As the idea of empires and colonization grew increasingly unwelcome within the international community, Japanese government officials strove to present Japan as an equal among imperial powers in the years leading up to WWII. To promote this image, the Japanese government increasingly focused on making Japan an attractive site for international tourism. And so, in 1935 the government’s Board of Tourist Industry created Tourist Library Series (TLS) (1935-1942) to explain and advertise Japan to foreigners. Unlike other tourist literature that focused on presenting Japan as an attractive and interesting tourist destination, TLS focused on providing its readers with an adequate understanding of Japan’s unique culture. The series, authored by recognized authorities, ranged in topic from stamps and tea ceremony to architecture and religion, to explain the “essence” and defining principles that made up a “Japanese national culture”. In doing so, the series departs from the general trend in tourist literature to focus on what can be experienced or purchased by foreign visitors to Japan. Rather, the TLS describes a Japan that transcends time and place. I contend that TLS demonstrates a unique approach, but one very much in concert with other efforts by the Japanese government and its representatives, to place Japan as an equal among imperial nation's leading up to WWII. Furthermore, by examining TLS I hold that invaluable insight can be acquired on how tourism’s potential to represent Japan could be successfully maximized through the narrative format
