Shuzo Ishimori: a pioneer of tourism studies in Japan

ABSTRACT

Shuzo Ishimori is a pioneer of the Japanese anthropology of tourism. With fieldwork in New Zealand, Micronesia and Japan, he researched and taught at the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka. There he organized a three-year national seminar introducing the topic and engaged Nelson Graburn to assist in 1989-90. He organized conferences, published volumes and trained graduate students. He later moved to the Center for Advanced Studies in Tourism, Hokkaido University, and to the Directorship of the Hokkaido Museum. Through hard work, inspiring leadership, and frequent public and media speeches, he brought together researchers in enthusiastically promoting their common interest in the study of tourism, which he considered to be the outstanding feature of our contemporary “Age of Neo-Nomadism”.

KEYWORDS:

• Japan
• museums
• National Museum of Ethnology
• Neo-nomadism
• Satawal
• tourism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nelson Graburn

Nelson Graburn was educated in England, Canada and the USA and is now professor emeritus of Anthropology and co-chair of www.tourismstudies.org at the University of California, Berkeley. He has also taught and organized conferences in France, Poland, Brazil, Japan, Australia and China. He has carried out research among the Canadian Inuit (since 1959), in Japan (since 1974) and in China (since 1991). His research focuses on social structure, identity, multiculturalism, tourism, art and museums.

Yuko Shioji

Yuko Shioji was educated in Japan and England; she is a professor at the Faculty of International Tourism, Hannan University, Osaka, where she teaches anthropology of tourism and European culture. Since 1995 her research has focused on the preservation of cultural heritage including cultural landscape, historical festivals and folk dances as well as promoting tourism in Britain.  She also investigated the management culture of rural communities and charitable organizations, and recently the socio-cultural construction of footpaths in Britain and Japan as a means of revitalizing local communities.