For a Long Time, I Thought “Oshikatsu/Supporting My Fave” Had Nothing to Do with Me, But...
“Oshikatsu”—One of the Keywords in Today’s Japanese Market For a long time, I thought that oshikatsu—activities devoted to supporting one’s favorite person, character, or work—had nothing to do with me. That was because I rarely felt particularly passionate about a specific celebrity or fictional character. Apparently, however, there is a difference between simply being a fan and engaging in oshikatsu: While fans tend to support something passively, people engaged in oshikatsu actively try to spread awareness of their favorite subject’s appeal and activities through social media and other channels. In that case, since I want to introduce Nansō Satomi Hakkenden to people overseas, perhaps what I am doing can be described as “Hakkenden oshikatsu.” ChatGPT seems to agree. My ultimate goals, however, are to attract more international tourists to Tateyama in Chiba Prefecture and to use that as a stepping stone toward making Japan a major tourism-oriented country. When I asked ChatGPT about ...