On the trail of The Last Samurai (II)

Hobbiton vs Uruti Valley

Philip Seaton

2019.3.19

Abstract

This research note is part two of a three-part series documenting fieldwork at sites related to the 2003 film The Last Samurai. The ‘failure’ of Last Samurai tourism at shooting locations in Taranaki has often been contrasted with the success of tourism in New Zealand relating to Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Based on fieldwork at Hobbiton in August 2017, this research note identifies the main reasons why Hobbiton became a popular tourist attraction with up to 3000 visitors per day in 2016-2017, while by the same time Last Samurai tourism had effectively ceased to exist. The reasons for Hobbiton’s ‘success’, by contrast, are identified as a reason why Last Samurai sites might remain attractive for film tourists, while Hobbiton has lost much of its appeal for film tourism purists.

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Author Biography

Philip Seaton is a professor in the Institute of Japan Studies, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. He is the author of numerous books and articles relating to war history, memory, media and tourism, including: Japan’s Contested War Memories (Routledge 2007), Voices from the Shifting Russo-Japanese Border (Routledge, 2015, co-edited with Svetlana Paichadze), Local History and War Memories in Hokkaido (Routledge 2016), and Contents Tourism in Japan (Cambria Press, 2017, co-authored with Takayoshi Yamamura, Akiko Sugawa-Shimada, and Kyungjae Jang). His website is www.philipseaton.net.

フィリップ・シートン。東京外国語大学大学院国際日本学研究院教授。戦史、戦争記憶、メディア・ツーリズムに関する著書・論文多数。代表的著書に、Japan’s Contested War Memories (Routledge 2007), Voices from the Shifting Russo-Japanese Border (Routledge, 2015, co-edited with Svetlana Paichadze), Local History and War Memories in Hokkaido (Routledge 2016), and Contents Tourism in Japan (Cambria Press, 2017, coauthored with Takayoshi Yamamura, Akiko Sugawa-Shimada, and Kyungjae Jang)などがある。ウェブサイトは、 www.philipseaton.net.