ABSTRACT
This chapter touches upon the recent production of heritage for tourism in China and Japan, showing a sharper break and more instrumental transformation in China. In China under Mao, many features of both religious and secular tradition and heritage –“the olds” – were attacked and threatened or destroyed, only to be resurrected from the 1980s on as valued parts of national culture where appropriate for promoting cultural pride and economically feasible tourism. Japan was similarly wrecked by the Pacific War but, with the backing of the US Occupation, revived cultural traditions as Living National Treasures and encouraged of living religions, strictly separated from politics. Two processes are considered for Japan: (1) the construction of a heritage landscape in Kyushu out of multiple mythologies and archaeological remains, to be consumed by a domestic tourist public more concerned with enjoyment and affect than authentic truths, and (2) a more formal attention to visits as religious rather than touristic brought about by Kyoto City government's attempt to force Buddhist temples to collect taxes as well as entry fees from their visitors. The paper suggests that, unlike China, Japan made little attempt to break continuities when eliding religious heritage with modern tourism.
