TY - JOUR
KW - East and West
KW - intangible heritage
KW - Ise Shrine
KW - Authenticity
KW - religion
AU - Natsuko Akagawa
AB - This article illustrates how Japans involvement in international heritage discourse, in particular since the Nara Conference in 1994, played an important role in the development of a global understanding of heritage and what it constitutes. It explores the way the Ise Shrine came to be represented as an iconic example of an Eastern approach to heritage to become central in the paradigm shift within global heritage discourse towards acknowledging cultural diversity. In this article, however, I argue that the presentation and understanding of the Ise Shrine has perpetuated a number of misconceptions about an Eastern approach to heritage conservation. In particular, its presentation and interpretation as a cultural site devoid of its distinct religious and political significance, limits what can be learned from it. This article argues that without full recognition of the religious beliefs intimately embedded in the traditional social structures, practices and attitudes related to heritage sites, recognition of cultural diversity would remain limited.
DO - 10.1080/13527258.2015.1068213
M1 - 1
N1 - Publisher: Routledge
N2 - This article illustrates how Japans involvement in international heritage discourse, in particular since the Nara Conference in 1994, played an important role in the development of a global understanding of heritage and what it constitutes. It explores the way the Ise Shrine came to be represented as an iconic example of an Eastern approach to heritage to become central in the paradigm shift within global heritage discourse towards acknowledging cultural diversity. In this article, however, I argue that the presentation and understanding of the Ise Shrine has perpetuated a number of misconceptions about an Eastern approach to heritage conservation. In particular, its presentation and interpretation as a cultural site devoid of its distinct religious and political significance, limits what can be learned from it. This article argues that without full recognition of the religious beliefs intimately embedded in the traditional social structures, practices and attitudes related to heritage sites, recognition of cultural diversity would remain limited.
SP - 14
EP - 25
TI - Rethinking the global heritage discourse - overcoming  East  and  West ?
UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84937908584&doi=10.1080%2f13527258.2015.1068213&partnerID=40&md5=5de2a7f0a9b2fa9e825f06d8db77c13b
VL - 22
SN - 13527258 (ISSN)
ER -