- 14 Mar 2002
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Watatsumi Shrine (和多都美神社) in Tsushima, Nagasaki, decided to ban "all tourists," saying that after years of coping with disrespectful visitors, it has finally drawn the line, denouncing what it describes as "the destruction of Japanese culture."
In the fall of 2020, Watazumi Shrine in Tsushima suffered damage from a typhoon that destroyed one of its iconic torii gates rising from the waters of the adjacent bay. Since then, however, the Nagasaki Prefecture shrine—an inspiration for a setting in the Ghost of Tsushima video game—has been contending with a different threat: disruptive human visitors with the shrine prohibiting all tourists from entering.
This decision follows years of frustration over the behaviour of certain foreign visitors, including smoking, littering, and spitting within the sacred grounds as well as a tourist riding a mountain bike through a restricted area and the theft of omamori, the shrine's protective amulets. In January 2020, the shrine considered banning all foreign visitors but later rescinded the idea. Then, in June 2024, after a Korean tourist reportedly became aggressive when reprimanded for discarding a cigarette and spitting on the grounds, the shrine announced a ban on Korean visitors. It has broadened that restriction, declaring that only parishioners and worshippers will be allowed entry.
A ban on tourists, however, would be hard to enforce. Photographing or filming Shinto shrine structures is not typically viewed as sacrilegious. Therefore, Watazumi Shrine's ban on photography seems aimed less at religious concerns and more at discouraging disrespectful behaviour from YouTubers and social media influencers.
news.yahoo.co.jp
In the fall of 2020, Watazumi Shrine in Tsushima suffered damage from a typhoon that destroyed one of its iconic torii gates rising from the waters of the adjacent bay. Since then, however, the Nagasaki Prefecture shrine—an inspiration for a setting in the Ghost of Tsushima video game—has been contending with a different threat: disruptive human visitors with the shrine prohibiting all tourists from entering.
This decision follows years of frustration over the behaviour of certain foreign visitors, including smoking, littering, and spitting within the sacred grounds as well as a tourist riding a mountain bike through a restricted area and the theft of omamori, the shrine's protective amulets. In January 2020, the shrine considered banning all foreign visitors but later rescinded the idea. Then, in June 2024, after a Korean tourist reportedly became aggressive when reprimanded for discarding a cigarette and spitting on the grounds, the shrine announced a ban on Korean visitors. It has broadened that restriction, declaring that only parishioners and worshippers will be allowed entry.
A ban on tourists, however, would be hard to enforce. Photographing or filming Shinto shrine structures is not typically viewed as sacrilegious. Therefore, Watazumi Shrine's ban on photography seems aimed less at religious concerns and more at discouraging disrespectful behaviour from YouTubers and social media influencers.
「極めて重大かつ許されない不敬行為」で「観光目的での参入を全てお断り」 対馬の神社が異例声明 (J-CASTニュース) - Yahoo!ニュース
和多都美（わたづみ）神社」（長崎県対馬市）。たびたび外国人観光客による迷惑行為を訴えてきた - Yahoo!ニュース(J-CASTニュース)
) and I knew the family were American because they were shouting at each other from adjacent rooms and sure enough, they were caressing paintings on the wall, palming the glass cabinets leaving greased hand marks and urinating on the floor (I made up that last one).
