@article{582,
  keywords = {Japan (JP), Tourism (THE\_202)},
  author = {Michael Foster},
  title = {Imagined UNESCOs: Interpreting Intangible Cultural Heritage on a Japanese Island},
  abstract = {Toshidon is a “visiting deity” (raihōshin) ritual that takes place every New Year’s Eve on a small island off the southwest coast of Japan. Performed for purposes of education, Toshidon is an event in which groups of men, masked and costumed as demon-deity figures, walk from house to house frightening and disciplining children. In 2009, Toshidon was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List, a significant occurrence for this relatively isolated community. Based on ongoing fieldwork on the island, this essay explores specific events and discourses that emerged from this recognition. I conclude that the UNESCO inscription becomes a floating signifier within the community, one of many elements in an ongoing discussion about the broader future of the island itself.},
  year = {2015},
  journal = {Journal of Folklore Research},
  volume = {52},
  number = {2-3},
  pages = {217-232},
  month = {dec},
  issn = {07377037 (ISSN)},
  url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84938887382&doi=10.2979%2fjfolkrese.52.2-3.217&partnerID=40&md5=bca0220eea0a95937bf4d51ac5dfabf9},
  doi = {10.2979/jfolkrese.52.2-3.217},
  note = {Publisher: Indiana University},
  language = {English},
}