"Authenticity of Kagai and a Strategy of Differentiation"
TAKENAKA Kiyohito
last update: 20151224
Authenticity of Kagai and a Strategy of Differentiation
TAKENAKA Kiyohito
Abstract:
For Kyoto, kagai is a space having all the elements of a tourist resource. When kagai is treated as the tourist
resource, kagai is often drawn as a space has inherited Japanese good old tradition. Such a positive description
ofkagai depends on the production of representation by people about kagai. I show, in this article, the
production of representation and identity by kagai using the Kamishichiken district as an example.
I also make clear it the identity of kagai is maintained by differentiating it with a red-light district. The
differentiation of kagai and a red-light district is performed by two methods in the case of Kamishichiken and
Gobantyo-town. (1) Differentiation between the classes of the customers. (2) Differentiation between
occupations (geiko, maiko and shogi). The two differences are often used for distinguishing between the two
spaces. However, historical materials and testimonies teach these differences were not divided completely in the
past. Kagai explains itself as a space related to art instead of a sexual space by emphasizing these two
differences. The differentiation extends to not only the red-light district but also to general hospitality. The
authenticity of kagai as such a space of art is maintained by this constant differentiation.
Keywords: kagai, red-light district, space of sex, space of art, differentiation
REV: 20151224