Beachheads: War, Peace, and Tourism in Postwar OkinawaThis original and fresh book explores Okinawa’s makeover as a tourist mecca in the long historical shadow and among the physical ruins of the Pacific War’s most devastating land battle. Gerald Figal considers how a place burdened by a history of semicolonialism, memories of war and occupation, economic hardship, and contentious current political affairs has reshaped itself into a resort destination. Drawing on an innovative mix of detailed archival research and extensive fieldwork, Gerald Figal considers the ways Okinawa has accommodated war experience and its legacies within the manufacture and promotion of both a “tropical paradise” image and a heritage tourism site identified with the premodern Ryukyu Kingdom. Tracing the postwar formation of “Tourist Okinawa,” Figal addresses interrelated issues of economic sustainability, local political autonomy, interregional and international relations, environmental preservation, historical and cultural self-representation, and especially Okinawa's role as a global peace site laboring under the legacies of war. From the end of World War Two to the present, the author follows Okinawa’s evolution through three main themes: war memorialization, tourism-influenced environmental and historical restoration, and invasion and occupation represented by U.S. military bases and beach resorts. Creatively, accessibly, and eloquently written, this compelling work highlights a set of islands that represent key issues facing contemporary Japan. |
Contents
Prologue | 1 |
Part I Graves and Caves | 23 |
1 Tours among the Ruins | 25 |
2 The Touristification of Sacred Ground | 51 |
Part II Creations and Recreations | 87 |
3 Tropical Image Up | 89 |
4 Ryukyu Restoration | 129 |
Part III Bases and Beaches | 173 |
5 Military Bases as Tourist Attraction | 175 |
6 Beach Resort Invasion | 203 |
Epilogue | 231 |
| 241 | |
| 249 | |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
airport American Anpo no Oka areas authenticity Battle of Okinawa Battle Sites Tour battlefield beach resort boom campaign Castle’s context cultural assets display exotic Expo 75 flora flowers fukugen furusato Gerald Figal greenification Haebaru Hawaii heritage tourism hibiscus Himeyuri Himeyuri-no-tō identity Japan Kadena Air Base kankó Kankō Okinawa Kokusai Dōri landscape mainland Japanese Midori Moon Beach Naha Naha International Airport nangoku natural nawa Okinawa Island Okinawa Kankō Kyōkai Okinawa Prefecture Okinawa tourism Okinawa-ken omiyage one’s Ōta palm trees Peace Memorial plants political postwar Okinawa pre-Reversion present restoration Reversion ryokka Ryukyu Islands Ryukyu Kingdom Ryūkyū no kaze Ryukyuan Seiden Senge Shureimon Shuri Castle Park Shurijō sightseeing spots Southeast Botanical Gardens Southern Battle Sites souvenirs Taiga Drama Taketomi tion Tokyo tour bus guides tourism development tourism promotion tourist destination tourist gaze Tourist Okinawa U.S. bases U.S. military USCAR visitors wartime Yaeyama