How did modern people find meaning in their experiences of Imperial Family festivals? How were these experiences influenced by the formation of modern urban space? The purpose of this paper is to reconsider the social function of Imperial Family festivals in modern Japan by approaching this question from a sociological viewpoint.
The focus of this paper is on the “urban” experiences with regard to Imperial Family festivals that were linked to the modernization of Tokyo in the early 20th century. During the Taisho and early Showa eras, for the common people both the meaning and the experience of festivals were based on the desire for consumption. What animated people on festival days in Tokyo was not a nationalistic attitude of immersion in and passion for the ceremonies of the festival. Rather, their attitude was that of “consumers” who would enjoy as spectators the atmosphere of the festival by indulging in the purchase of commercial goods and services. This paper will clarify the existence of a specifically modern festival experience in urban space that cannot be understood in the framework of nation-state theory, by identifying positively how these experiences and the meanings attached to Imperial Family festivals fixed among the people following the modern development of Tokyo.