ABSTRACT
During World War I, Japan fought against Germany in China and the Pacific, taking many Germans prisoner. These prisoners of war made various contributions to Japanese cultural life. The first complete performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 was in a POW camp, which was the subject of a major film. German POWs also introduced new food culture. One of these bakers was featured in NHK’s morning drama (asadora) in 1977 generating contents tourism in Kobe. These peaceful interactions during wartime mask the harsher realities of war, but indicate the potential of war to create cultural interactions that underpins a tourism phenomenon.
