In reforms of the inbound tourism industry from 1906 to 1941, “must-see” sites and itineraries took a back seat to the problem of how to improve basic facilities and manage service encounters between Japanese hosts and “foreign guests.” This essay explores the debates that took place about defining, reforming, and mobilizing tourism hospitality for national policy goals. Extending previous research on international tourism in the empire, it analyzes the close attention given to physical and psychological comfort, the training of frontline workers, and the central role accorded to the ryokan as the perfect union of curiosity and comfort.
© 2025 by the Society for Japanese Studies
2025
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University of California Press