Traditional Festival as a Tourism Event: Stakeholders’ Influence on the Dynamics of the Sendai Tanabata Festival in Japan YUJIE SHEN JAP4693 - Master’s Thesis in Modern Japan Master’s programme 30 credits Autumn 2020 Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages (IKOS) University of Oslo December 15, 2020 Summary A new method of analyzing traditional Japanese festivals (matsuri) based on event studies is presented. Stakeholders’ influence and their interactions redefine narratives of tradition. In Japan, the urbanization of society has transformed matsuri into tourism-oriented events. However, the influence of touristification on tradition has not yet been fully explored. This paper offers a close examination of a case study about the dynamics of the Sendai Tanabata Festival. Local newspaper archives were used as the primary source and adopted the stake- holder theory and social exchange theory from event studies to examine stakeholders’ power and interests, as well as their relationships. The results discovered that it is the conflicts of festival stakeholders throughout the years that shaped the Sendai Tanabata Festival to what it is like today. Although festival organizers and local residents are key players, both domestic and foreign tourists’ influence should also not be neglected. The inheritance of traditional cul- ture depends on its original community i.e. local residents. Depopulation and aging social problems have shifted the weight of festival ownership to tourists, as they contribute to the economic revitalization and regional development. As a result, festival organizers tend to tai- lor the festival to tourists’ tastes, which often leads to change or loss of tradition’s original festive meaning or the invention of a new tradition. This paper suggests that in the discourse of festival tourism, festival organizers should focus on local residents while establishing a connection of the festival belongings with tourists. Sustainable development requires a bal- ance of stakeholders’ interests to maintain the benefit to traditional culture under urbanization. In the event of economic and social crises, festivals become a symbolic manifestation of hope and unite the festival stakeholders. Key Words Sendai Tanabata Festival, Matsuri, Festival tourism, Event studies, Stakeholder Theory, Social Exchange Theory 2 of 80 Foreword I would like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor, Professor Marcus Jacobus Teeuwen, for his valuable, generous, and constructive guidance during the planning and de- velopment of this research work, especially during the global pandemic of COVID-19. My sincere thanks also go to Associate Professor Tomoko Okazaki Hansen, for her encouragement on study and life that has inspired me to explore all the possibilities fearlessly. I would like to acknowledge all the professors who have helped me to develop my re- search, Professor Reiko Abe Auestad, Professor Vladimir Tikhonov, and Professor Rune Svarverud. Thank you all for the inspirations and suggestions. Special mention goes to Naomi Yabe Magnussen, Head Librarian of Humanities and Social Sciences Library at the Oslo University Library, who has guided me on finding valu- able research sources from the library. I am also very grateful to the University of Oslo for giving me the wonderful opportu- nity to study and experience in Norway. And my thanks goes to the student advisors and de- partment staff, who helped me during the course of 2 years. I would also like to extend my thanks to all the people who helped me during my ex- change semester at Keio University in Japan. Professor Armour, Andrew j. provided me with valuable knowledge in English writing, especially with his book trees and pyramids; Profes- sor Chikamori Takaaki introduced me to the sociology methods of research and the librarians who helped me to find the sources needed for this thesis. I would also like to express my great appreciation for all the contributions in previous research made by the researchers and cura- tors. I thank my fellow Harriet Hanson for the encouragement and fun we have had during the entire Master’s program. Finally, I wish to thank Shotaro Mataga for his love and support throughout my study. 3 of 80 Table of Contents Summary ...................................................................................................................................2 Key Words ................................................................................................................................2 Foreword ...................................................................................................................................3 Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................4 Note on style .............................................................................................................................6 List of Figures ...........................................................................................................................7 Chapter I Introduction ...............................................................................................................8 2. Theoretical Framework .......................................................................................................10 2.1 Festival and festival tourism .............................................................................................10 2.1.1 Festival ...........................................................................................................................10 2.1.2 Festival tourism ..............................................................................................................11 2.1.3 Concern of authenticity ..................................................................................................13 2.2 Festival stakeholders .........................................................................................................14 2.2.1 The Stakeholder Theory .................................................................................................14 2.2.2 Social Exchange Theory (SET) .....................................................................................18 3. Methodology .......................................................................................................................19 3.1 Data collection and evaluation ..........................................................................................19 3.2 Limitations ........................................................................................................................21 Chapter II Matsuri: from traditional festival to tourist event .................................................22 1. The nature of matsuri ..........................................................................................................22 2. The characteristics of matsuri .............................................................................................22 3. The functions of matsuri .....................................................................................................25 4. Matsuri in urbanization .......................................................................................................27 4 of 80 4.1 The blurred boundary .......................................................................................................27 4.2 The emergence of urban matsuri and new features ..........................................................27 4.3 The collapse of the basic structure ....................................................................................28 5. Summary .............................................................................................................................30 Chapter III The Sendai Tanabata Festival ..............................................................................32 1. Legend and history: from China to Japan ...........................................................................32 2. Sendai city ..........................................................................................................................37 3. The phases of the Sendai Tanabata Festival .......................................................................39 3.1 Before World War I ...........................................................................................................39 3.2 The first revival after World War I ....................................................................................40 3.3 The second revival after World War II and the debates on style ......................................41 3.4 The emerging imitators and touristification ......................................................................43 3.5 The unexpected 2011 ........................................................................................................46 3.6 A pause in 2020 .................................................................................................................48 Chapter IV Discussions ..........................................................................................................50 Conclusion and implications ...................................................................................................54 Glossary of Japanese and Chinese terms ................................................................................55 Bibliography ...........................................................................................................................59