Historical landscapes of tourism in Wakayama

In 2020, the world was struck by an unexpected pandemic. Daily life was restricted and the movement of people through tourism was interrupted. Even under such circumstances, new forms of tourism such as online VR tourism and micro-tourism have emerged and are maintaining the desire for travel. Indeed, nowadays travellers use a wide range of platforms to gather destination information, including travel guidebooks, brochures, smart phones and a wide variety of travel apps. Looking back nostalgically, there was a tourism boom during the 1920-30's in Japan. What motivated people to travel in those days? How did travellers gather information on destinations they were visiting? Pictorial maps, pamphlets and picture postcards were the primary means of providing information about destinations.
Hatsusaburo Yoshida (1884-1955) was an artist who travelled around Japan and abroad incorporating a'bird's-eye view' into his travel pamphlets. He created panoramic'Hatsusaburo-style bird's-eye view' of cities, transportation networks and tourist attractions in beautiful colors. Using the'Hatsusaburo-style bird's-eye view', the first part of this keynote will focus on the representation of WakayamaPrefecture as seen in the pre-War era of the 1930s. These aerial perspectives were remarkable in their ability to see places, as if floating above it. The historical landscapes of Wakayama Prefecture are breathtakingly and majestically represented in the unique 'Hatsusaburo-style'. While travellers these days use smart phone apps and GPS devices to find their way around touristic places, the maps that Hatsusaburo created gave good insight into the landscapes and sites of interest for travelers.
In the second part of this keynote, Ms. Noriko Matsuyama, a longtime guide at famed World Heritage Site, Koyasan (Mount Koya), one of Japan's venerated holy mountains, will showcase sacred sites and pilgrimage routes in the Kii Mountain Range. In introducing the historical landscape of the Kii Mountain Range with photographs and illustrations, we take participants on a journey one of the most beloved tourist destinations in Japan.