Imagined UNESCOs: Interpreting Intangible Cultural Heritage on a Japanese Island

Abstract

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

See Photography as a Visual Art Storing

“…A photographer who takes this approach is Don Hasman, who recorded the Baduy tribe's life and then published his book entitled "Urang Kanekes". (Source : destinasian.co.id) Foster (2015) has initiated the effort to deepen and develop between photography techniques and visual storytelling techniques through his research, he said that folklore could be implemented through a photographic approach other than illustration. This opinion can be developed sustainably, seeing that photography in design is in synergy with various other disciplines.…”

Encounters with the Past

“…For a recent account that weaves together all three aspects, seeHatakama and Yasuda (2016). 8 For rare ethnographic analyses of Japanese festivals in English, seeAshkenazi (1994);Foster (2015);Kalland (1995);Schnell (1999).Andrea Giolai -9789004466548 Downloaded from Brill.com09/07/2021 09:57:21PM via free access…”

Encounters with the Past

“…For a recent account that weaves together all three aspects, seeHatakama and Yasuda (2016). 8 For rare ethnographic analyses of Japanese festivals in English, seeAshkenazi (1994);Foster (2015);Kalland (1995);Schnell (1999).Downloaded from Brill.com11/01/2020 09:57:58PM via free access…”