S. HORIUCHI
residents directly, tourists have fewer interactions with resi-
dents. As a consequence, misunderstandings are more likely to
occur between residents and tourists. Previous studies have
actually suggested that tourism had negative consequences on
local societies (Smith, 1989); for example, tourists may cause
residents to abandon the practices that constitute part of their
local culture, steal sacred statues, provide few direct benefits to
residents, lead local residents to became engaged in the prac-
tices of the local culture for monetary gain, and contribute to
negative stereotypes due to limited opportunities for direct
contact.
Some tourists, however, contribute to the revitalization of
rural communities, and local residents have improved their
relationships with one another through communication with
tourists (Nash, 1996). To attract tourists, rural residents may
revive their traditional festivals as part of managing their rural
communities (Moon, 1989). Indeed, residents may consciously
construct the community imagined by the tourists after wel-
coming the latter from outside their borders to earn cash income
(Yamashita, 2003). Local cultures, which were originally cre-
ated as commodities to entertain tourists, have often become the
basis of the local identity of the residents (Cohen, 1988). These
consequences, however, are only by-products of the impact of
tourism on local societies. As long as tourists rarely interact
intimately with residents, they cannot be regarded as members
of the communities, a role that the immigrants and volunteers
adopt legitimately.
It remains unclear whether tourists can work with residents
to cooperatively create and maintain a shared community in
rural areas as do immigrants and volunteers; that is, the ability
of tourists to be members of their target communities is uncer-
tain. To revive rural communities, some portion of the tourists
should be sufficiently embedded in their target communities to
become members. Projects involving “alternative tourism”
(Smith & Eadington, 1992) are expected to revitalize rural
communities, perhaps by enticing some tourists to become
members of the communities. It is necessary to accumulate case
studies to address these issues because individual situations
differ greatly from one another. This paper introduces my
fieldwork as one examination of the possibility of community
creation via the cooperation of residents and tourists.
Takachiho kagura
Takachiho is located in Miyazaki prefecture in Japan. Al-
though the central part of Takachiho contains many shops, res-
taurants, and hotels, most areas of Takachiho consist of paddy
or vegetable fields, cattle sheds, and mountains with coniferous
trees.
Takachiho is famous as a sacred place in Japanese mythol-
ogy and as the birthplace of kagura1, a traditional dance that
was transmitted to many areas in Japan. Kotegawa (1976)
stated that Takachiho kagura probably originated in the Nara
era (710-794). According to Yamaguchi (2000), the present
style of Takachiho kagura dates from the Kamakura era
(1192-1333). In Takachiho, residents have performed kagura
every year, including during World War II (1939-1945). During
the 1970s, the number of dancers decreased because of de-
population and aging in the area. During those times, Taka-
chiho kagura was selected as an intangible cultural asset by the
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technol-
ogy of Japan, and some residents were officially invited to per-
form kagura in several European countries. Because of these
events, which made Takachiho kagura famous, many residents
started to participate in kagura after the 1970s. Despite the
continued depopulation and aging of the area, kagura is still
practiced in 19 areas in Takachiho in 20102.
In Takachiho, the kagura season begins in November and
lasts until the February of the following year. It usually starts
during the evening of a festival day and involves the continuous
performance of 33 dances, including formal dances in which
audiences welcome local spirits (the dancers), amusing dances
in which dancers interact pleasantly with the audience, story-
telling dances in which dancers act out stories from mythology,
and climactic dances in which audiences say farewell to the
spirits that then return to the mountains. The finale occurs the
next morning. Kagura is both a prayer to the spirits by the
residents and a festival event in which residents interacted in-
timately with one another, ensuring comraderie within the com-
munity. All dancers are traditionally restricted to males.
Residents traditionally selected private homes as kagurayado,
places for performing kagura3. Historically, private homes in
Takachiho had been large because home owners had worked in
agriculture and owned cattle. Tradition is important for under-
standing Takachiho kagura in that the home owners of kagu-
rayado were proud of being selected and having their homes
welcome the spirits. Furthermore, dancers and audiences stayed
in the same rooms at the private homes. At midnight, dancers
and audiences interacted intimately amid great excitement. At
times, quarrels occurred among audience members who had
had too much to drink. At the end of kagura, audience members
were given sacred ornaments used in this tradition. Audiences
were largely restricted to the residents of Takachiho, although a
few tourists visited from distant areas. Thus, intimate interac-
tion between dancers and audience members was easy, allow-
ing the residents to reinforce their sense of community.
Today, Takachiho residents can barely fit performances of
kagura into private homes. Recently built houses are typically
small because the owners do not own cattle or work in agricul-
ture. As a consequence, kagura is often performed in public
buildings. In 2009 and 2010, respectively, nine and 10 of the 19
areas conducted kagura in public buildings. The change in
venue from private homes to public buildings represents the
change in kagura itself as it moved from traditional to modern.
Furthermore, the number of tourists from outside of Takachiho
1The myth tells about the sun spirit, Amaterasu, who had hidden herself in a
cave formed by rocks, referred to as Amanoiwato, located in Takachiho.
When the sun then dis appeared f rom the eart h, many sp irits tr ied to remov e
the rocks to liberate t he sun, bu t this plan fail ed because t he rocks wer e too
heavy to move. Uzume, a spirit related to the arts and joy, danced in front o
the rocks. Because her dance was entertaining, all the spirits gathered to
watch it. Amaterasu heard the laughter of the spirits from her position
behind the rocks. This piqued her interest, and she opened the rocks slightly
Then, the powerful spirit, Tajikarao, inserted his arms into the crack and
cleared the rocks. The sun then returned to the earth. Uzume’s dance is
regarded as the origin of kagura.
2Since the kagura revived in an area, it was practiced in 20 areas in 2011.
3This tradition includes Takachiho kagura, although kagura from areas
other than Takachiho are often performed in public buildings, in the areas
surrounding shrines, in prefabricated structures, or in theaters outside resi-
dential areas rather than in private hom es.
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