IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bpj/conjap/v26y2014i1p29-48n1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Constructed heritage and co-produced meaning: the re-branding of wines from the Koshu grape

Author

Listed:
  • Kingsbury Aaron

    (Mayville State University)

Abstract

The last decade has seen large-scale cultural changes in the table grape and wine production industries of the Kōfu Basin in Yamanashi Prefecture. From the perspective of wineries, the recent rise in popularity of wines produced from the Koshu grape (Vitis vinifera var. orientalis) has secured their industrial recovery in the short term. This paper explores these changes, thereby contributing to the literature on the invention of traditions for economic profit and rural revitalization. Conclusions are drawn from archival research, interviews with stakeholders in the table grape and wine industries, and over one and one-half years as a grape farmer in the Kōfu Basin. Rather than significant improvements in educational or technical advancement in growing Koshu for wine or even wine production, the rise in popularity of wines produced from Koshu is argued to be more linked to the cultural re-branding of the grape based on co-produced and glocalized perceptions of simulacra in which the historical and local consumption of Koshu wine is equated with Japanese cuisine and culture. By connecting Koshu with Japanese identity and “Japaneseness,” branded wines now provide new opportunities for conspicuous consumption and “connoisseurship” for consumers.

Suggested Citation

  • Kingsbury Aaron, 2014. "Constructed heritage and co-produced meaning: the re-branding of wines from the Koshu grape," Contemporary Japan, De Gruyter, vol. 26(1), pages 29-48, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:conjap:v:26:y:2014:i:1:p:29-48:n:1
    DOI: 10.1515/cj-2014-0002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1515/cj-2014-0002
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1515/cj-2014-0002?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Krisnawati Suryanata, 2000. "Products from paradise: The social construction of Hawaii crops," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 17(2), pages 181-189, June.
    2. Jonathan Murdoch & Terry Marsden & Jo Banks, 2000. "Quality, Nature, and Embeddedness: Some Theoretical Considerations in the Context of the Food Sector," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 76(2), pages 107-125, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kraus Felix & Merlin Cornelius & Job Hubert, 2014. "Biosphere reserves and their contribution to sustainable development: A value-chain analysis in the Rhön Biosphere Reserve, Germany," ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography, De Gruyter, vol. 58(1), pages 164-180, October.
    2. Pierpaolo Andriani & Carsten Herrmann-Pillath, 2015. "Transactional innovation as performative action: transforming comparative advantage in the global coffee business," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 371-400, April.
    3. Corsi, Alessandro & Novelli, Silvia & Pettenati, Giacomo, 2014. "Alternative Food Networks in Piedmont: determinants of on-farm and off-farm direct sales by farmers," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 201439, University of Turin.
    4. Keith Spiller, 2014. "Prolonging Life: Appreciations of a Secondhand ‘Capital’ Machine," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 46(12), pages 2848-2863, December.
    5. Amy Zader, 2012. "Understanding quality food through cultural economy: the “politics of quality” in China’s northeast japonica rice," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 29(1), pages 53-63, March.
    6. Clarisse Cazals & Marie Lemariè, 2011. "Land-use conflicts and quality on the coastal area "Bassin d'Arcachon": a regional newspapers analysis," ERSA conference papers ersa10p1331, European Regional Science Association.
    7. Sarah Bowen & Tad Mutersbaugh, 2014. "Local or localized? Exploring the contributions of Franco-Mediterranean agrifood theory to alternative food research," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 31(2), pages 201-213, June.
    8. E. DuPuis & Sean Gillon, 2009. "Alternative modes of governance: organic as civic engagement," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 26(1), pages 43-56, March.
    9. Gallardo, R. Karina & Olanie, Aaron & Ordóñez, Rita & Ostrom, Ostrom, 2015. "The Use of Electronic Payment Machines at Farmers Markets: Results from a Choice Experiment Study," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 18(1), pages 1-26, February.
    10. Gallardo, Rosa Karina & Olanie, Aaron, 2012. "The Use of Wireless Capability at Farmers Markets: Results from a Choice Experiment Study," 2012 Annual Meeting, August 12-14, 2012, Seattle, Washington 124891, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    11. Joshua Kellogg & Clyde Higgs & Mary Ann Lila, 2011. "Prospects for Commercialisation of an Alaska Native Wild Resource as a Commodity Crop," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 20(1), pages 77-101, March.
    12. McKeever, Edward & Jack, Sarah & Anderson, Alistair, 2015. "Embedded entrepreneurship in the creative re-construction of place," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 50-65.
    13. Gerhard Rainer, 2021. "Geographies of qualification in the global fine wine market," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 53(1), pages 95-112, February.
    14. Diana Stuart & Michelle Worosz, 2012. "Risk, anti-reflexivity, and ethical neutralization in industrial food processing," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 29(3), pages 287-301, September.
    15. Besik, Deniz & Nagurney, Anna, 2017. "Quality in competitive fresh produce supply chains with application to farmers' markets," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 62-76.
    16. Steven C. Blank & Gary D. Thompson, 2004. "Can/Should/Will A Niche Become the Norm? Organic Agriculture's Short Past and Long Future," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 22(4), pages 483-503, October.
    17. Kim, Karl & Burnett, Kimberly & Ghimire, Jiwnath, 2015. "Assessing the potential for food and energy self-sufficiency on the island of Kauai, Hawaii," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 44-51.
    18. Álvaro Ibáñez-Jiménez & Yolanda Jiménez-Olivencia & Ángela Mesa-Pedrazas & Laura Porcel-Rodríguez & Karl Zimmerer, 2022. "A Systematic Review of EU-Funded Innovative Agri-Food Projects: Potential for Transfer between Territories," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-26, April.
    19. Eduardo Malagon-Zaldua & Mirene Begiristain-Zubillaga & Aintzira Onederra-Aramendi, 2018. "Measuring the Economic Impact of Farmers’ Markets on Local Economies in the Basque Country," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-14, January.
    20. Johan Jansson & Anders Waxell, 2011. "Quality and Regional Competitiveness," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 43(9), pages 2237-2252, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bpj:conjap:v:26:y:2014:i:1:p:29-48:n:1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.degruyter.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.