Embodying Japanese Heritage

Consumer Experience and Social Contact at a Historical Themed Park

Bibliographic Data

ID3667467
AuthorsHeidi K Lam (Yale University, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume41
Issue3
Pages262-279
Publication date2020-05-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Intercultural Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0725-6868 • E-ISSN: 1469-9540
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/07256868.2020.1751598
OpenAlexW3017074656
LanguageEN
Citations received11
References cited30

This article analyses the experiential consumption of heritage that is staged for paying visitors to a historical themed park. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted at a Japanese historical themed park re-creating the Edo period (1603–1867), it examines the re-enactment of Japanese history through an experience with embodied and social elements. This historical themed park presents an immersive environment re-enacting the ‘everyday’ culture of ‘ordinary’ commoners, where Japanese and foreign visitors imaginatively role-play and engage the past in different ways. Frontline service workers and actors, who perform historical characters called Edo People (Edo-jin), project a warm and lively atmosphere that incorporates popular conceptions of Edo/Japanese culture and customer service. The past is also transformed into experience-based attractions where consumers participate in cultural activities while communicating with each other and the staff. Consumer participation ultimately brings the past as heritage into the present as embodied experience

Advertising · Aesthetics · Archaeology · Art · Business · Consumption (sociology) · Cultural heritage · Embodied cognition · Ethnography · Experiential learning · Media studies · Pedagogy · Service (business) · Social science · Sociology · Anthropology · Asian Culture and Media Studies · History · Japanese History and Culture · Marketing · Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy

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