Rekijo, pilgrimage and ‘pop-spiritualism’: pop-culture-induced heritage tourism of/for young women

Abstract

Since around 2008, a new type of eager consumption of Japanese traditional, cultural and ideological images and notions has been exhibited by young women in Japan. Called rekijo (history fan girls), they have attracted great public attention. They enjoy visiting historical sites that appear in anime, novels and videogames based on historical fact, and actively participate in events led by local communities. The popularity of such ‘contents tourism’ or ‘pilgrimage’ has had a significant economic effect. Simultaneously, a ‘power spot’ boom has taken place, in which young women visit Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples and historical sites to gain spiritual power. Their ‘“pop” nationalistic’ faith towards the spirits of historical figures, Shinto kami and Buddha may be called ‘pop-spiritualism’ and contributes to building new notions of ‘Japanese-ness’. This article explores the significance of the heritage tourism of young women in socio-cultural and feminist contexts, and discusses how the recent rekijo phenomenon and women's ‘pop-spiritualism’ serves to reconceptualize their national identities and challenge Japanese gender norms. These processes are exemplified through discussion of women's heritage tourism induced by An-an and Non-no in the 1970s, historical dramas in the 1980s, the Mirage of Blaze series in the 1990s and Sengoku BASARA and Hakuōki in the 2000s.