From Pilgrimage to Package: The Evolution of the Japanese Tourism Industry

Dr Roger March

rogerstgmarch@gmail.com

Overview

¢  Pre-Tokugawa

¢  Tokugawa Era (1603-1867)

¢  Modern Era (1867-1945)

¢  Post-WWII (1945 à)

¢  Birth of Outbound Industry

Pre-Tokugawa: Travel Before 1600 ¢  Arrival of Buddhism sparks

religious travel in 7th/8th C.

¢  Heian Era (794-1185) l  Round trip from Kyoto to Mt Koya

took one month, over 600k with 1000 people, incl. guards & porters

¢  Azuchi-Motoyama Era (1568-1602) l  Poor quality roads & sekisho

system hamper travel

Undated: Bridge over Nishiki River in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture.

Tokugawa Era 1603-1867

Severe Travel Restrictions ¢  Sankin kotai ¢  Sekisho (600 check stations) ¢  Few bridges ¢  1635:Japanese are forbidden to

travel abroad or to return from abroad

¢  1638: Construction of boats over 100seki banned

¢  1639: Japan begins 215-year period of self-imposed isolation from the rest of the world

1863: Ashinoyu Hot Springs, Hakone

The View in 1691

“There are incredibly so many people travelling on the main roads

in this country, and in several seasons roads are flooded with the

people just as in the big cities of Europe. ...

“[T]here are at least two reasons why so many people travelling in

this country. Firstly, because of the big population of this country, and secondly because of the people's fondness for travelling compared

with the peoples of other countries.”

Dr. Engelbert Kaempfer

Dutch doctor in Nagasaki office of Dutch East India Company

Undated: The old Tsukimi Teahouse at Suwa Shinto Shrine, Nagasaki.

Pilgrimage in Japanese Travel

Three Types of Pilgrimage

¢  honzon (specific gods or Buddhist images) junrei (pilgrimage), for solely religious purposes

¢  soshi junrei, a pilgrimage to visit temples founded or occupied by particular sect in order to worship founders (soshi) e.g., Shikoku 88 sacred places

¢  meiseki junrei pilgrimage to visit famous places (meiseki) e.g., 7 great temples of Nara

Okagemairi (Pilgrimage of gratitude)

1718 ¢  Around 2.25 million

Japanese visit Ise Shrine (8% of total population).

1830 ¢  Up to 5 million Japanese

visit Ise Shrine (18% of population).

¢  Last great mass pilgrimage of Tokugawa Era.

Undated: Pilgrim family of three with hats, bags, canes and sandals on their

feet. Shrine in background.

Early Meiji: Family being entertained by street entertainer.

Pilgrimages for the masses Sir Rutherford Alcock, Britain's first official representative in Japan, informed Japanese officials he intended a pilgrimage to Mount Fuji. “It is not consistent with the dignity of a Daimio, or even an officer of any rank, to make the pilgrimage - perhaps because too many of the greasy mob must unavoidably come in close contact with them“.

(Ishimori, 1985, p.185)

Modern era begins 1867à

Domestic Factors ¢  Influx of foreigners into the country: diplomats, sailors, merchants,

adventurers - and tourists. ¢  By 1870, the world's four largest steamship companies had offices

in Yokohama ¢  Kihin-Kai (The Welcome Society of Japan) established in 1893 ¢  Minami Shinsuke establishes travel business arranging religious

travel to Takanoyama and Ise Shrine in 1905 International Factors ¢  Suez Canal opens in 1869 ¢  Trans-American railway line completed ¢  Jules Verne's "Around the World in Eighty Days" published in 1873

Footnote on JTB, the world’s biggest travel agent ¢  Established in 1912 as Japan Tsûrisuto Byûro to service the

inbound market ¢  In May 1941 ‘JTB’ changes to Toa Travel Company (Tôa

Ryokosha). ‘Toa’ refers to Greater Asia region under Japanese control.

¢  In July government bans all companies other than 'JTB' from operating travel businesses. It becomes the government's travel agent arranging l  the transport for new army recruits l  troop transfers and evacuations.

¢  In 1943, the company's name was changed to Nihon Kôtsu Kôsha (Japan Transport Corporation). The frivolous word 'travel' (ryokô) was replaced with 'transport' (kôtsu).

¢  Reverted to Japan Travel Bureau two days after Douglas MacArthur arrived in Japan

¢  JTB was the Japanese government's sole designated company arranging for the repatriation of Japanese soldiers to Japan after the war

Culture & Travel through History

¢  Oshogatsu (New Year)

¢  Obon (Mid-summer

¢  Shugaku ryoko (school excursion)

¢  Shinkon Ryoko (honeymoon)

¢  Shokuba ryoko (company trip)

1889: Japan’s first western-style hotel, Fujiya Hotel in Hakone.

1945 à Olympic Games

Domestic travel: To Raise Japanese spirits? ¢  1946 saw birth of National Athletic Meet (Kokumin Taiiku

Taikai) ¢  Group travel to Ise Shrine stimulated domestic travel ¢  Travel agents’ main business was selling railway travel, so

most were tied to railway companies Overseas Travel: Slow to escape shadow of WWII ¢  Japanese athletes attended First Asian Games in New Delhi

in 1951. ¢  In 1952, participated in the Oslo Winter Olympics and the

Helsinki Summer Olympics. ¢  In 1954, Japan Air Lines began its first overseas flight with

service to San Francisco. ¢  Only 25,000 Japanese travelled abroad in 1956.

Japan Uses Olympics to Liberalise Outbound Travel On April 1, 1964, all restrictions on Japanese overseas travel

were removed.

128,000 travelled abroad. It’s population was 97.8M.

The first package was "Push Button", a 19-day, 7-country

European tour by Swissair in July 1964.

The country's first home-grown

overseas package was released in April 1965, also was a 16-day

European trip.