 per cent two years later (The Nankainichinichi, 2006). Although
300,000 tourists were expected a year after the designation, that number was not
reached. Some scholars have suggested that even if tourists are expected to increase,
most of them will not stay overnight. Tourists visit Kumano Kodo by bus or by train from
Nagoya or Osaka, and go back in the evening. There are no amenities or facilities, where
visitors may spend money there.
In addition, after the designation as the World Heritage, a vast amount of money was
invested in the maintenance of the properties. The expenses for maintenance were
supposed to fall on the cities or villages the properties were in. Why are Japanese
self-governing bodies still concerned about World Heritage, despite the ?nancial costs
involved? Certainly the designation of World Heritage might bring the sites much fame and
recognition of the authenticity of its landscape on a global scale. But, what hegemonic
power does such a global brand carry?
World Heritage, culture, and power
According to ‘‘The convention concerning the protection of the World Cultural and Natural
Heritage’’ (UNESCO World Heritage Center, 2005), the purpose of the World Heritage
Convention was to conserve both natural and cultural heritage as human legacies. What are
natural and cultural heritage?
‘‘Cultural heritage’’ are monuments, buildings and sites of outstanding universal value from
the point of view of history, art or science, and ‘‘natural heritage’’ are natural features and
natural sites of outstanding universal value from the aesthetic or scienti?c point of view
(UNESCO World Heritage Center, 2008).
Therefore, World Natural and Cultural Heritage are de?ned as properties, sites, and natural
features of ‘‘outstanding universal value.’’ What, however, is outstanding or exceptional
universal value? What aesthetic values do people universally share? Aesthetics are not
objective, nor the absolute truth. Gell (1998) argues that aesthetics is not to be used as a
universal parameter for assessment. Who has the authoritative power to evaluate
landscapes worthy of universal value?
The criteria for the assessment of outstanding universal value are: representing human
creative genius, a cultural tradition or a civilization, signi?cant stage in human history,
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exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance as such. Also a property must meet the
conditions of integrity and/or authenticity (UNESCO World Heritage Center, 2008). Such
criteria showthat the concept of ‘‘universal value’’ is associated with the category of Western
aesthetics, which emphasizes history, civilization, authenticity, and so on. It is also subject to
Eurocentric hegemonic power, which in?uences the rest of the world. Mosquera (2005)
argues that ‘‘universal value’’ in aesthetics is the myth created by European universality,
which is one of the heritages of Eurocentrism. The term, ‘‘universal value,’’ however, has
disguised this thing.
The de?nition of cultural landscapes for World Heritage also con?rms this thing. According
to ‘‘The operational guidelines for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention’’
(UNESCO World Heritage Center, 2008), cultural landscapes are cultural properties and
represent the ‘‘combined works of nature and man’’ and they are illustrative of the evolution
of human society and settlement over time, under the in?uence of the physical constructions
and/or opportunities presented by their natural environment and of successive social,
economic and cultural forces.
In other words, cultural landscapes are human societies or settlements indicating evolution
and progress over time. In the Western mind, culture is relevant to civilization. It assumes
that all societies are supposed to evolve at some point into modern society. This implies that
progress is essential for human society. The unequal concentration of the World Heritage
sites in Europe demonstrates this idea. As of January 2008, of the 851 sites of World
Heritage, 20 sites are Oceania, 105 sites in Africa, 85 sites in North and Middle America, 62
sites in South America, 174 sites in Asia, and 387 sites in Europe (UNESCO Japan
Association, 2007). Thus it is fair to say that the World Heritage has favored the area
re?ecting progress and civilization.
Henceforth, World Heritage classi?es and ranks a number of landscapes from all over the
world. This operation links ‘‘comparison’’ as well as ‘‘order’’ (Foucault, 1994, p. 53).
Almost all the labor accomplished by human reason consists without doubt in rendering this
operational possible [4]. There exist two forms of comparison, and only two: the comparison of
measurement and that of order (Foucault, 1994, p. 53).
It is true that each country independently proposes its site for World Heritage. The process of
nomination and selection of a site, however, obviously involved with the ‘‘comparison’’ and
‘‘order’’ of landscapes. In addition, this process entails rei?cation of diverse human aesthetic
values. In this process, local histories are masked and uni?ed into a national history, and
local voices are suppressed behind ‘‘authenticity’’ and ‘‘heritage’’ as in the case of Kumano
Kodo. In short, World Heritage creates a newformof global aesthetic values applied to world
landscapes, which in?uences viewers’ aesthetic values and promotes globalization of
cultures.
The Japanese perception of World Heritage is related to their admiration of Western culture
and its hegemonic power. Therefore, Japanese autonomous bodies enthusiastically want
their sites to be designated as World Heritage site, associating with Western aesthetics. The
terms, ‘‘world’’ and ‘‘global’’ are synonyms for the terms, ‘‘Western’’ and ‘‘Europe’’ for the
Japanese. The designation of the World Heritage indicates that the site is highly valued by
Western society.
The Japanese perceive Europe differently from other areas. This thing is shown in their
choice of tourist destinations. Ochiai (1996) argues that tourist spots are chosen according
to their purposes. Europe is a preferred destination for college graduation trips or
honeymoons, things that are important events in their lives. Thus, this phenomenon indicates
that the Japanese consider Europe worth visiting at least once in their lives. He compares
‘‘tours to Europe, for Japanese’’ to ‘‘a pilgrimage approaching high civilization of the North’’
(Ochiai, 1996, p. 56).
The Japanese attempt to purchase the World Heritage of a global cultural brand as cultural
capital even though they spend enormous amounts of money on it. Thus, World Heritage
works as an agency of Western culture promoting cultural imperialism, at least in Japan.
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Conclusion
Tourists who visit the Kumano area and even Kumano people are very interested in Kumano
Kodo as pilgrimage routes, the World Heritage site. With reference to Kumano, the
‘‘pilgrimage of ants’’ from Ryoujinhishou, written by Emperor Goshirakawa, was a phrase
that was commonly used (Nomoto, 1990). This phrase, however, has masked local people’s
lives and distorted their identities behind the ‘‘authenticity’’ and ‘‘heritage’’ that World
Heritage emphasizes. World Heritage affected particularly those engaging in forestry. Their
‘‘living place’’ was transformed into a ‘‘mythical place,’’ where local life histories and
memories were of?cially masked and local voices of resistance were silenced. It is ironic that
those conserving a forest, were alienated from the landscape they have constructed. The
notions of ‘‘authenticity’’ and ‘‘universal value’’ that the World Heritage emphasizes, relates
with power and ideology. Aesthetics of landscapes leads to the politics of exclusion (Duncan
and Duncan, 2004). World Heritage also helps to crystallize local histories and aesthetics of
landscapes.
References
Adorno, T. (2007), ‘‘Letter to Walter Benjamin’’, in Adorno, T. (Ed.), Aesthetics and Politics, Verso,
London, pp. 110-33.
Agency for Cultural Affairs (2007), ‘‘Sacred sites and pilgrimage routes in the Kii mountain ranges’’,
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Corresponding author
Hiroko Yasuda can be contacted at: [email protected]
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