Part Three
In last week’s column, I wrote about the “antenna shops” of Tokyo—those that display and sell products from the regions of Japan, function as publicity and tourism centers, offer information about the region for potential visitors, and serve as meeting places for the locals of the region living in the big city. I thought this concept could be useful for our tourism and trade agencies, as well as local governments and trade associations, to emulate and adapt.
Another concept that I picked up also during a recent four-day educational visit organized by the Tokyo Convention and Visitors Bureau (TCVB) for our association, ADFIAP, is a themed restaurant in Ginza. It not only displays sample products and tourism brochures of Japan’s regions on a regular and rotation basis, but also features the local food of the regions. This led me to the number in the title, “47.”
Japan is divided for administrative purposes into 47 prefectures stretching from Hokkaido in the north to Okinawa in the south. These consist of 43 prefectures (ken) proper; two urban prefectures (fu), Osaka and Kyoto; one “circuit” or “territory” (dō), Hokkaido; and one “metropolis” (to), Tokyo.
Wikipedia says the Meiji administration created the first prefectures (urban-fu and rural-ken) from 1868 to replace the urban and rural administrators in parts of the country previously controlled directly by the shogunate and a few territories of rebels/shogunate loyalists who had not submitted to the new government such as Aizu/Wakamatsu. In 1871 all remaining feudal domains (han) were also transformed into prefectures, so that prefectures subdivided the whole country.
In several waves of territorial consolidation, today’s 47 prefectures were formed by the turn of the century. In many instances, these are contiguous with the ancient provinces
of Japan.
According to japan-talk.com, most of Japan’s prefectures have a population greater than a million people. Each is home to dozens of towns, hundreds of attractions and numerous local festivals. Prefectures are thus more than mere political boundaries.
The locals strongly identify with their home prefecture and the culture, food and dialect of the Japanese language.
It is interesting to note that history and culture are embedded in the day-to-day life of the Japanese and are promoted to the rest of the world through literature, word of mouth and educational visits such as the one graciously hosted by TCVB. I personally admire this trait as this gives people a sense of nationalistic pride.
So from antenna shops, the “47-themed” restaurant, to the city parks and science museum, we went to the conference sites and hotel accommodation we visited during the TCVB tour. I could feel the very essence of Japanese history, culture, and arts—a tradition that continues, a character that lingers, and a society that appreciates and lives them.
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The column contributor, Octavio Peralta, is concurrently the secretary-general of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP) and CEO and founder of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives (PCAAE). PCAAE enjoys the support of ADFIAP, the Tourism Promotions Board, and the Philippine International Convention Center.
E-mail obp@adfiap.org