Balancing the need to attract visitors while preserving traditional rituals is an ongoing challenge for Japanese communities where local festivals are valuable assets that bring much-needed tourist spending, but sometimes at a cost to the culture.This seems to be especially true for a Shinto shrine whose centuries-old annual celebration for deities has become a massive festival attraction for the ancient Japanese capital of Kyoto, a city already straining under its tourist load.Causing further angst is the relatively new practice of selling premium seating for people willing to pay for unin…READ FULL ARTICLE
