Foreign Country Theme Parks: A New Theme or an Old Japanese Pattern?

This paper addresses the subject of Japanese tēma pāku, or 'theme parks', which represent foreign countries, but it argues from the outset that these gaikoku mura ('foreign villages') are a more sophisticated form of cultural display than the English title would suggest. Drawing...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social science Japan journal 2000-10, Vol.3 (2), p.207-220
Main Author: Hendry, Joy
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amusement parks
Anthropological research
Cultural Activities
Cultural anthropology
Cultural identity
Cultural institutions
Cultural studies
Culture
Ethnography
Fairs
Intercultural Communication
Japan
Japanese culture
Leisure
Museum exhibits
Museums
Musical motives
Prefectures
Public spaces
Recreation
Recreational Facilities
Social Anthropology
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This paper addresses the subject of Japanese tēma pāku, or 'theme parks', which represent foreign countries, but it argues from the outset that these gaikoku mura ('foreign villages') are a more sophisticated form of cultural display than the English title would suggest. Drawing on a somewhat experimental anthropological approach, which is explained in the body of the paper, it seeks to identify common features in a variety of examples, and these are then examined both in a global perspective and in the context of local Japanese historical and cultural influences. It is argued that the parks are more comparable with museums and world fairs than with post-modern interpretations of Disneyland, but there are also precursors in Japanese gardens and other arts that make them an especially interesting site for further serious anthropological analysis.
ISSN:1369-1465
1468-2680
DOI:10.1093/ssjj/3.2.207