Landscapes Japan Field Studies (August 2023). Application Deadline: November 9, 2022 by 5 pm.

Information Sessions: 9/22 at 7 pm in Riverside Conference Room, The Powerhouse. Contact Furukawa-sensei (furukawas) or Rougvie-sensei (rougviej) if you have questions.

• Application Form for Oga 2023
• Faculty Reference Form

The Program

Rural areas in Japan face the two-pronged challenge of depopulation and aging, leaving many communities struggling to survive. Increasingly communities are looking to cultural and natural heritage tourism as a means of bolstering resilience. The Rural Japan in Transition project is focused on rural sustainability in Akita Prefecture. Akita, in the northwest corner of the main island of Honshu and the fourth largest prefecture in Japan, is undergoing the fastest depopulation of any place in the country.

In 2023, Beloit students, guided by the Rural Japan co-directors Susan Furukawa (Japanese) and Jim Rougvie (Geology), will explore the intersection between geoheritage and cultural heritage in the Oga Peninsula in order to understand the role that they can play in promoting rural sustainability. Oga is home to the Oga Peninsula-Ogata Geopark, a Japanese National Geopark. It is also home to the Namahage ritual in which young men reenact New Year’s Eve visits by ogre-like deities in cultural practices that are included on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list. Students will investigate geoheritage and the roles governmental departments, tourism associations, and community members play in balancing education, conservation, and economic development goals. A field course will take place in August following a spring semester orientation class.

In 2018, students investigated the role of agricultural tourism in maintaining culture and landscapes in Semboku-shi. Through participant observation in farm-home stays, semi-structured interviews with green tourism business owners, and briefings by local government officials, ten students learned how support from various community organizations and increased participation in farm home-stays helps promote rural sustainability.

Students enrolling in Landscapes Japan courses will explore issues related to rural sustainability in the natural sciences, arts and humanities, and social sciences. While emphasis will be placed on questions around sustainability in Japan’s rural north, opportunities for comparative studies, including rural sustainability in the Midwest, will be possible.

We are planning our next project for Spring and Summer of 2023. Contact Furukawa-sensei (furukawas@beloit.edu) or Rougvie-sensei (rougviej@beloit.edu) with questions.