EXCERPT It is true that I only recently began to use the term ‘tourist’. But I have been thinking about ‘frivolous beings’ such as tourists for quite a long time. In fact, I once used the term ‘derivative works’ to refer to a similar phenomenon. Allow me to explain. Some readers of a certain generation still think of me as a critic familiar with otaku subculture (despite the fact that I am quite unfamiliar with recent trends, since I have not watched much anime or played many games over the past several years). This association has its roots in a book that was published in 2001 entitled The Animalizing Postmodern [Dōbutsuka suru posutomodan], published in English translation in 2009 as Otaku: Japan’s Database Animals. In this book I focused on the production of ‘derivative works’ by otaku. ‘Derivative works’ are creative activities in which otaku take certain characters and settings from a particular manga and anime, and create a different story separate from the ‘original’ for their own pleasure. For example, some lovers of shōnen manga (mostly women) create pornographic works by depicting their favorite characters performing sexual acts (many such works exist). Although derivative works are nothing more than amateur publications, and their circulation is limited to booths at fairs and speciality bookstores, they are so influential that we cannot talk about otaku culture from a certain period on without considering their significance. Interested readers may consult Otaku: Japan’s Database Animals—although the examples are dated, essentially things have not changed much. In the context of this book, we could say that these derivative works have a ‘touristic’ character…