Author: Tim Craig
Published 2016, updated 2020.
Length: 15 pages (plus exhibits)
Toei Kyoto Studio Park, better known as Eiga Mura (“movie village”), is an Edo Period and jidaigeki (Japanese historical drama) theme park that grew out of the Japanese movie industry, and changes that shook that industry during the last half of the 20th century. Created by the movie studio Toei to show an eager public how samurai films and TV dramas are made, Eiga Mura drew 2.6 million visitors in 1982. But as the popularity of jidaigeki declined and new theme parks like Tokyo Disneyland and Universal Studios Japan were built, Eiga Mura attendance plummeted. The case follows Eiga Mura’s growth, decline, and recent recovery, and asks readers to consider how the park can draw more foreign visitors.
Foreign visitors are one thing Kyoto has no shortage of. Part two of this case traces the development of Kyoto as a tourist destination over the last 140 years, and describes the foreign visitor boom that the city is experiencing in 2016 in response to local and national government efforts to boost tourism. The challenge for Eiga Mura is getting more of these tourists to visit the park, which gets good visitor reviews but is a bit off the beaten track and remains relatively unknown.
Topics: Tourism, Kyoto, Theme parks, Jidaigeki (Japanese historical dramas, Responding to economic and social change
Individual cases from Cool Japan may be purchased from BlueSky Publishing for ¥400 or $4 each. For instructors wishing to use Cool Japan cases in their classes, student copies may be made from a master copy; copyright permissions must be purchased for each student in the class. To inquire or order, please contact: tcraig@blueskyacademic.net.
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