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Paper short abstract

This presentation compares how multilingual tourism texts construct “sacred nature” at two contrasting heritage sites: Okinoshima, a restricted ritual sanctuary, and Miyajima, an open tourist destination. An ecostylistic analysis shows how language shapes visitors’ environmental perceptions.

Paper long abstract

This presentation examines how multilingual tourism texts construct environmental and cultural meanings at two contrasting sacred landscapes in Japan: Okinoshima and Miyajima. While Okinoshima is a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its strict access restrictions, ritual secrecy, and long-standing religious traditions, Miyajima (Itsukushima) represents a highly accessible and internationally popular heritage destination. By comparing these divergent cases within an ecostylistic framework, the study investigates how language mediates “sacred nature” and shapes visitor perceptions.

Based on fieldwork conducted in Munakata and Miyajima—including Japanese and English signage, pamphlets, explanatory boards, and digital materials—the analysis identifies distinct narrative and stylistic strategies. At Okinoshima, multilingual texts foreground its role as a site of ancient state rituals, maritime protection, and spiritual significance. Expressions such as “national rituals,” “sacred island,” and “majestic appearance” construct the island as a culturally charged and symbolically protected environment. The English versions often reorganize information, add explanatory detail, or simplify culturally specific concepts, thereby modulating how the site’s sacred and historical meanings are communicated.

In contrast, texts at Miyajima emphasize accessibility, scenic beauty, and responsible interaction with wildlife and landscape. The multilingual materials highlight environmental protection, coexistence with deer, crowd management, and the cultural significance of the torii and shrine complex. Compared with Okinoshima, Miyajima’s narratives are more visitor-oriented and practical, drawing on widely shared environmental values rather than esoteric ritual language.

By juxtaposing these two sites, the presentation demonstrates how tourism texts negotiate differing relationships between humans and nature: sacred detachment at Okinoshima and experiential engagement at Miyajima. The comparison shows how stylistic choices—such as evaluative vocabulary, omission, metaphor, and cross-lingual modulation—construct varied environmental imaginaries and guide visitor expectations.

The study contributes to environmental humanities, linguistic anthropology, and Japanese religious studies by revealing how multilingual textual mediation shapes the moral and ecological framing of sacred landscapes. It also provides broader implications for heritage communication in East Asia, where cultural preservation, tourism pressures, and environmental stewardship increasingly intersect.