Defining Intangible Cultural Heritage and its Stakeholders: the Case of Japan

Gujo Odori is a Japanese Bon (festival for the dead usually held in midsummer), in this case a dance matsuri (festival) held annually in Gujo Hachiman, Gujo City, in Gifu Prefecture. Landlocked Gifu Prefecture, and even less Gujo City and the administrative district of Gujo Hachiman, are not too prominent in Japan’s consciousness, and are known primarily for the historic villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama, UNESCO World Heritage sites, and to some people for the ayu, the sweetfish found abundantly in its many rivers.