Translated literally, the word furusato ( ふ る さ と ) means »old village«, but a more fitting
translation would be »home village« or »home town«. This seemingly simple and straightforward
word has, during periods of transformation of the Japanese way of life, developed into something
rather more abstract, and of a cultural, social, and even political connotation. Nowadays, the word
furusato denotes an idealised (and ideological) image of the »true« Japan, or rather, the true »home«
of the Japanese, which is thought to have been lost in the country’s efforts to urbanise and
modernise. This nostalgia-driven image can be found in a variety of areas, but the focal point of this
work is its appearance in Japanese domestic tourism.
In this dissertation, I first establish a wider theoretical foundation with by conducting research about
the furusato concept in general. I explain the meaning of the term furusato and introduce the most
widely accepted image attached to it. In the following chapter, I focus on the two key periods in
Japanese history that influenced the concept’s formation. Next, I discuss domestic tourism in Japan,its background and the emergence of the furusato concept within it with the tourist campaigns of the
second half of the 1970s. Finally, I conduct a short examination of two chosen tourist locations
which use the furusato concept in their tourist image and promotion. I am interested in seeing if and
how the concept and ideas related to it are reflected in their website promotion and tourist activities.
I conclude the examination with a quick comparison of the two locations.
|
