The Multilingualisation of Kamakura: Functions, Materials and Discourses of Shrine and Temple Signs

Research on written signs in public spaces provides useful insights into Japan’s rapidly increasing linguistic diversity. In this linguistic landscape study, we aim to understand how historical shrines and temples in Kamakura, Japan, accommodate non-Japanese visitors through the multilingualisation of their public signs. Our findings reveal that nearly half of the public signs are multilingual, with many being bilingual in Japanese and English. The multilingualisation of Kamakura’s public signs relates to their function and materiality. Signs that explain the significance of structures in the shrines, temple as well as those that mark specific locations tend to be multilingual. Many multilingual signs also display rules against inappropriate behaviour. Languages other than Japanese are more commonly displayed on metal and paper signs than on wood and stone. Not all bilingual signs share the same discursive features; in some cases, variations between messages in different languages reveal differences in communicative intent and target audiences. These results showed a highly multilingualised landscape driven by tourism. However, we argue that there is a threshold for multilingualisation, as Kamakura navigates the balance between providing multilingual signs and preserving its traditional aesthetics.