01365nas a2200193   4500000000100000000000100001000000100002008004100003260000800044653001500052653002300067100001900090245008500109856015300194300001200347490000700359520078500366022002001151       2015                            d  cdec10aJapan (JP)10aTourism (THE\_202)1 aMichael Foster00aImagined UNESCOs: Interpreting Intangible Cultural Heritage on a Japanese Island  uhttps://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84938887382&doi=10.2979%2fjfolkrese.52.2-3.217&partnerID=40&md5=bca0220eea0a95937bf4d51ac5dfabf9  a217-2320 v523 aToshidon 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.  a07377037 (ISSN)