일본 사적지정책과 역사문화자원의 활용 현황

Abstract

In the article, I examined the Japanese policy on the historic sites and the present condition of their utilization. History of modern Japanese historical sites protection and organization went way back to 1871. Guroita Gatsumi conceptualized the term of “historic sites” for the first time in 1911. The cultural properties protection law was legalized in 1950 and the concept of cultural properties was introduced for the first time. As the two-tier designation system was introduced, a system to designate a historic site/scenic spot/natural monument and a special historic site/scenic spot/natural monument for a specially important one was established. The Cultural Properties Protection Committee as a central administrative agency was established to protect the cultural properties and the board of education by the governorate in local autonomous entities was in charge of the cultural properties protection. As the protection of the historic sites took the spotlight toward 1990s, the registered cultural properties system was established in the third amendment to the cultural properties protection law and the article about the cultural view was newly established. This was to protect tangible and intangible cultural properties native to a local community as well as national cultural properties. The organization to support this policy on a national scale is “the National historic sites maintenance and correction village council”. The council performs a study project for the person in charge of the cultural properties protection every year, exchanges information about the newest historic sites protection and maintenance, and makes a representation to the government for budget. Thus, the Japanese historic sites policy is operated systematically by the central government, local autonomous entities and the public. Recently Japanese cultural properties policy is noticeable in two respects. The first one is “Basic plan for history and culture” which was started with the fourth amendment to the cultural properties protection law in 2007. Its aim is to infuse vitality into the integrated cultural heritage which would be made by a historical narrative combining tangible and intangible cultural properties with living human and natural space. When a conference composed by the village councils submits a proposal to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and the proposal is selected, it is operated as a long-term one as a form of government support. Japan seeks the central power in the culture period of the 21st century from the voluntary participation and behavior of the public and an individual. Secondly, the war remains were excavated, protected and utilized by a civic organization, which the Japanese government covered up them as a negative cultural heritage. But they are designated as a historic site and began to be utilized as a ground for school peace education. We can see a paradigm shift about the historic sites, that is, the negative historic sites as well as the positive historic sites can be a meaningful cultural heritage.