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The 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage established a "Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity." In 2009, seventy-six traditions from around the world were inscribed as the "first elements" on this list. One of these was Toshidon, a New Year's Eve ritual performed on the island of Shimo-Koshikijima off the southwest coast of Japan. How does recognition by an international body affect the way this small community perceives and performs its "heritage"? In this article, I contextualize the UNESCO selection of Toshidon, describe the ritual itself, and then focus on the discussion that occurred on the island in 2009 -10, as the UNESCO designation became a new factor in a long-running and complex local discourse on tradition. Observing the on-the-ground effects of UNESCO's recognition on this one island community provides insight into the broader interaction between global cultural policy and local tradition.

Toshidon is a "visiting deity" (raihōshin) ritual that takes place every New Year's Eve on a small island off the southwest coast of Japan. Performed for purposes of education, Toshidon is an event in which groups of men, masked and costumed as demon-deity fig ures, walk from house to house frightening and disciplining children. In 2009, Toshidon was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List, a significant occurrence for this relatively isolated community. Based on on go ing fieldwork on the island, this essay explores specific events and discourses that emerged from this recognition. I conclude that the UNESCO inscription becomes a floating signifier within the community, one of many elements in an ongoing discussion about the broader future of the island itself.Location: Shimo-Koshikijima, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan Toshidon takes place on the island of Shimo-Koshikijima in Kagoshima Prefecture. Kagoshima is in the southwest of Kyushu, one of the four major islands of Japan. Shimo-Koshikijima is the south ernmost of three small islands known collectively as the Koshiki Archipelago (Koshiki rettō). While Kagoshima Prefecture has numerous islands, most are located to the south, between the mainland and the Okinawa region. In contrast, the Koshiki Archipelago is approximately twenty miles off the west coast of the prefecture and therefore somewhat culturally distinct from the mainland and from other islands. Shimo-Koshikijima currently has a total population of 2,459 residents (1,516

The kappa is a mischievous water goblin of Japanese folklore. This article presents an overview of some of the characteristics of the kappa, including the dish-like cavity on its head, its penchant for eating cucumbers, its aversion to gourds and to iron, and its habit of trying to pull horses, cattle, and humans into the water. Some of the major critical lit erature regarding the kappa is discussed, including work by Yanagita Kunio, Orikuchi Shinobu, Ishida Eiichiro, and structural anthropologist Cornelis Ouwehand. The con cept of folklorism (folt^lorismus) is briefly defined and applied to the kappa belief. Through folklorism, artists, writers, cartoonists, and commercial interests have trans formed the kappa from a malicious and unpleasant water deity into a harmless and lov able mascot.