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Local Regeneration and the Modern Use of Yokai Culture- Focusing on the Case of Yokkaichi City -

  • Cross-Cultural Studies
  • 2025, 74(), pp.1-24
  • DOI : 10.21049/ccs.2025.74..1
  • Publisher : Center for Cross Culture Studies
  • Research Area : Humanities > Literature
  • Received : January 10, 2025
  • Accepted : February 7, 2025
  • Published : February 28, 2025

Kim Kyounghee 1

1국립순천대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

In this paper, I focused on the case of Yokkaichi City, Mie Prefecture, which is seeking to revitalize the region through yokai culture, and was able to examine the following points. First, Yokkaichi City has transformed from an image of an environmentally polluted city to an image of a city of cultural transmission. It is noteworthy that, while making efforts to improve environmental pollution, the city has also created an image of a city of cultural transmission by using traditional culture festivals, a unique cultural resource of the region, to shed its negative image as a polluted area. In addition, there is a movement to remember the legacy of suffering in order to pass on a sustainable environment to future generations, rather than just putting the pollution problem behind them. Secondly, it is making efforts to preserve and pass on the traditional culture with its uniqueness and distinctiveness in the region while using it as content for modern pop culture to attract young people. The Daiyokkaichi Festival, which has become a citizen festival, is a “invention of tradition” based on traditional culture but adapted to the modern era. Third, the use of yokai culture in local revitalization is a notable feature. The yokai culture itself has the properties that allow for the creation of various images and rich stories. The characters function as a medium of communication and empathy with people, and it can be seen that they are expressed in a wonderful way through the use of the yokai theme. In addition, the media mix of cultural content using yokai characters is being attempted, which shows the diversity of stories and media conversion in Japanese culture. Fourth, the use of yokai characters to revitalize the region is encouraging local residents to participate in various ways. Yokkaichi's efforts can be seen in how they have led residents to think about how to create a festival and get them to participate. Regions are becoming more and more underdeveloped and declining due to population decline and regional disparities. This is the point where various approaches and solutions for the regeneration and revitalization of such regions should be sought. I think it is meaningful to look at the case of Yokkaichi City at a time when we need to think about what members should do for a sustainable region.

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This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.
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