Abstract
:The small town of Kuzumaki, in the remote mountainous area of northern Japan, attracts an impressive 500,000 tourists per year. Unlike any other popular Japanese tourist destination, Kuzumaki has no onsen (hot springs) or ski slopes, and is traditionally known for forestry, agriculture, and cattle ranches. It has leveraged its ethos of food self-sufficiency and green energy to attract the interest of tourists. Its slogan “the town of milk, wine, and clean energy” has no traditional Japanese cultural resonance but is perceived as if it did. This article presents a case study of how the community developed its indigenous resources and paved the way to regenerate a new development narrative and interpretation of the town’s philosophy: Ten to chi to hito no megumi (“Blessings of the heavens, the earth, and the people”). The rebranding is especially significant in the context of Japan’s push to merge municipalities whose populations and economies are shrinking.
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