Abstract
In the midst of the ongoing cultural globalization, many rural areas in Japan are poorly equipped to enjoy cultural activities. Cultural sociology has worked on political issues that have had ramifications on the popular or ethnic culture, but not on issues related to institutions that support cultural activities. On the other hand, the regional development movement that uses cultural resources has attracted attention in its practice of regional construction. Some cities obtain cultural resources from all over the world; they attract the people who form the creative class, and are thus in a position to target further cultural development. Other areas, however, are not always able to do that. This paper focuses on the issues of local diversity and endemism to discuss this situation.
