Negotiating the nation: public diplomacy and the publication of English-language tourist guidebooks of Japan in the Meiji period (1868–1912)

Tourist guidebooks are powerful instruments of public diplomacy: as supposedly ‘impersonal’ descriptions, intended for ‘average’ readers, they can be used to subtly promote careful national narratives, and draw the attention foreign publics a country’s soft power. This article analyses, in this light, English-language tourist Japan published by Society called Kihinkai (Welcome Society, 1893–1912), earliest Japanese organization promotion inbound tourism. It relates them popular handbooks British House Murray, which were adopted their model. Murray’s ‘created’ an international destination majority English-speaking travellers, responding common travel tropes expectations about country. The Kihinkai’s engaged with form ‘autoethnographic’ texts, adopting style language, way partake established reputation authoritativeness. At same time, carefully reframed narrative Japan, that was coherent general ‘diplomatic’ strategy – born background its founders supporters, coming together private sector interests.