As mist floated over the Sungari River : The touristic culture defined by imperial Japan to better please foreign visitors
Type
conference paper
Date Issued
2010-06-21
Author(s)
Abstract
I will question several of the assumptions we share on Western (sic) travel culture in an examination, done through Japanese eyes, of the "global tourist culture." My paper will also explore the tensions inherent in extending abroad a new international travel culture. To deal with the new codes of behavior that were enforced in Japanese-dominated Korea and Manchuria, I will rely on the literature that writers like Natsume Sôseki and the Japanese Ministry of Railways produced in the 1900-1930 decades. Companies such as the powerful Mantetsu were tasked to commodify images of ancient Asia while providing international travelers with the same amenities as in New York City. Contemporary guidebooks sought to promote to foreign visitors a cultural approach to imperial geography that participated in a coherent vision of the modern world order. At the same time they made them attractive, these guidebooks disenfranchised the native cultures of the Asian mainland. How did international tourism validate Japanese assumptions held then on the cultural geography of Asia? What was the colonial geographer's gaze on tourism? What was needed to educate international tourists who boarded hotels, trains and ferries in Korea and Manchuria? How did mobility enhance the impressions of traditionalism and apathy in colonized Asia recorded by travelers? How were landmarks mapped and represented for tourist consumption? These will be among the questions on tourism and mobility that I will try to answer within the epistemological boundaries of this case study.
Language
English
Keywords
Manchuria (1907-1945)
travel culture
Japanese colonialism
orientalism
tourism
South Manchuria Railways Company
China
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
No
Book title
Tourist cultures: Spatialities, Mobilities, Corporealities
Publisher
IGU International Geographical Union
Publisher place
Brüssel
Event Title
Commission for "Cultural Approach in Geography" and "Geography of Tourism, Leisure and Global Change"
Event Location
Sion
Event Date
22.06.2010
Subject(s)
Eprints ID
215271