2:30 PM - 2:45 PM
[HCG19-04] Recreation Activities and Mountain Landscapes from postcard photographs: A case study of the tourist resort Karuizawa
Keywords:Karuizawa, resort, recreation, landscape, Mount Asama, postcard
In Karuizawa, Kitasaku-gun, Nagano Prefecture, one of the best tourist resorts in Japan, located at the south-eastern foot of Mount Asama, recreational culture was introduced early in Japan by foreigners, mainly missionaries, during the Meiji era. Previous studies have traced the transition of recreational facilities from villa maps, but the actual landscape has not been clarified. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the state of recreation and mountain scenery in Karuizawa from the '100 years of Karuizawa summer resort' collection of postcard photographs. This collection of postcard photographs was edited by Matsuki Nakajima, who worked at the Karuizawa Post Office for many years, and was published in 1987.
As a result, 354 pictures were published in the collection. Of these, 46 (13%) were of recreational activities, and when the recreational activities were divided by type, 10 were of golf, 7 of tennis, 7 of climbing Mount Asama, 5 of skating, 4 of boating, 3 of baseball and 2 of a gazebo. Among them, 24 pictures had mountain scenery as a distant view, indicating that half of the pictures had mountain scenery in the distance.
Focusing on mountain landscapes, 129 (36%) of the postcards contained mountain landscapes, including distant views, and of these, 62 were of Mount Asama, 7 of Mount Atago-yama and 15 of Mount Hanare-yama. There were also 7 postcards of landscapes with each mountain as a viewpoint, 5 with the crater of Mount Asama and 7 with climbing Mount Asama, resulting in 148 (42%) postcards related to the mountains. Other postcards showed the good view of Mt Myogi, Mt Haruna and Mt Akagi, which are regarded as the Three mountains in Jomo (present-day Gunma Prefecture), Mt Yatsugatake, which is on the border between Nagano and Yamanashi Prefectures, and Mt Fuji, which straddles Yamanashi and Shizuoka Prefectures, with the mountain passes and mountains in Karuizawa as viewpoints.
In summary and discussion, there are a small number of postcard photographs of recreational activities, and at that time people were enjoying recreation with the mountains represented by Mount Asama in the distance. The golf and tennis games that still take place at the present location are the same today, but recreational activities such as skating and baseball are no longer played in the mountains and villas that were visible. Boating on ponds and lakes is also no longer practised, suggesting that hydrophilic recreational activities are declining.
As for mountain scenery, nearly half of the postcards were related to mountains. In particular, the fact that Mount Asama was also used as a distant view on postcards of the Nunobiki-kannon Kannon Hall in Komoro City, located west of Karuizawa, and on postcards of landscapes in the Kita-Karuizawa area, located north of Karuizawa, suggests that Mount Asama is a landmark in Karuizawa and the wider area.
The fact that the Shiraito Waterfalls, which are now so famous that they appear on the cover of tourist brochures, are not found on postcards suggests that tourist resources have been discovered over time, but on the other hand, some scenery such as Japanese silver grass and lily of the valley have been lost due to afforestation and the development of villa areas. Furthermore, the present-day villa areas are planted and surrounded by greenery, making it difficult to see the mountains from the villa areas as on a picture postcard, and this is an issue for future research regarding the visible area of the villa areas and mountains in the tourist resort town of Karuizawa.
As a result, 354 pictures were published in the collection. Of these, 46 (13%) were of recreational activities, and when the recreational activities were divided by type, 10 were of golf, 7 of tennis, 7 of climbing Mount Asama, 5 of skating, 4 of boating, 3 of baseball and 2 of a gazebo. Among them, 24 pictures had mountain scenery as a distant view, indicating that half of the pictures had mountain scenery in the distance.
Focusing on mountain landscapes, 129 (36%) of the postcards contained mountain landscapes, including distant views, and of these, 62 were of Mount Asama, 7 of Mount Atago-yama and 15 of Mount Hanare-yama. There were also 7 postcards of landscapes with each mountain as a viewpoint, 5 with the crater of Mount Asama and 7 with climbing Mount Asama, resulting in 148 (42%) postcards related to the mountains. Other postcards showed the good view of Mt Myogi, Mt Haruna and Mt Akagi, which are regarded as the Three mountains in Jomo (present-day Gunma Prefecture), Mt Yatsugatake, which is on the border between Nagano and Yamanashi Prefectures, and Mt Fuji, which straddles Yamanashi and Shizuoka Prefectures, with the mountain passes and mountains in Karuizawa as viewpoints.
In summary and discussion, there are a small number of postcard photographs of recreational activities, and at that time people were enjoying recreation with the mountains represented by Mount Asama in the distance. The golf and tennis games that still take place at the present location are the same today, but recreational activities such as skating and baseball are no longer played in the mountains and villas that were visible. Boating on ponds and lakes is also no longer practised, suggesting that hydrophilic recreational activities are declining.
As for mountain scenery, nearly half of the postcards were related to mountains. In particular, the fact that Mount Asama was also used as a distant view on postcards of the Nunobiki-kannon Kannon Hall in Komoro City, located west of Karuizawa, and on postcards of landscapes in the Kita-Karuizawa area, located north of Karuizawa, suggests that Mount Asama is a landmark in Karuizawa and the wider area.
The fact that the Shiraito Waterfalls, which are now so famous that they appear on the cover of tourist brochures, are not found on postcards suggests that tourist resources have been discovered over time, but on the other hand, some scenery such as Japanese silver grass and lily of the valley have been lost due to afforestation and the development of villa areas. Furthermore, the present-day villa areas are planted and surrounded by greenery, making it difficult to see the mountains from the villa areas as on a picture postcard, and this is an issue for future research regarding the visible area of the villa areas and mountains in the tourist resort town of Karuizawa.