OUGI presented the special lecture and workshop based on the case study of “The Folklore of KAGURA” at Tokyo Metropolitan University

OUGI Inc. held a special lecture and practical workshop for university students in the Faculty of Urban Environmental Sciences of Tokyo Metropolitan University, at the request of Professor Tetsuo Shimizu, who belongs to the Department of Tourism Science in that faculty.

Overview of the Lecture
Date: Wednesday 25 June 2025
Location: Tokyo Metropolitan University (Minami-Osawa Campus)
Target: Approximately 50 students (taking tourism-related specialized subjects)

Content:
– The First half: Lecture “High-value-added inbound content creation”
– The Latter half: Workshop (including students’ presentations and feedback) about “Digging deeper into our hometowns from the perspective of ‘Japanese spirituality’! Creating high-value-added inbound content”

In the first half, there was a special lecture about “high-value-added inbound content creation”. OUGI introduced the case study of “The Folklore of KAGURA,” which was held in Usa City, Oita Prefecture. Firstly, it was introduced that the tour was designed to be high-value-added for the inbound tourists. It provides the programme for the participants to master the Buzen Kagura that is a traditional performing arts inherited among the local people over a century. Also, it was highlighted that the tour creation involved the local people to elaborate the programme together. Secondly, the case study showcased how to provide the single experiential story in the tour, combining the multiple local contents, such as the experience of trekking and kagura-meshi (dedicated food for kagura performance) to understand the cultural background and the origin of Japanese spirit. Finally, it was also mentioned the problems and results in co-creation with the locals as well as the marketing strategy to both inside and outside of Japan.

In the second half, there was a workshop. The topic was “To investigate the local spirits based on the hometown, and make it as the tourism content”. The participating students proactively tried to design the local tourism content for the inbound tourists, by listing up the charm and asset of their own hometown, and planning its promotion regarding the target audience, purpose, and communication ways. At the end of the workshop, a few students made mini presentations about the tour content plans of their hometown. They introduced the plans from multiple aspects, such as the local culture, festivals, food, and folklore and dug into each unique and attractive spirit. Each student’s presentation finished with the improvised live music performance with a keyboard harmonica by Ayumi Kato, a story teller, pianist and composer at OUGI Inc, replicating the direction in the closing ceremony of ”the Folklore of KAGURA”. The music reflected the described scenery and atmosphere from the presenters and led to fill the classroom with warm feelings and a lot of applause.

The special lecture and workshop provided a valuable opportunity to reexamine the original scenery of one’s hometown as a tourism resource, and to consider the value of the content discovered there, as well as to connect learning with practices in the tourism industry.
On a larger scale, OUGI will continue to contribute to the travel industry and to the development of regional tourism, including developing the next generation of leaders through collaboration with academic institutions, in addition to creating and selling tours.

“The Folklore of KAGURA programme”, experience of inheriting traditional Japanese dance performance

[The tour content introduction & inquiry / application]
https://ougi-japan.com/en/destinations/usa-kyushu/

[Instagram]
https://www.instagram.com/ougi_usakagura/