Tourism and Underrepresentation: Horyūji and the "Traditional Japan"

Picture from August 22, 2019. Location: Horyūji, Nara. 

Nara is a place, like Kyoto, that has the "traditional Japan". Japan is not just the urban thriving center that is Tokyo: Japan is also rural, touristic, and more. At Horyūji, a Buddhist temple, one can encounter many different types of people, some being foreign tourists and others perhaps Japanese sightseers. The temple is one of the oldest surviving wooden structures as it is from the Asuka period (mid-6th century to early 8th century). 

When one thinks of Japan, the predominant views are Tokyo or temples and shrines. There is the urban, modern Japan and the more traditional, old Japan. Though there are things in between and things that are a mix of the two, that does not negate the fact that to the outside world, those two make up Japan. 

The reality is that Japan caters to that international view of Japan through the tourist industry. Today, Kyoto and Nara (to a lesser degree) are filled with foreign tourists trying to get a glimpse of famous Japanese sites. When one thinks of Japan, several things most likely come to mind: sushi, trains, temples, etc. An image like the one above could easily be one of the the types of things that flash in one's mind's eye. Japan takes advantage of this side as well as the "weird" (think: Akihabara, anime, crazy food) side of the country. Many advertisements online depict scenes like this one or cherry blossoms and Fuji-san. 

Traditional Japan is only one facet of Japan, but it is a side that stands out to the world. Perhaps this is reflective of Japanese society: it is diverse, yet only some things are focused on. Certainly, a parallel can be drawn between these representative Japanese locations and representative Japanese people: salarymen, rice farmers, and more. There is more to Japan than Tokyo and temples, and there is more to Japanese society than salarymen and rice farmers. 

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