Keynote Speech
Review of Local Cultures from the Viewpoint of International Tourism
Atsuro Kawauchi
Cultural Director
Owing to limited time, I would like to focus today on a certain community revitalization project, in which I have been involved over the past eleven years. This community is Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture, located on the coast at the innermost part of Osaka Bay. Amagasaki City once flourished as one of the leading industrial cities of the Hanshin Industrial Zone. As a result of recent changes in industrial structures, however, the City has been obliged to change its municipal policies. Accordingly, I believe that a case study of Amagasaki City can provide an ideal tool for exploring a new city model befitting to the post-industrialization age.
The changes in Amagasaki's urbanscapes can be recognized at a glance. Its waterfront, once home to heavy industries, now accommodates high-tech plants and abundant green zones. Underlying this visible change is a change in the City's cultural policies: Amagasaki City has begun to emphasize its particular cultural attractions, and is gradually achieving recognizable results.
Since it can take up to ten to twenty years before cultural policies bear fruit, there may be some participants here who are unfamiliar with Amagasaki's cultural policies. So, I would like to introduce them briefly. Twelve years ago, the City began a community revitalization plan that makes effective use of the alleged tomb of Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653 - 1724), Japan's most celebrated playwright, who wrote especially for the puppet theater and for Kabuki theater.
Instead of building a museum or a pavilion in commemoration of this great playwright, the City launched a wide variety of programs to create tangible and intangible cultural assets throughout the City area. To enhance the City image, for instance, the municipal Archaic Hall concluded a sister-theater tie-up with the Sydney Opera House, known for its unique architectural design. This tie-up was concluded when Archaic Hall became home to a leading opera company of the Kansai region. In addition to opera, which originated in Europe, the Hall began to consider the use of its local legacy, and decided to promote Chikamatsu's plays. In recent years, many overseas theaters have begun to present Chikamatsu's plays. On such occasions, Amagasaki City provides overseas theaters with necessary information regarding Chikamatsu. The City has several Chikamatsu specialists, including myself, who help worldwide performances of Chikamatsu's plays. In this way, for its revitalization, the City effectively uses cultural facilities, human resources, and mass media. I will now show a video film that introduces the City's programs.
＜Video film＞
Thank you.
The Chikamatsu campaign has been under way for the past 12-13 years. Since the City has already created the foundation of the campaign, it is currently seeking opportunities to promote links with various cultural facilities managed by organizations other than the City. For instance, there is a prefectural facility called Piccolo Theater in Amagasaki, and this theater has recently begun to present Chikamatsu's plays, as well. Tsukashin Department Store which is part of the Seibu Saison Group has also performed some of Chikamatsu's plays. In this way, the Chikamatsu Campaign now involves commercial facilities, public halls, and grassroots organizations. Although the City's revitalization project has not yet been completed, an increasing number of tourists have already begun to visit cultural monuments and facilities there.
Although it is very difficult to quote the number of tourists precisely, I believe that many of the audiences of plays must be counted as tourists. Tokyo, for instance, attracts many theater fans, the majority of whom are tourists. Accordingly, to attract theater fans and tourists, cities must endeavor to create attractive tourist sites, as well as exciting plays. In this regard, I believe that Amagasaki City can present a model for other localities.
Next, I would like to introduce a vision of Professor Melvin Weber, an American sociologist. According to the Professor, the progress of electronic media, such as the Internet, will bring about the dissolution of existing cities. Via the Internet, you can access up-to-the-minute information of the New York stock market, order the latest Paris fashions, and enjoy New Orleans jazz, while staying at home, even if you live among the Rocky Mountains. Accordingly, and according to the professor, in the future, there will be no need to go to a large city, and thus existing cities will lose their significance. I understand the concept of this extreme vision, considering that throughout its history, America has been striving to develop information networks that completely cover the vast country. However, I do not agree with Professor Weber's view.
Just imagine that a woman is going to buy a dress. She cannot enjoy the act of shopping sufficiently if the dress is ordered via E-mail. If she goes to a boutique or a department store, she can enjoy trying on many dresses, and asking her friends or husband for their comments. She can try on many dresses even if she will not buy any. In other words, for the majority of women, buying a dress is not a mere economic activity but enjoyment and a pleasant pastime.
With the progress of simulation technology, it will be possible for a woman in the future to create an image of herself wearing a new dress on a computer screen. Yet, she will never know other people's comments, unless she actually goes to a shop and wears it. Milan and Paris are known as fashion capitals, not merely because these cities
