6- Panel 5A

Hosting the World

L. Tkach-Kawasaki:  A Perfect Storm: Examining Political Discourse in Japan in a COVID-Olympic Summer

The summer of 2021 saw Japan’s leading politicians weigh in via social media on topics ranging from COVID-19 and vaccination roll-outs to public opinions concerning the Olympics. Social media platforms such as Twitter and YouTube continue to play an important role in communicating opinions and informing the public. This paper analyzes the similarities and differences in Twitter utilization and content among three major political leaders during this period – Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Tokyo Metropolitan Governor Yuriko Koike, and Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura – in how they approached rising COVID-19 cases against the backdrop of the Olympics and the upcoming general election in the fall of 2021.

T. Waldichuk:  A review of Kappa: From demon to festival mascot and a promoter of places and natural landscapes 

Japanese folklore has produced mythical creatures, some good and bad. One such creature that is associated mostly with rivers and lakes is Kappa, which is now generally portrayed as a child-size, human-like creature with webbed feet. Ancient relics indicate that Kappa has lived all over Japan under regionally different names. The image of Kappa has changed over the years. Once thought of as a demon, Kappa is now generally accepted as a harmless, sometimes humorous, mascot — promoting communities, cucumbers, and other products. Through a literature review and a review of community websites, this presentation first briefly reviews the metamorphosis of Kappa, and then it demonstrates the role of Kappa as a mascot in promoting places and the natural environment. The tentative findings are that ancient images of Kappa going back to 300 C.E. are associated with water creatures, but also with turtles, monkeys, and humans. Historically, rural settlements organized festivals to worship Kappa as a deity in hope of good farming or fishing returns. Nowadays Kappa — as a mascot — is used to foster community pride and promote places to increase tourism. The image of Kappa also promotes a cleaner environment, e.g., through its placement on outdoor signage to stop the dumping of garbage. The principal conclusion is that Kappa has morphed into a national mascot with a multifaceted history unlike any other, and it has become a promoter of communities and cherished natural landscapes. 

S. Harrison: Ainu of Japan Hosting the World: Ainu-led International conferences

Ainu have been actively hosting international Indigenous peoples events in Hokkaido since the late 1980s. Significant events took place in 1989, 1993, 2005, 2008, and 2019. Over the last four decades Ainu have also hosted smaller delegations of minority and Indigenous peoples from around the world including China, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Finland. Despite these Ainu efforts to engage the word locally, the literature on Ainu political and social history tends to highlights Ainu exchanges abroad and participation in fora such as the United Nations in Geneva and New York. Examining how Ainu have been world hosts highlights the importance of reciprocity of exchanges and the Asia Pacific component of the formation of the global Indigenous movement.

R. Gunawan: Handing Down Dolls and Traditions: Regional Revitalization in Katsuura, Tokushima

Nestled in the mountains of Tokushima Prefecture lies the town of Katsuura. With its resplendent greenery and an economy that depends heavily on agriculture, Katsuura has many characteristics of a typical satoyama settlement. Its rapidly aging population and declining birthrate are also typical of many rural Japanese communities—the average age in Katsuura is 60 years old and the total population is half of what it was in 1950. What is not typical about Katsuura is the way its townspeople have rallied to revitalize the town through the establishment of its unique “Big” Hinamatsuri. Rather than the three, five, or seven tiers of standard household Hinamatsuri displays, Katsuura’s festival features a hundred-tiered pyramid that displays over 30,000 dolls. These dolls have been donated by locals and people across Japan who cannot pass them on to future generations, breathing new life into an old tradition and drawing in thousands of tourists each year to stimulate the local economy. By drawing on Hinamatsuri’s history, ideas of “nostalgic” and “authentic” Japan, and the growing museumization of the countryside, this presentation will explore the evolution of Hinamatsuri as a tourist attraction in the context of the Green Tourism movement that seeks to connect urban residents with rural areas.