Pilgrimage, cultural landscape and tourism in the heritization of churches and Christian sites in Nagasaki.

Abstract

Abstract This chapter deals with the evaluation, commodification and re-sacralization of Christian heritage for the purpose of tourism in Japan. It examines the process of choosing, including and excluding the component assets of the Christian heritage in Japan to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Two movements are distinguished, and their specific evaluation and selection strategies regarding the Christian heritage in the nomination process are identified. The first is the so-called 'Nagasaki Pilgrimage', invented in collaboration between the Japanese Tourism Federation and the Catholic Archdiocese in Nagasaki, and the second is the nomination of Christian heritage as a 'cultural landscape' by the Japanese Bureau of Cultural Affairs and prefectural and regional administrations. Examining the evaluation strategies and their impact on religious tradition, it is argued that commodifying and preserving religion as a sustainable tourism product allows secular institutions to redefine it, and even re-sacralize it, as a uniquely Japanese traditional culture to appeal to the domestic and international tourism market.