Nara University Faculty of Letters Professor Masatomo UMITSU gave a presentation entitled “The flood damage of Hoi An, ancient city in central Vietnam, and its surrounding area.” Hoi An is an ancient city that was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999, and it is located right next to the entrance of the Thu Bon River, which means that the entire surrounding area is prone to flooding. Having drawn up landform classification maps, and on the results of his interviews with the local residents, the speaker presented a flood risk map, and spoke about several areas that are particularly exposed to flood damage. The speaker made many interesting points, one of which was the fact that Hoi An’s old town has been given its special character by the flooding of the Thu Bon River, whose level is said to be gradually rising.

Final Symposium on Global COE Program for Education, Research and Development of Strategy on Disaster Mitigation of Cultural Heritage and Historic Cities, entitled “Protecting Cultural Heritage from Disaster for Future Generations”, was held in the Prism House at Ritsumeikan University’s Biwako-Kusatsu Campus.  The symposium, with the participation of external evaluation committee members, consists of a presentation on the overall activities during 5 years and reports on achievement in educational and research projects.    “Handbook for Disaster Mitigation of Cultural Heritage”, which is the compilation of the GCOE activities, was also introduced.

1. Opening Address:
Kiyofumi Kawaguchi (President of Ritsumeikan University)

2. Keynote Speech:
Tamehito Reizei (Director of the Reizei Family Foundation and Visiting
Professor of Ritsumeikan University)

3. Objectives for the Global COE Program for Education, Research and
Development of Strategy on Disaster Mitigation of Cultural Heritage
and Historic Cities:
Takeyuki Okubo (G-COE Project Leader, Professor of Ritsumeikan
University)

4. Achievement in research activities:
1) Historic disasters and cultural assets in Kyoto
Masafumi Yamasaki (Professor, College of Science and Engineering)
Akihisa Yoshikoshi (Professor, College of Letters)

2) Improving environment for disaster mitigation in the areas surrounding
cultural heritage
Ryoichi Fukagawa (Professor, College of Science and Engineering)
Keiichi Ogawa (Associate Professor, College of Science and Engineering)

3) Handbook for disaster mitigation of cultural heritage
Takeyuki Okubo (Professor, College of Science and Engineering)

5. Achievement in international and educational activities:
1) Report on international joint research
Hitoshi Taniguchi (Professor, Rits-DMUCH)
2) UNESCO Chair Programme International Training Course
Naoko Itaya (Associate Professor, Rits-DMUCH)
3) Educational activities
Kazuyuki Izuno (Professor, College of Science and Engineering)

6. Comment from the external evaluation committee:
Takeshi Nakagawa (Professor, Waseda University)

7. Closing Address:
Kenzo Toki (Director of Rits-DMUCH)

Kyoto University Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies Assistant Professor Yuzuru KATO presented a discussion topic under the theme of “Understanding the history of earthquakes in Kyoto using the stone lanterns of the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine,” after which the participants all contributed their own views in a lively debate. The Kitano Tenmangu Shrine has some partially damaged stone lanterns on which Assistant Professor Kato conducted studies based on the idea that such damage may have been caused by the Bunsei Kyoto Earthquake of 1830. Much data from the studies was offered for consideration, including findings on the distinctive features of the damage in the stone, and the dates that have been carved into the lanterns. Kyoto has not suffered any large-scale earthquakes in recent years but it was agreed that the stone lanterns of the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine have much to tell us of the distinctive features of the earthquakes that hit the city in the Bunsei era.

The 7th UNESCO Chair on Cultural Heritage and Risk Management
International Training Course on Disaster Risk Management of Cultural Heritage 2012 was held for two weeks from September 8 to 22, 2012. We invited 11 participants from Fiji, India, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey, and Vietnam.

This International Training Course consisted of Lectures, Site visits, Workshops on Kyoto, as well as the case study projects from each of the participants’ home countries. In addition, participants undertook site visits to Kobe and Minami-Sanriku-Cho in Miyagi prefecture which is one of the areas that were severely damaged by the Great East Japan Disaster. In Minami-Sanriku-Cho, participants were given opportunity to listen to the experiences of local residents who have been affected by this disaster, and learned actual condition and progress of reconstruction plans.

At the Open Jury session, participants were given helpful advice from Lecturers, including Mr. Joseph King from ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property).

The UNESCO Chair International Training Course on Disaster Risk Management of Cultural Heritage is held with the help of instructors comprising the faculty from Ritsumeikan University and other institutions, experts from international and governmental organizations, and on-site specialists, and the enthusiastic participation of trainees from various countries around the globe. This Center is committed to continually enhancing the contents of the program, and will increase efforts to promote further disaster mitigation of cultural heritage properties.

Kobe University Graduate School of Humanities Professor Hirotsugu FUJITA gave a presentation entitled “The uses of historical geography in reconstruction efforts after the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011: Ideas from a Kobe University faculty member who experienced the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995.” Cadastral maps and land register maps made in the Meiji period (1868-1912) have been used by historical geographers for recreating landscapes that existed in the past, but Professor Fujita brought up the interesting suggestion that on the basis of his investigations of Soma City in Fukushima Prefecture they might also be useful for future-directed projects such as restoration and reconstruction. In addition to explaining the merits of such an approach, he also pointed out possible problems. Further, Professor Fujita’s research is being given implementation with a Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research project, so we can look forward to seeing the results.

We participated in Kyoto Prefecture disaster management drill, which was
held in Yodogawa River Park. We explained G-COE activities to visitors
by poster presentations.

Visit to suffered area from the East Japan earthquake (August 20-23, 2012)

We visited the suffered cultural heritage sites from the 2011 East Japan earthquake to inspect the reconstruction status; Aoba castle and Yuriage district in Sendai city, Higashi Matsushima city, Zuiganji temple and Entsuji temple in Matsushima, and Chusonji in Hiraizumi.

Toshifumi YATA, professor at the Faculty of Humanities, Niigata University gave a presentation titled “Historical earthquakes and research into building collapse ratio.” After giving a document-based explanation of case histories of historical earthquakes in the 16th and the 17th centuries, he touched on findings relating to building collapse ratio in the 1828 Sanjo Earthquake, the 1751 Takada Earthquake and the 1858 Hietsu Earthquake. A number of intriguing findings were presented, in particular that in instances where total collapse rate exceeded 50% and mortality rates exceeded 20% this served as a way of identifying the earthquake epicenter.

The 6th Symposium on Disaster Mitigation of Cultural Heritage and Historical Cities was held in Kyoto, and 160 persons participated in it. A total of 52 papers and reports were presented at the symposium related to disaster mitigation issues concerning historical cities and/or cultural heritages.

The research findings presented at the conference have been published as Disaster Mitigation of Cultural Heritage and Historical Cities, Vol. 6.

Presentations were given from each project group as follows, 1. Rohit Jigyasu, “Global Trends in Disaster Risk Management of Cultural Heritage: Achievements and Challenges”; 2. Itoko Kitahara and Junzo Omura, “Location of cenotaph for tsunami in Tohoku area”; 3. Yu Ooka,”Damage caused to timber buildings by 2012 tornado”; 4. Dowon Kim,”Reconstruction of Honganji water supply system and its effect on fire spread prevention”.

Reports were given from each project group as follows, 1. Minsuk Kim,”Disaster mitigation in conservation and management for Hahoe village,Korea”; 2. Ichiro Kawasaki, “Geoscientific circumstances  of Kyoto Imperial Palace, Shugakuin Imperial Villa, and Kofukuji temple”; 3. Yuko Ishida, “Carta del Rischio del Patrimonio Culturale in Italy”; 4. Siyanee Hirunsalee, “The Role of Italian Universities in Cultural Heritage Disaster Preventions”.

Prof. Okubo, project leader, delivered an address outlining the project’s objectives for this year. After that, each project group reported the results in the last year and research plans for this year.

Wataru IIJIMA, professor at the College of Literature, Aoyama Gakuin University, gave a presentation on “Infectious diseases as disasters: Environment, society and humans.” He started by giving an outline of his previous research into the history of infectious diseases, and then highlighted the significance of the interaction between nature and human beings in infectious diseases. The changes brought to the environment when humans develop nature (through agriculture, urbanization, industrialization) are profoundly related to infectious diseases: he gave a number of examples—malaria, the plague, influenza, cholera, small pox, tuberculosis. Professor Iijima also touched on management of data on infectious diseases, pointing out the huge differences that exist from country to country.

Michiko HAYASHI of the Department of Civil Engineering, College of Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan University, gave a presentation on “Development and Transformations in the utilization of riverfront space of the Kamo River in Kyoto in the late Meiji era,” in which she elucidated systems for utilizing the riverfront space of the river in summer periods, including leasing for commercial use and restaurant businesses, and how these systems worked in actuality, based on official documents relating to the renting and use of state-owned land. The talk gave a good idea of the role that the businesses of Ponto-cho, and their customers, played in how space came to be utilized, and how the Kyoto government limited their activities for the sake of flood control and conservation of the physical attractiveness of the area.

Lake Biwa Canal Museum of Kyoto researcher Masatoshi SHIRAKI gave a presentation on “The Political Process of the Construction of a Domestic Water Supply to the Kyoto Imperial Palace: Use of Water from the Lake Biwa Canal in the Late Meiji Period.” Mr. Shiraki first touched on the relationship between the Lake Biwa Canal and the transportation of water for domestic use to the Kyoto Imperial Palace, and went on to recount the stages in the construction of a water supply to the Imperial Palace and related issues. On the basis of detailed documents, he explained how the water for the Imperial Palace was conveyed to Kyoto using pipes and culverts, joining the city sewage system; and though at first the Palace household water was collected for fire-fighting purposes, this was discontinued

Eiko ISHIKAWA, a researcher at the Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institution, Kobe, gave a presentation on “Regeneration and Town-Making (Machizukuri): Issues Encountered in Helping Restoration Planning for Minami-Sanriku,” in which she touched on various problems uncovered in helping the restoration efforts for the town of Minami-Sanriku after the Great East Japan Earthquake of nearly six months ago. These included the fact that the frequently practiced earthquake emergency exercises were premised on the town’s experience after the Chile tsunamis; and the fact that there are clear differences in urban areas and fishing villages in regeneration. Restoration plans are now heading into the crucial stage, which will require enormous collaborative efforts.

The regular G-COE project meeting was held at the Research Center for Disaster Mitigation Systems. Reports were given by relevant people on international efforts being developed under the G-COE program as follows. 1. International Training Course as UNESCO Chair Program (ITAYA); 2 Projects in Nepal (OKUBO, YOSHIDA); and 3. Latest International Efforts in the Training of Young Experts in Cultural Heritage and Disaster Management (KANEGAE). Energetic efforts are being made in all three areas, and these will continue. G-COE leader Takeyuki OKUBO then gave a summary of the package of counter measures being developed under the G-COE program to promote protection of cultural heritage properties in the event of disasters, which was followed by an enthusiastic discussion.

The regular G-COE meeting was held at the Research Center for Disaster Mitigation of Urban Cultural Heritage (the Center). Presentations were given from each project group, and enthusiastic discussion ensued. Presenters and titles were as follows: Mayuko YONEJIMA (Doctoral Program, Graduate School of Letters), “Cultural Heritage Property and the Distribution of Mosquitoes”; Akira DAIZO (Doctoral Program, Graduate School of Science and Engineering), “Assessment of Distinctive Features in the Ground Under the Collapsed Stone Walls of Sendai Castle Based on Innovative On-Site Tests”; Michiko HAYASHI (Research Associate, Department of Civil Engineering, College of Science and Engineering), “Use of Regional Cultural Heritage Sites as Evacuation Centers in the Great East Japan Earthquake: The Case of Tsunami-Hit Areas in Greater Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture”; and Yuji MORISHITA, “Edo Period Fire Protection Strategies: Urban Policy in the Tempo Era”.

From September 10 to 24, over a period of two weeks, we held our 6th International Training Course on Disaster Risk Management of Cultural Heritage. This year’s course had the theme of an Integrated Approach for Disaster Risk Mitigation of Historic Cities, and there were 9 participants, from Columbia, Jamaica, Mexico, Kenya, Uganda, India, Bangladesh and China. The course consisted of lectures, on-site visits and workshops on world heritage sites in Kyoto, as well as case study projects from each of the countries of the participants. In addition, this year we had special lectures concerning the Great East Japan Earthquake. We also had an on-site training in Minami-Sanriku town, Miyagi Prefecture.

The UNESCO Chair International Training Course on Disaster Risk Management of Cultural Heritage is held with the help of instructors comprising researchers from Ritsumeikan University and other institutions, experts from international organizations and governmental organizations, and on-site specialists, and the enthusiastic participation of trainees from various countries around the globe. This Center is committed to continually enhancing the contents of the program, and will increase efforts to promote further disaster mitigation of cultural heritage properties.

Kiyomizu-dera Temple visit	Risk analysis exercise for Kiyomizu-dera Temple
Minami-Sanriku on-site training (Fishery Promotion Center, Gyoryukan)	Minami-Sanriku on-site training (Sanmon Gate, Daio-ji Temple)
Role playing exercise for emergency response procedures	Presentation of course completion certificates

Yuichiro NISHIMURA (associate professor, Nara Women’s University, Department of History, Sociology and Geography, Faculty of Letters) gave a presentation titled “Disaster Information-Sharing Using GIS: Possibilities and Issues.” Much progress has been made since GIS was found, in the Hanshin-Awaji Great Earthquake of 1995, to be a highly effective tool for recording, mapping and disseminating disaster data.

Especially since the use of the participatory GIS was expanded, there have been a large number of remarkable achievements in post-disaster recovery and restoration. However, he also pointed out some problems, for instance, of clarifying who the participatory GIS is aimed at.

The 5th Symposiume on Disaster Mitigation of Cultural Heritage and Historical Cities was held at Ritsumeikan University’s Biwako-Kusatsu Campus. A total of 47 research presentations on disaster mitigation of urban cultural heritage and cultural assets were given, followed by lively discussion; more than 120 persons participated from all over Japan. The sessions covered a wide variety of topics, including disaster mitigation in urban area, social systems, emergency evacuation behavior, historical assets, fires, fire fighting, disaster mitigation technologies, earthquake resistance, the Great East Japan Earthquake, disaster damage, case studies from overseas, and slope disaster mitigation. The next conference is scheduled for July 2012.

The research findings presented at the conference have been published as Disaster Mitigation of Cultural Heritage and Historical Cities, Vol. 5.

We held a briefing session on damage due to Great East Japan Earthquake in BKC. Our G-COE members; Prof. Satofuka, Prof. Okubo, Prof. Fukagawa and Prof. Izuno, reported utilization of cultural heritage buildings as evacuation spaces as well as damage to heritage structures due to tsunami.

Akihito NISHIYAMA of the Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokyo gave a presentation on “Distinctive Features of Earthquake Disasters in Kyoto in Pre-Modern Times.” Looking at three major earthquakes that inflicted major damage on Kyoto in historical times (the 1596 Fushimi Earthquake, the 1662 Kanbun Omi Wakasa Earthquake, and the 1830 Bunsei Kyoto Earthquake), he explained intriguing features of the damage caused by these earthquakes based on historical documents and his own research: including that there were no outbreaks of fires in the immediate aftermath; damage increased with the spread of the city; damage increased with the increased use of overlapping tiles (pantiles) on roofs; and damage from the earthquake bore no relation to the location of the earthquake epicenter.

The regular meeting of the GCOE research project was held at the Ritsumeikan University Suzaku campus. Sayaka IRIE, senior reporter at the Disaster and Safety Information Center, News Department at NHK gave a lecture on “The Present State of Areas Hit by the Sichuan Earthquake.” Her talk included material from her latest reports on plans to build a memorial to the victims in the earthquake-hit areas, mass evacuations, the revitalization of tourism, and the disappearance of traditional residential structures. Hitoshi TANIGUCHI, Professor at This Center also gave a talk on the economic damage from the Sichuan Earthquake suffered by historical sites.

Itoko KITAHARA, Professor at This Center gave a presentation based mainly on administrative records of Kyoto prefectural government titled “Rescue Operations in Kyoto Prefecture in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923.” Her report made plain that though there were differences in the response of prefectures asked to contribute to rescue efforts, a major role in such efforts was played by the Osaka prefectural government. It was also clear from many official documents that a variety of organizations in Kyoto played a role in receiving evacuees.

Shigekazu MORIKURI, Professor at Osaka University Center for the Study of Communication Design gave a presentation on “Disaster-inspired Academic Innovation: A Personal Account.” (This title differed somewhat from the one advertised, but the content was basically the same.) Professor Morikuri’s presentation touched on various studies and disaster-related projects with which he has been involved, with detailed accounts, including his involvement with the Jizo Bon festival, and the Kuru-kuru community bus system in Sumiyoshi-dai, Kobe city, examining the issue of disaster in unusual and interesting ways.

This seminar comprised three presentations, and a lively discussion, on the theme of “The Disaster Environment of the Eastern Edge of the Kyoto Basin.” The first presentation, on “Active Faults”, was given by Professor Atsumasa OKADA, of Ritsumeikan Global Innovation Research Organization, and concerned the distinctive features of the active faults discovered in this region and their periods of activity. The second, on “Earthquakes,” was given by Professor Ichiro KAWASAKI of Ritsumeikan Global Innovation Research Organization and focused mainly on earthquake scale prediction from a theoretical point of view. The third presentation, on “Debris Flows,” was given by Professor Hiroshi SUWA, Visiting Research Fellow at the Center, and chiefly comprised detailed case studies of disaster damage at the Shugaku-in Otowa-gawa River, and the hillside behind Kiyomizu-dera Temple. Each of the presentations examined the problem of historical disaster from a natural-science point of view.

The regular G-COE project meeting was held at the Research Center for Disaster Mitigation Systems, Biwako-Kusatsu Campus, with 33 persons in attendance. A person from each of the four project groups (PGs) gave a presentation, followed by Q&A.

1. For the Cultural Heritage and Vulnerability PG, Professor Kanefusa MASUDA of the Center: “Vulnerability of Overseas Cultural Heritage Sites as Seen in International Training Course of Academic Year 2010.”
2. For the Historical Disasters PG, Akihiro TSUKAMOTO, postdoctoral fellow at the Center: “GIS-based Space-Time Visualizations for Disaster Prevention.”
3. For the Disaster Mitigation Technologies PG, Yusuke KISHI, 3rd-year graduate student in Ritsumeikan University doctoral program: “Tests on Historic Masonry Arch Bridge Components.”
4. For the Disaster Mitigation Planning and Policy project group, Yoongho AHN, postdoctoral fellow at the Center: “Research into Road Monitoring Systems in Historical Cities for Traffic Management during Disasters.”

A Ritsumeikan University and ICOMOS-ICORP international symposium “How to Protect Cultural Heritage from Disasters: Risk Preparedness and Post Disaster Recovery” was held in the Conference Hall at the Research Center for Disaster Mitigation of Urban Cultural Heritage, as part of the 140th anniversary of Ritsumeikan Academy and110th anniversary of Ritsumeikan University. The symposium was arranged in the light of the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti in January this year, to consider how to protect cultural heritage and strengthen disaster mitigation in the process of restoration. The objective of the symposium was to investigate the present state of disaster preparedness in Kyoto and other sites worldwide, looking at cultural heritage protection in the post-disaster recovery process, with international experts and members of the International Committee on Risk Preparedness (ICORP); and to put out ideas on issues and future projects to Kyoto residents and citizens of the world. The symposium was arranged jointly by the Center and ICOMOS-ICORP, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Agency of Cultural Affairs, ICOMOS Japan, Kyoto prefectural government, Kyoto Prefectural Board of Education, and Kyoto City; and as part of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s GCOE program at Ritsumeikan University, “Education, Research and Development of Strategy on Disaster Mitigation of Cultural Heritage and Historic Cities.”

In the opening session, Professor Takeyuki OKUBO, GCOE program leader, spoke on the objectives and purpose of the symposium, after which the talks and panel discussions began.

First, Gustavo ARAOZ, president of ICOMOS, gave a talk on the necessity to learn the lessons of the Haitian Earthquake and draw up a strategy for disaster preparedness (protection systems, disaster prevention scenario formulation, etc.), and the importance of ICORP activities in restoration efforts in future world disasters. Kenzo TOKI, director of the Center, then gave an explanation on the efforts being made towards protection of urban cultural heritage in Kyoto, and the establishment of innovative platforms aimed at risk reduction and ensuring cultural assets are bequeathed to future generations. UNESCO New Delhi representative Ms. Moe CHIBA talked on issues in the implementation of risk management and disaster preparedness in developing countries, and issues in international support organizations including UNESCO. Professor Kanefusa MASUDA of Ritsumeikan University, who holds the UNESCO chair, then gave a report of the research findings of the Fifth International Training Course 2010, held over a two-week period starting from September 13.

The panel discussion was chaired by Professor Kanefusa MASUDA, with panelists consisting of ICORP president Professor Rohit JIGYASU, former vice president of National Yunlin University of Science and Technology Professor Shang-Chia CHIOU, Kyo-o-gokoku-ji General Affairs Director Hideki SUNAHARA, and vice-president of ICORP Sue COLE, who each gave reports from their respective countries on efforts towards cultural heritage protection and disaster preparedness. The floor was then opened to the audience for a discussion on the importance of close cooperation with local communities for cultural heritage protection, policy formation on risk management plans to meet conditions in cultural heritage, and information-sharing by experts.

The symposium ended with a speech by Professor Kanefusa MASUDA on the importance of ICORP’s role in helping countries of the world to prepare for natural disasters, and a call on participants to help in the establishment of international information networks for the protection of cultural heritage sites.

This Center held its annual two-week international training course in Kyoto, Kobe and Sasayama, from September 13 to 26, under the UNESCO Chair Program on Cultural Heritage and Risk Management. This is the fifth year the training course has been held. The participants were selected with the cooperation of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, ICCROM, the Asian Academy for Heritage Management, and other relevant organizations. This year there were 79 applicants from a total of 31 countries, from whom 11 persons were selected, in consultation with ICCROM, from five countries: Bhutan, Palao, Peru, Serbia, and Turkey. The course theme was disaster damage prevention for cultural heritage properties and long-term restoration of buildings from damage by earthquake and fire, and it was aimed at helping participants formulate effective disaster risk management plans suitable for heritage sites in their own countries.

The course began with a lecture by Professor Kenzo TOKI, Director of This Center, on “Earthquake Engineering and Disaster Risk Management for Cultural Heritage,” which enabled participants to grasp of the broader issues of cultural heritage risk management. Professor Rohit JIGYASU gave a lecture on “The Significance of Disaster and Risk Management of Cultural Heritage,” in which he explained risk analysis, and gave an introduction to comprehensive risk assessment theory and methodology. Professor Kazuyuki IZUNO gave a lecture on “Measuring Seismic Performance of Historic and Traditional Structures,” and Aiko FURUKAWA of Kyoto University gave a lecture on “Seismic Performance Measurement of Traditional Masonry Structures,” which provided participants with the chance to familiarize themselves with academic findings on the subject. A talk was given by a representative from Disaster Prevention and Crisis Management Office at Kyoto City Fire Department on “Disaster Prevention Policies for Cultural Assets in Disaster Preparedness Plans in Kyoto City and the Surrounding Region,” which impressed on the participants the determination in Japan to address earthquake and disaster-related problems using a combination of self-, community and public help. Yasumichi MURAKAMI of the Hyogo Prefecture Educational Board gave a talk on “Lessons Learned from the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake,” and “Training ‘Heritage Managers'”; Akiko UMEZU, Senior Specialist, Cultural Properties Division, Agency for Cultural Affairs, gave a talk on “A Comprehensive Strategy for Protection, Conservation and Damage Mitigation of Japanese Cultural Properties,” which informed participants of the Japanese experience and latest efforts towards earthquake and disaster resilience. There were site visits to Kiyomizu-dera Temple (with Kyoto Cultural Properties Protection Division, Kyoto Prefectural Government); to Sannei-zaka, a Historical Preservation District in the Kiyomizu Temple Area (with Professor Takeyuki OKUBO); to the disaster prevention facilities at Ninna-ji Temple (with Hikokazu OMORI, Exective Director,Omori Architectural Office ); to the repair and restoration site of the Historical Preservation District of Sasayama (with the Sasayama City Educational Board and the Hyogo Heritage Manager); as well as risk analysis exercises led by Professor Rohit JIGYASU and Professor Takeyuki OKUBO on the core cultural heritage site (the Kiyomizu Temple) and its buffer zone (the Sannei-zaka Historical Preservation Site), and exercises and workshops on “Disaster Damage Risk Scenario Simulation and Risk Level Assessment,” in a program designed to systematically deepen the participants’ understanding.

This year participants were able to make use of a wealth of case studies, including “International Cooperation in the Restoration of Cultural Heritage and Historical Urban Environments: The Case of Indonesia,” “Post-Disaster Cultural Property Damage Assessment: The Case of Peru,” “Kathmandu Valley Disaster Risk Management Principles,” “Cultural Heritage Initiatives in Korea after the 2008 Arson of Sungnyemun (also known as Namdaemun, or Great South Gate),” “Issues in Post-Disaster Recovery and Cultural Heritage Protection: The Case of Taiwan,” and “The Hague Convention of 1954, and The International Committee of the Blue Shield.” The disaster risk management plans submitted by participants at the end were all given high commendations by the experts from UNESCO, ICOMOS, ICCROM, etc.

Hiroyasu TAKANO, special research fellow of Kanagawa University’s Institute for the Study of Japanese Folk Culture, gave a presentation on “‘Reconstructed Elementary Schools‘ and Disaster Prevention Awareness in the Reconstruction Following the Great Kanto Earthquake: An East-West Comparative Study in Disaster Culture.” Tokyo has 19 “reconstructed elementary schools,” schools that collapsed and/or burned in the Great Kanto Earthquake and were reconstructed; and whose preservation and conservation is presently up for question. The talk compared these schools and the lessons that they drew from their experience in the earthquake and pass on to this day as centers of disaster mitigation, to the “bangumi elementary schools” that were established a few years into the Meiji period by the townspeople of Kyoto (based on the municipal-level administrative unit “bangumi,” or neighborhood unit).

The secondary examination and awards ceremony for the 2nd Ideas Competition for Strategy on Disaster Mitigation of Cultural Heritage and Historic Cities was held at Ritsumeikan University Kinugasa Campus. A total of 43 entries were submitted from across the country, 7 of which were selected and judged in a public review. This was followed by deliberations by a panel of examiners, after which awards, including “Special Prizes,” were given to 10 of the entries. Our thanks to all those who submitted works, and all those who came and helped in the judging.

The 4th Symposium on Disaster Mitigation of Cultural Heritage and Historical Cities was held at Ritsumeikan University’s Kinugasa Campus. A total of 45 research presentations on disaster mitigation of historic cities and cultural heritage were given, followed by lively discussion. More than 200 persons participated from all over Japan, showing the high level of interest in disaster mitigation of cultural heritage and historic cities. We will hold a conference on a similar theme again in July next year.

The research findings presented at the conference have been published as Disaster Mitigation of Cultural Heritage and Historical Cities, Vol. 4.

 

In the 35th seminar, Mr. Ryo NAKATSUKA (Muko City Center for Archaeological Operations) gave a presentation on “The History of Flood Control and Natural Scenery: Findings of Archaeological Investigations on Kyoto Basin.” From the results of surveys carried out on archaeological remains on raised river beds and embankments, it is possible to reconstruct past flood control arrangements and the way the land may have looked, showing the usefulness of archaeology of flood control based on landscape visualization. By making visual models of research findings, he suggested it might be possible to submit previous research results to reconsideration.

The regular meeting was held at the Center, with 32 people attending. A person from each of the four project groups (PGs) gave a presentation. For the Cultural Heritage and Vulnerability PG, Professor Masafumi YAMASAKI (College of Science & Engineering) gave a presentation on “Xichang Zhen (Town), Sichuan Province in China: Regeneration of the City and Preservation of Sichuan Opera.” For the Historical Disasters PG, Professor Atsumasa OKADA, Global Innovation Research Organization, gave a presentation on “Trial Creation of Maps Superimposing Data from Detailed Maps of Active Faults, Natural Disaster Maps, and Cultural Property Distribution Maps.” For the Disaster Mitigation Technologies PG, Associate Professor Tatsuru SUDA gave a presentation on “Efforts towards Improving Disaster Preparedness in Kaya, an Important Traditional Wooden Structure and Historical Building Preservation District in Yosano town, in Kyoto.” For the Disaster Mitigation Planning and Policy PG, Qinglin CUI gave a presentation on “Historical City Modelling and Simulation Analysis for Disaster Mitigation.” This was followed by a wide-ranging discussion on how the development of disaster mitigation ability and residents’ awareness at a community level is related to actual reduction of disaster damage.

The 7th International Workshop was held at Ritsumeikan University’s Kinugasa campus, on “Policy Developments in Urban Development and the Conservation of Areas of Historical and Cultural Interest in Kyoto.” Chaweewan DENPAIBOON (Associate Professor, Thammasat University, Thailand) visited Japan with 30 or so undergraduate and graduate students, and the workshop was held with Ritsumeikan University Professor Hidehiko KANEGAE and others, and undergraduate and graduate students. Work was done on a variety of topics through fieldwork and discussions on urban conservation, architecture and the environment, urban space, neighborhood and community issues, and disaster and its effect on the conservation of historic cities and culture.

An evaluation was carried out by external evaluation board members of the activities of the Center’s Global COE program, which has now reached its mid-term point, the end of its second year. A meeting was held at Ritsumeikan University Suzaku Campus, and views were given by Yoshiteru MUROSAKI (professor at Kwansei Gakuin University, School of Policy Studies); Atsuko TSUJI (editorial writer of the Asahi Shimbun); Kounin MORI (director of legal department, Kiyomizu-dera Temple); Noriyoshi TSURUOKA (Cultural Properties Division, Kyoto Prefectural Education Board), and Shuji OKUYAMA (former Director, Kyoto City Fire Department). Every effort will be made to incorporate the evaluation findings in our activities for the next three years, and to further improve results.

For this seminar, we decided to focus on “faults”, a major factor that has to be considered in cultural heritage disaster mitigation, and asked two people who have made major contributions to the field to deliver lectures. Ichiro KAWASAKI, (professor, Kyoto University Disaster Prevention Research Institute) gave a talk titled “Near-Field Fault Risk: From the Perspective of Earthquake Studies Based on Natural-Science,” in which he explained that a huge number of precious cultural properties lie near fault zones, necessitating seismic bracing based on a hypothesis of vertical motion with acceleration of nearly 1g. Atsumasa OKADA (professor at the Center) gave a lecture on “Active Faults in South Korea and Past Earthquakes.” Some prominent active faults have been identified in the southeast region of South Korea, and even though earthquake activity in historical times was infrequent, scientists know that it did occur. Attention should be given in any case to the risk of damage by earthquakes on cultural property sites in the region.

Michitaka KAMADA (professor, Nara University, Faculty of Letters) gave a presentation on “The Don-don-yake of 1864 and the Daily Life of Residents of Kyoto.” The political instability of the final years of the Edo period gave rise to a rebellion in Kyoto in 1864 known as Hamaguri Gomon no Hen, or the Rebellion at Hamaguri Gate. In the same year, Kyoto also had a great fire, now referred to as the Genji Great Fire. Professor Kamada used several historical documents to explain the nature of the fire, and the reaction of Kyoto residents. [Don-don-yake is a word historically used by citizens of Kyoto to refer to rapidly spreading fires.]

For the 5th regular meeting of AY2009 on Cultural Heritage and Historic Cities Disaster Mitigation, an on-site visit was held to look at the achievements in disaster mitigation in the Kiyomizu-dera Temple and its environs, with which staff at Ritsumeikan University has been involved. After looking first at the fire-fighting facilities and sprinkler system at Kiyomizu-dera Temple, we were given explanations from Professors IZUNO and FUKAGAWA on the earthquake measurement system in the floor of the main hall and the sensoring system in the hillside on which the temple stands. We looked at the supports of the columns under the “hanging” verandah (or “stage”) of the main hall, and at the renovation of the Koyasu Pagoda. We also looked at the 1500-ton water storage tank for fire-fighting purposes that Kyoto City is building in the temple precincts. There were explanations from Professor YOSHIKOSHI on the history of earthquake damage in Kyoto, and from Associate Professor OGAWA on Kyoto traffic systems in disasters. We were shown round the monzen-machi, the historic town lining the approach to the temple gates, and given an explanation about the fire hydrant equipment there by Professor OKUBO. The meeting dispersed at Kodai-ji Temple Park, which has been established as a “disaster mitigation park” and installed with an underground water storage tank.

Mieko KAWAMICHI of the Kansai Wildlife Research Association gave a presentation on “Threats to Cultural Property by the Invasive Alien Raccoon.” Raccoons (arai-guma) are not native species to Japan, and they have caused instances of damage to cultural properties. They also harbor diseases, and pose a threat to existing ecosystems, giving rise to a host of problems. Ms. Kawamichi gave a talk on the features of raccoon ecology. She also provided numerous examples of the damage raccoons wreak on cultural properties. Her talk demonstrated that research on cultural heritage protection and conservation must involve protection from wild animals in addition to natural hazard and human-exacerbated disaster protection.

In the 4th regular meeting of AY2009 on Cultural Heritage and Historic Cities Disaster Mitigation, reports were given on international and educational activities. There were explanations of the UNESCO Chair International Training Program, the Forum UNESCO-University and Heritage (FUUH) project, and collaborative projects being carried on with partner institutions in Thailand, Italy, Peru, Vietnam, Nepal and South Korea. There were reports on the findings of on-site training in the educational programs, and it was agreed that they should be developed further. An explanation of web trial versions of the package of countermeasures for cultural disaster mitigation was given, followed by enthusiastic discussion.

In the 3rd regular G-COE meeting of AY2009, talks were given on disaster mitigation in Nepal and Indonesia. The four talks were as follows.

1. Junji KIYONO (professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University; Ritsumeikan University Invited Professor): “Structural Investigation of Historical Buildings in Kathmandu: Elastic Wave Form Tomography.”
2. Ikaputra (associate professor, Dept. of Architecture, Gadjah Mada
   University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia): “Restoration of Cultural Properties after an Earthquake: Lessons from Yogyakarta.”
3. Jishnu SUBEDI (associate professor, Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University, Nepal): “Cultural Properties and Risk Management in Kathmandu.”
4. Netra Prakash BHANDARY (assistant professor, Ehime University Graduate School of Science and Engineering): “The Soil-structure of the Kathmandu Valley.”

The meeting was held at the Center, and nearly 30 people attended. The next meeting is scheduled for November 21 (Saturday).

A symposium on historical city and disaster risk reduction was held in Yomiuri Kobe Hall, Kobe, Japan, organized by the United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD) Disaster Management Planning Hyogo Office, with co-organizers this Center and the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) Hyogo Office. From the Center, Professor Kenzo TOKI gave the opening lecture, “Disaster Reduction for Cultural Properties: Past, Present and Future”; and Professor Takeyuki OKUBO gave a report titled “Projects of the Ritsumeikan University GCOE Program: Fire-Fighting Water Facilities Projects in Kyoto City for Disaster Reduction at Kiyomizu-dera Temple and Adjacent Areas.” Reports were given from Nepal, Indonesia, and China, listened to raptly by the audience. This Center’s Professor Hitoshi TANIGUCHI took part in a wide-ranging panel discussion, which covered topics in future disaster mitigation of historical cities aimed at both disaster reduction and conservation and protection.

Itoko KITAHARA of Ritsumeikan University’s Global Innovation Research Organization gave a lecture titled “Lessons to be Learned from Historical Disasters: Experiments in Packaging Disaster Protection Technologies and Policies.” Using case studies of the Zenko-ji Earthquake of 1847 and the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, she introduced some of the findings of her investigations, such as location of historical documents and how to treat them, as well as how to extract know-how for disaster reduction. She stressed that it was not just a matter of examining historical records, but also of the thought, even the “philosophy,” that one brings to bear on them. The lecture was followed by a very useful and significant debate with bearing on implementation of the GCOE project.

From August 30 to September 12, the 4th International Training Course on Disaster Risk Management of Cultural Heritage was held in Kyoto and Patan, the historic city located in the World Heritage Site, Kathmandu Valley, for a week respectively. Following the worldwide advertisement with the cooperation of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee and ICCROM and the Asian Academy for Heritage Management, we received 61 applications from 28 countries, and eight participants were then selected, in consultation with ICCROM, from four countries; China, Nepal, Jamaica and the Republic of Moldova.

This year’s training course, focused upon earthquake disasters in historic cities, was aimed at developing disaster risk management plans that are highly effective for each case study site. During the first half of the course in Kyoto, the participants first had an opportunity to understand the global situation of disaster risk management of cultural heritage at the International Expert Conference on “Sustainable Protection of World Cultural Heritage in Earthquake Zones”.

This was followed by course lectures by Professor Kanefusa MASUDA and Professor Rohit JIGYASU on “Definition of Cultural Heritage and Significance of Disaster Risk Management”, site visit to World Heritage Site Kiyomizu-dera Temple with cooperation of Cultural Properties Division of Kyoto Prefectural Board of Education, risk assessment exercises taking Kiyomizu-dera Temple as an example, “Disaster Imagination Game in Kiyomizu-dera Temple and Sannei-zaka Important Traditional Buildings Preservation Area” led by Professor Takeyuki OKUBO, and site visit to the World Heritage Site Ninna-ji Temple led by Hikokazu OMORI (Chief Technical Expert of Cultural Property Buildings Planning Office) to observe the fire-fighting facilities.

Further lectures continued; “Structural Reinforcement for Traditional Buildings – Trends in Europe” by Professor Giorgio CROCI (The Sapienza University of Rome, ICCROM), “Seismic Evaluation of Traditional Wooden Structures in Japan” by Professor Kazuyuki IZUNO (Ritsumeikan University), “Lessons from the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake” by Yasumichi MURAKAMI (Hyogo Prefectural Board of Education) and “Disaster Risk Management Policies for Cultural Heritage in Japan” by Kumiko SHIMOTSUMA (Agency for Cultural Affairs), which were followed by a few workshops on “Disaster Risk Scenario” and “Disaster Estimation and Prioritization for Recovery in order to show experience and advanced efforts that are particular to Japan, where wooden architecture had primarily been developed The second half of the Course in Kathmandu was comprised of a lecture on “History of Architecture and Conservation in Kathmandu Valley” and site visits in the historic city of Patan by Sudarshan Raj TIWARI (specialist in urban history and professor, Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University, a partner institution in the G-COE program of Ritsumeikan University), a lecture on “Structural Analysis and Seismic Risk Mitigation of Cultural Heritage Site in Kathmandu Valley” and a workshop on reducing disaster vulnerability of traditional housing by Professor Nath MASKEY, a specialist in traditional building structures. The earthquake risk assessment in traditional masonry housing area and the emergency simulation exercise in the Patan Museum, the former royal palace which had been damaged due to the 1934 Great Earthquake and the other onsite workshops, helped the participants to learn how to develop more practical plans for their case study site.

The participants then were required to formulate their own Disaster Risk Management plans, to use as pilot plans on returning to their own countries, on the basis of what they had learned in the course. The Disaster Risk Management plans were presented to an open jury on the last day of the course at a meeting of experts titled “Kathmandu Forum on Bridging Conservation and Development for Sustainable Disaster Risk Management of Cultural Heritage” held on September 12 at the Himalaya Hotel, in Kathmandu. At this forum, Professors TANIGUCHI, OKUBO, and MASUDA (this Center), Joseph King (ICCROM), Prof. MASKEY (Tribhuvan University), Colin KAISER (head, UNESCO Kathmandu) gave presentations and engaged in discussions, after which they adopted the Kyoto-Kathmandu Recommendation on Sustainable Protection of World Cultural Heritage in Earthquake Zones.

Click here to see the Kyoto-Kathmandu Recommendation on Sustainable Protection of World Cultural Heritage in Earthquake Zones
【Kyoto-Kathmandu Recommendation on Sustainable Protection of World Cultural Heritage in Earthquake Zones】

An international expert meeting on “Sustainable Protection of World Cultural Heritage in Earthquake Zones” was held at the Center’s Conference Hall by the Center and ICOMOS Japan. The meeting was arranged in order to consider the necessary measures to take to go about sustainably protecting world heritage sites situated in earthquake zones in Kyoto and all over the world. At this meeting, international experts from UNESCO, ICOMOS and ICCROM who play a role in the protection of world heritage sites worldwide gathered together with the intention to discuss the vital importance of disaster risk management to protect world heritage sites, to share their findings with Kyoto citizens, and to issue a message to the world. The meeting was held by the Center and ICOMOS-Japan, and had the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto Prefectural Board of Education, and Kyoto City. It was carried out in the framework of Ritsumeikan University’s Global COE Program established by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

In the opening session Ritsumeikan University’s Professor Kanefusa MASUDA gave an explanation of the purpose and objectives of the meeting, and lectures and panel discussions followed. First, this Center’s director Kenzo TOKI gave a talk on “The Present State of Disaster Risk Management of Kyoto’s World Heritage Sites.” Next, the Center’s professor Rohit JIGYASU talked on the international activities of the Center, and mentioned the importance of risk management to protect world heritage cultural properties in Kathmandu from risks incurred by nearby urban development and earthquake disaster damage. Junji KIYONO (professor, Kyoto University) gave a talk on “Research on Conservation of Historical Structures: Case Studies from Bam and Kathmandu,” in which he reported on earthquake damage to traditional masonry structures, and also on the structural analysis being carried out in an ongoing Kathmandu project. Giovanni BOCCARDI (chief of Asia and Pacific Unit, UNESCO World Heritage) chaired a panel discussion between Georgio CROCI (The Sapienza University of Rome, ICROM), Gustavo ARAOZ (president, ICOMOS), Professor Michael TURNER (Chair, Israel World Heritage Committee), and Kenzo TOKI (the Center’s director), in which they talked on the impact on values had by disasters, new technology and the problem of authenticity, disaster prevention efforts and their role in strengthening the community. As a result of this discussion, the experts adopted the Kyoto Recommendation on Sustainable Protection of World Cultural Heritage in Earthquake Zones. There was an audience of more than 50 people comprising 8 participants in the International Training Course, specialists in cultural property protection and preservation from the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture Board of Education, Kyoto City, and representatives of religious institutions, as well as ordinary citizens of Kyoto.

The regular G-COE project meeting was held for the second time this academic year. Four presentations were given, by a person from each of the GCOE program’s project groups, and 31 people in all participated. From the Cultural Heritage and Vulnerability project group, Rohit JIGYASU (visiting professor) gave a presentation on “Analyzing Traditional Knowledge for Reducing Earthquake Vulnerability,” in which he talked of the vulnerability to damage of traditional buildings in India, with examples of earthquake damage. Next, from the Historical Disasters project group, Go TANIBATA gave a presentation on “Flood Damage in the Southern Foot of the Rokko Mountains in the 1938 Hanshin Flood: Analysis of the Causes,” in which he explained the topographical factors in the areas that were hit by disaster. From the Disaster Mitigation Technologies project group, Yu Ooka gave a presentation titled “Assessment of Seismic Properties of Temples Built on Hillsides (Kiyomizu-dera Temple Main Building),” in which he gave an explanation of the aging of the building and its earthquake resistance. Lastly, from the Disaster Mitigation Planning and Policy project group, Professor Takeyuki Okubo gave a presentation on “A Disaster Prevention Water Supply to Protect Historic Cities from Earthquake Fire: Water Facilities Improvements in Kiyomizu-dera Temple and Surrounding Area and a Proposal for Improvement of Water Facilities to All of Kyoto City.” in which he summarized his research into a disaster prevention water supply that he has been advocating in collaboration with Kyoto city. The next meeting is scheduled for October 17 (Saturday).

As part of its interdisciplinary activities aimed at improving protection of cultural heritage properties from damage in disasters, the Center held its first Ideas Competition for Disaster Mitigation of Cultural Heritage and Historic Cities. A total of 68 entries were submitted from around the country to the competition, of which 7 were selected and submitted to a public review. After further deliberation by a jury, 10 pieces were selected and awarded prizes, including “Special Award.” For details about the award winning entries and explanations of the ideas, please go to this URL (available in Japanese only).

http://www.bunkaisan-competition.jp/2009/

The 3rd Symposium on Disaster Mitigation of Cultural Heritage and Historical Cities was held with the cooperation of Higashi Hongan-ji Temple. 41 presentations on disaster mitigation of cultural heritage and historic cities were given by people who had gathered from all across Japan, followed by lively discussion and debate. Over 200 people attended, including non-academics, an indication of the high level of interest there is in disaster protection of cultural heritage. A conference on the same theme is scheduled for June 2010.

The research findings presented at the conference have been published in Disaster Mitigation of Cultural Heritage and Historical Cities, Vol. 3.

Conference homepage: http://www.ritsumei.jp/pickup/detail_j/topics/3715/date/6/year/2009/

Mahoko KYORAKU (professor, University of Shiga Prefecture, School of Human Cultures) gave a presentation on “Fires and Daily Life in Heian-kyo [the capital of Japan in the Heian period, 794-1185 AD].” She reported on how people in the Heian-kyo thought of fire, based on her examination of historical documentation of fire disasters. Her conclusion was that the Heian nobility was quite lax about fire precautions, and one reason for this was that there was no public or civil consciousness in people of the time. She commented that clearly there were aspects of the nobility that were rather immature for a ruling class.

A lecture meeting on the above theme was held in the conference room of Soshikan Lecture Hall, in tandem with the exhibition “The Great Kanto Earthquake as Recreated through Maps” on display at the Research Center for Disaster Mitigation of Urban Cultural Heritage (Rits-DMUCH) from April 8 to May 10. The lectures were by three researchers on their latest findings: Masayuki TAKEMURA (principal researcher, Kajima Corporation Kobori Research Complex); Jun SUZUKI (associate professor, University of Tokyo, Graduate School); and Jin YOSHIKAWA (Disaster Prevention Town Planning Office Representative and visiting professor, Tokyo Metropolitan University). After the lectures, the three presenters and the curator gave a guided tour of the exhibition. A lively Q&A followed between the presenters, the curator and members of the audience.

At the start of academic year 2009 it was decided to hold a meeting on G-COE program-related matters every third Saturday of the month and this meeting in April was the first. Four presentations were given, by a member of each of the 4 project groups (PGs), and 39 people in all attended. The details are as follows: for the Cultural Heritage and Vulnerability PG, Takumi NAKAMURA (JSPS Research Fellow), “Mid-term Report on Architectural Surveys of Shrines and Temples of Non-Designated Cultural Properties Dating from the Pre-Modern and Modern Periods in Kyoto City”; for the Historical Disasters PG, Akihiro TSUKAMOTO (JSPS Research Fellow) “Reproduction of Areas of Fire Outbreaks in 13th Century Heian-kyo: Analyzing the Construction of Urban Space Using GIS”; for the Disaster Mitigation Technologies PG, Tomoaki SATOMI (JSPS Research Fellow), “Constructing a Disaster Mitigation System for Protecting Cultural Property Sites on the Sides of Hills and Mountains against Heavy Rain”; and finally, for the Disaster Mitigation Planning and Policy PG, Keiichi OGAWA (associate professor, Department of Civil Engineering, College of Science and Engineering), “Level of Social Interest in Cultural Heritage Disaster Mitigation and Assessment of Cultural Heritage as Tourist Resource.”

The Kathmandu Symposium “Protecting World Cultural Heritage Sites and their Historic Urban Environments from Earthquakes,” a meeting of experts from around the world, was held in the ancient city of Patan in World Cultural Heritage Site Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, February 16-19, 2009. The symposium was organized by Rits-DMUCH in cooperation with the UNESCO Kathmandu office and Tribhuvan University’s Institute of Engineering, and supported by the Embassy of Japan in Nepal. Experts in cultural heritage preservation and earthquake engineering from 10 nations around the world all agreed on the vital importance of working together on a recommendation addressed not only to organizations involved in cultural heritage protection in Nepal and the Kathmandu Valley, UNESCO, the World Heritage Committee, ICOMOS, ICCROM, ICBS, ISDR and UNDP, but all individuals and bodies involved on a regional, national or world level in strengthening the management of cultural properties threatened by the risk of earthquake disaster damage; and adopted The Kathmandu Symposium Recommendations on Protecting World Heritage Sites and their Historic Urban Environment from Earthquakes.

A presentation was given by Yoko FUTAGAMI (Senior researcher, Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation, National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo) on “Use of GIS Databases for Hazard Protection of Cultural Heritage: On Cultural Heritage Risk Maps in Italy.” In many European countries, work is progressing on putting together lists of cultural heritage properties on GIS databases, and Ms. Futagami reported on the background to the compilation and the contents of these maps in Italy, where they are particularly advanced. Ms. Futagami went on to talk of the GIS databases that are being put together in Japan, and stressed the vital importance of the work.

Shoji MIZUNO (professor, University of Shiga Prefecture) gave a presentation on “Disasters in the Middle Ages: Responses to Flood Damage.” Professor Mizuno first commented that there is no such genre as history of disaster damage in the history of antiquity or the middle ages, and disaster damage has tended to be treated in the context of the history of shoen [autonomous estates that developed from the 8th Century], history of development, or urban history. Natural disasters in the middle ages were seen in terms of divine punishment or curses from the gods. He went on to explain some actual examples of flood damage in medieval times, using historical documents from the Kinai and Kanto regions, and then explained what kind of responses they elicited, using four categories, religious, technical, agricultural and social.

sites located in earthquake zones. The symposium, comprising reports on risk conditions, presentations on risk management plans, and discussions on the role of government and universities, was divided into Part I, consisting of Case Study Reports, and Part II, consisting of Panel Discussions. Part III consisted of the adoption of the Tokyo Declaration for the Protection of World Cultural Heritage from Seismic Disasters. More than 150 people attended the Symposium, including specialists in the field, university students and members of the general public. As well as making the case for the importance of preservation and risk management for cultural heritage in Japan, the symposium was also a way of showing the participants on the international training program “Cultural Heritage and Risk Management” being run by the representatives of the UNESCO World Heritage Center and the UNESCO Chair at Rits-DMUCH, and who were in Japan at the time, the kinds of activities being undertaken by universities and the government in Japan; and these activities received a high evaluation as advanced initiatives. The symposium will be shown on Sunday Forum, on NHK Educational Television, in late January next year.

The International Forum on Disaster Risk Management of Cultural Heritage 2008 was held at the Hotel Granvia Kyoto, Kyoto, in the Kokin Room. In Part I, “Protecting the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto and Forum UNESCO Heritage and the Universities,” Kenzo TOKI (director, Rits-DMUCH) gave a lecture titled “How Universities Can Work to Protect the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto” and Marielle RICHON (Program Specialist, UNESCO World Heritage Centre) gave the keynote lecture titled “Forum UNESCO: Heritage and World Heritage Protection through University Programs.” This was followed by a panel discussion by Susumu HYUGA (professor, Kyoto Institute of Technology), Takahiro NAKA (professor, Kyoto University of Art and Design), Masafumi YAMASAKI (professor, Ritsumeikan University), and Kanefusa MASUDA (professor, Ritsumeikan University) on “The Role of the University in Sustainable Cultural Heritage Preservation.”
In the second section of the Forum, completion certificates were awarded to the 9 participants (from Nepal, Serbia, Bhutan, Iran, and Taiwan) of the International Training Course on Disaster Risk Management of Cultural Heritage 2008, held as part of the framework of the UNESCO Chair program, and the participants reported the outcomes of the two-week training program.

In November 2008, the Center held its annual two-week training course on disaster risk management of cultural heritage. This year, the third year the training course has been held, there were 32 applications to the course from 11 countries around the globe, of which 7 were chosen with the help of ICCROM, from Nepal, Serbia, Bhutan and Iran, with 2 more people from Taiwan participating in the capacity of observers, making a total of 9 participants. The course comprised lectures on cultural heritage preservation and disaster mitigation strategy, site visits to particular places, workshops on assessment of the earthquake vulnerability and seismic response of particular sites (Kiyomizu-dera Temple, and nearby Sannei-zaka), after which on the last day of the course participants had to make individual/group presentations of their team projects, which involved the creation of disaster management plans for each of their own countries. The output from the training course was then presented as part of The International Forum on Disaster Risk Management of Cultural Heritage 2008 being held at the Hotel Granvia Kyoto on November 14, after which Rits-DMUCH Director and Professor Kenzo TOKI presented participants with course completion certificates. UNESCO World Heritage Centre mentions this International Training Course as well as our other activities such as the UN World Conference on Disaster Reduction 2005 (Kobe, JAPAN) in the section of their website. (See the URL below.)

http://whc.unesco.org/en/disaster-risk-reduction#workshops

The 2nd Symposium on Disaster Mitigation of Cultural Heritage and Historical Cities was held on October 4, 2008 at Shigaku-kan Hall, Ritsumeikan University (Kinugasa Campus). 25 presentations on disaster mitigation of cultural heritage and historical cities were given, followed by lively discussion. In the debate session, there was a panel discussion about the centerpiece of the G-COE program, the Disaster Countermeasures Package; its frameworks and contents among Professor Takeyuki OKUBO (the G-COE program leader) and representative members from each Project Groups and the Education Review Committee. The total of 64 people attended the Conference including people not from Ritsumeikan University, which demonstrates a high level of interest in disaster mitigation of historical cities.

The papers presented have been published in our journal Disaster Mitigation of Cultural Heritage and Historical Cities, Vol. 2.

A “kick-off” meeting for the Global COE for Education, Research and Development of Strategy on Disaster Mitigation of Cultural Heritage and Historic Cities was held on August 23, 2008 at Soshikan Hall, Ritsumeikan University (Kinugasa Campus). Kiyofumi KAWAGUCHI, President of Ritsumeikan University gave the opening address, after which Takeyuki OKUBO (G-COE project leader; professor, Ritsumeikan University) presented an outline of the program. Takeshi NAKAGAWA (professor, Waseda University) then gave a speech titled “Japan’s Role in International Cooperative Efforts to Save Angkor Wat,” in which he stressed the importance of international cooperation, and mentioned his hopes for our activities under the Global COE Program. This was followed by presentations of the activity plans by each project group and the International Cooperation Committee as well as talks on activities in Japan and overseas related to protection of cultural heritage from disasters. Finally, Yoshiteru MUROSAKI (professor, Kwansei Gakuin University) spoke on his expectations and hopes for the activities of the G-COE.

Munehiro ITO (Kyoto City Museum of History) gave a presentation titled “The Fire Disaster Maps in the Otsuka Collection.” The maps in the collection of the late Takashi OTSUKA are among the very finest maps of Kyoto, and in 2001 they were donated to Kyoto University and Kyoto City. In this presentation, Mr. Ito focussed on the fire disaster maps [kasai-zu] in the collection donated to Kyoto City (Kyoto City Museum of History), giving an explanation of their distinctive features with the help of digitized maps. Maps made in the pre-modern period were often inscribed with the parts of the city that had been affected by conflagrations in previous maps, and in the late Edo period such maps started to be produced as kawara-ban [single-page broadsheets], and also with quite a bit of colour. The kawara-ban of the late Edo period were printed in considerable numbers, and it is thought they were probably used to let friends and acquaintances know of one’s whereabouts and also as gifts to bring back from one’s travels

Kiyoshi HAMANO (professor, Kansai University, Faculty of Economics) gave a presentation on “Demographic Change Before and After Disasters: The Great Fire of Genji, and the Townspeople of Kyoto.” After explaining that residences thought to be “rescue naga-ya [houses with several residences joined in a row]” built in the reconstruction that took place after the Great Fire of Genji [1864] (the Hamaguri Gate Incident), are still to be seen in Nakagyo Ward in Kyoto, Professor Hamano gave an outline of the facts of the fire and the areas that suffered fire damage. Restoration after the fire took a relatively short time to accomplish. Using historical documents, Professor Hamano explained the demographic changes that occurred and the characteristics of the returnees, using case studies from Koromonotana Kita-machi, Koromonotana Minami-machi, and Seido-cho.

The 1st Symposium on Disaster Mitigation of Cultural Heritage and Historical Cities was held at Ritsumeikan University, on the Kinugasa Campus. 49 presentations were made of papers submitted from researchers across Japan, and over 200 people attended. After the presentations Yoshiyuki SUZUKI (professor, Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University) gave a special lecture titled “Preventing Traditional Buildings from Earthquake Damage.” The lecture included a detailed explanation of the tests for seismic performance and seismic strengthening being carried out on traditional wooden buildings, including the tests for earthquake resistance carried out on Kyo machi-ya [traditional merchant houses of Kyoto], at the world’s largest earthquake testing system at the Hyogo Earthquake Engineering Research Center in Miki city in Hyogo Prefecture.

The research findings presented at the conference have been published in Disaster Mitigation of Cultural Heritage and Historical Cities, Vol. 1.

The 4th Taiwan-Japan International Symposium was held at Ritsumeikan University (Biwako-Kusatsu Campus), with the National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan. Yung-Lung LEE (associate professor, Chang Jung Christian University) and Hao-Ching HSIA (doctoral student, National Cheng Kung University) came to Japan, and delivered research presentations on disaster prevention policy of historical cities and traffic management plans. Hiroshi TSUKAGUCHI (professor, Ritsumeikan University), and Keiichi OGAWA (lecturer, Ritsumeikan University) gave presentations on similar topics, for a very productive exchange of opinions. Around 20 people came to the symposium, mainly students and faculty of Ritsumeikan University.

Two talks were given in this seminar: “Active Fault Survey in the Kyoto Basin” by Atsumasa OKADA, Professor at this Center and “A 3D Analysis of the Subsurface of Kyoto Basin” by Shoji DOSHIDA (doctoral student, Kyoto University). The talks were introductions to recent findings on the underground structure and active faults in the Kyoto basin obtained by geophysical exploration and trench excavation.

A symposium titled “Cultural Heritage Disaster Mitigation: Aiming for Disaster Prevention Town-Making and Urban Planning” was held in a conference room of Soshikan Hall of Ritsumeikan University’s Kinugasa Campus. Five talks were presented (by 6 speakers) on urban planning against disasters, covering fields of policy, law, welfare and architecture. The speakers were as follows: Hidehiko KANEGAE (professor, College of Policy Science, Ritsumeikan University), Takeyuki OKUBO (visiting professor, Kyoto University), Mr. Hiroaki TAKASE (Resident Welfare Liaison Council Assembly in Kasuga, Kyoto City [an NPO]), Norio YASUMOTO (professor, College of Law, Ritsumeikan University), Yuki OZAWA (lecturer, College of Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan University) and Naohiko YAMAMOTO (lecturer, University of Shiga Prefecture). The presentations made clear with a rich array of case studies how urban and regional planning must be conducted with numerous factors in mind, disaster prevention being one of the most important.

This study tour was carried out with the objective of hearing from people actually in charge of management of disaster prevention countermeasures for cultural heritage properties, particularly buildings. It was carried out in Nishio city and Kira-cho in Aichi Prefecture. The reason for the choice was the fact that this area contains some of the most concentrated areas of cultural heritage sites in Aichi Prefecture, and the fact that an earthquake is expected in the Tokai and/or Tonankai regions in the near future.

Our guides for the study tour were Hitoshi TANIGUCHI (professor, Nagoya Institute of Technology) and Mr. MAKINO (Voluntary Disaster Relief Committee), who co-ordinated the tour as a whole, Mr. MATSUI (culture promotion division chief, Aichi Prefecture Board of Education) and Mr. MIZUMURA (Historical Data Compilation Office), and for every temple we went to, the head priest.

First, we went to the Iwase Bunko Library in Nishio. This collection has numerous records of the disasters that have hit the Tokai region [which includes Shizuoka, Aichi, Gifu and Mie prefectures]. We listened to a talk on the cultural assets of Nishio. After that we went to observe the disaster preparedness construction work going on at the Kumaku Jinja (Kumaku Shrine), which is an Important Cultural Property of Japan, and we also went to the Jisso-ji Temple in Nishio and observed the Shaka-do Hall built at the end of the middle ages.

In the afternoon, we transferred to Kira-cho where we viewed the Amida Hall at Konren-ji Temple, the Renzou-ji Temple, which is known for its links with Kira Yoshihisa [famous as the adversary of Asano Naganori in the vendetta of the 47 Ronin], and the Kagaku-ji Temple, and listened to talks given by the head priests. We then went to Kira-cho city hall and had a discussion with the mayor on cultural property management (during which we were filmed by NHK Nagoya Broadcasting Station). Each region and each temple has different circumstances, but one common issue that became clear is that all of them are constrained by financial considerations in their cultural property management, which means that the measures they are able to take for earthquake preparedness tend to lag behind.

This international symposium, based on our international frameworks for joint research on cultural heritage mitigation, was held at the National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan. Six professors and four students from Ritsumeikan University went to Taiwan, and delivered research presentations. Many participants from nearby universities including Dehe LI (professor, National Cheng Kung University) and Kuang-Yih YEH (professor, National Cheng Kung University) attended, and it was a lively event. It was agreed to hold similar events in future, and to continue collaborative research.

In this seminar, Junichi OGURA (professor, Kyoto Seika University) gave a talk on “Flood Damage and the Variation of Vegetation around Kyoto City.” Based on his analysis of ancient illustrated maps and old historical documents, Professor Ogura considers that there were few forests of tall trees in the mountainous districts around Kyoto, even including Mount Hiei, until the early part of the Showa period (1926-89), and it was not uncommon for the upper slopes of mountains to be completely bare, partly because every part of a tree, even its fallen leaves, was treated as a precious resource. Once people became aware of the important role trees can play in preventing landslide disasters, forest conservancy led to an increase in forests and trees. Recently, pine forests have started to decrease, while forests of shii trees (Japanese chinquapin) are expanding.

The 11th Seminar on Cultural Heritage Disaster Mitigation was held at the International Exchange Center in Himeji city. First, Toshikatsu IWAMI, the mayor of Himeji city, gave a special lecture on “City Planning of Himeji City with Himeji Castle: a World Heritage.” He mentioned how city planning in Himeji is seen as “symbiotic” endeavour, the aim being that town making, the natural environment, history and culture, and a personalized sense of a community, all help and depend on each other. Next, after a short observation tour guided by Kozo INOUE of the disaster prevention observation room and the castle keep of Himeji Castle, there were talks by Mr. Iwao MORI (Himeji City Municipal Office) on ” City Planning Considering Spectacle Around Himeji Castle”; and Masaharu KOBAYASHI (Himeji City Municipal Office) on “Preservation and Repair Plan of Himeji Castle”

As part of the International Training Course on Cultural Heritage Risk Management being held by the Center (October 23 – November 3), an “International Forum on Disaster Risk Management of Cultural Heritage,” which was open to general members of the public, was held at Campus Plaza Kyoto on November 3. After welcome speeches by Toyoomi NAGATA (president of Ritsumeikan University), Masaru MAENO (president, ICOMOS-Japan National Committee President), there were commemorative lectures by Kenzo TOKI (Professor and Director of this Center) and Giovanni BOCCARDI (UNESCO Word Heritage Centre), and panel discussions. There were roughly 100 participants, all listening eagerly to the accounts of the efforts being made in cultural heritage disaster protection both in Japan and overseas.

An international symposium titled “2nd Two-Day Symposium on Mechanics of Sediment Transportation, Debris Flow, Land-slides, River-change and Associated Flood Hazards” was held in at the Biwako Kusatsu Campus of Ritsumeikan University. Chjeng-Lun SHIEH (professor, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan), Yih-Chin TAI (assistant professor, Academia Sinica, Taiwan), and Chih-Yu KUO (Academia Sinica), and Kolumban Hutter (professor, Technical University of Darmstadt; distinguished visiting fellow, Academia Sinica) were attending as invited guest lecturers. The symposium comprised research presentations and debates, all focusing on a particular area in our COE research, “Research Related to the Phenomena of Large-Scale Floods and Debris Flows.” Roughly 25 people attended, both from Ritsumeikan University and other universities, and there was enthusiastic discussion about each other’s research as well as meetings among researchers to discuss topics for future collaborative research projects. This symposium was held with the sponsorship of the 21st Century COE program at Ritsumeikan University and under Ritsumeikan University’s international cooperative research laboratory budget and Academia Sinica’s international cooperative research budget.

A UNESCO chair was established in the field of “Cultural Heritage and Risk Management” at the Research Center for Disaster Mitigation of Urban Cultural Heritage, Ritsumeikan University. The UNESCO Chair provides a framework to work for the promotion of academic exchanges and support between developed countries and developing countries, and at Rits-DMUCH our officially recognized field is in “Cultural Heritage and Risk Management.” See the announcement at the UNESCO website.

The GIS Day in Kansai 2006 was held at Soshikan Hall on Kinugasa Campus of Ritsumeikan University as the main site, and jointly organized by the Human Geographical Society of Japan, the GIS Association of Japan and the Association of Japanese Geographers. The theme of this meeting was “GIS-Assisted Local Safety and Security.” There were 4 presentations and discussions in the morning. In the afternoon, we moved to the Yushinkan Hall, and dividing participants into three rooms got them to create safety maps using GIS. The 5th event of this kind we have held, GIS Day in Kansai has gradually been growing in scale and becoming a calendar event for people in government, research and education. The project is also setting up a framework for a certification system for GIS Engineer, so that soon it will be possible using a portfolio method to get an official qualification in this field.

Hisakazu SAKAI (associate professor, Ritsmeikan University) reported on the damage on cultural heritage sites in Indonesia afflicted by the Mid Java Earthquake that hit the area on May 27, 2006. He gave an explanation of the earthquake damage to the Buddhist Borobudur Temple (which escaped almost totally unscathed) and the Hindu Prambanan Temple (which suffered great damage). He also reported on the damage afflicted by the tsunami that arose after the earthquake of July 17, 2006 in Southern Java, and the damage wrought by the lava from the eruption of Merapi Volcano in Java, Indonesia, on May 28, 2006.

A joint workshop on “Historical Disasters and the City: Kyoto and Tokyo” with the 21st COE program for Systemization of Non-written Cultural Materials for the Study of Human Societies of Kanagawa University was held in the Minato-Mirai Queen’s Towers (Building A), Nishi-ku, Yokohama city. The program was divided into four parts: the first part, on Kyoto, comprised presentations by Tatsunori KAWASUMI, Hirofumi KATAHIRA, Tamehito REIZEI, Eiju SUZUKI, and Tomoki NAKAYA. The second and third parts comprised presentations on Tokyo (and a few on other cities). The fourth part comprised a general debate, and there were discussions, which included contributions from the audience, on topics including cities, cultural properties and landscapes, data and information sharing, and disaster prevention.

The main focus of this joint workshop was in the humanities and social sciences, but it also enabled us to gain a good understanding of the work that the 21st COE teams at Kanagawa University are carrying out in the project of systematizing non-written cultural materials, and we were able to have a very meaningful exchange of views with many of the researchers who were in the audience, so that the workshop was a highly successful and productive one. Proceedings will be published at the end of this academic year.

In this seminar, Manabu TAKAHASHI (professor, Ritsumeikan University) gave a presentation titled “Disaster Mitigation Maps and ‘Maps to Help You Get Home’ That Actually Serve No Purpose.” Disaster mitigation maps cannot serve any useful purpose unless they are put together after taking due cognizance of the history of disasters that have happened in any particular area, but Professor Takahashi pointed out that most disaster mitigation maps are simply maps that show disaster facilities. And though they claim to show evacuation centers, careful investigation shows that some of them are actually in hazardous locations or are totally unsuitable. Further, some of the simulation route maps to help people get home in the event of a disaster available now have no information pertaining e.g. to road blocks or closures, so when actually used they are likely to be useless. The aim should be to make disaster mitigation maps that can include up-to-date information in real time on road width, bridges, soil history, and road closures.

In this seminar, Takehiro KOBAYASHI (Kyoto City Historical Museum) gave a presentation on “Disaster Awareness of Ordinary People of Kyoto in the Edo Period as Seen from Kyoto’s City Neighborhood Rules.” The City Neighborhood Rules [machi shikimoku] for Kyoto in the Edo period contain pages relating to disaster prevention (especially fire prevention), and by reading them one can gain a good sense of fire disaster awareness as it existed in ages past. Mr. Kobayashi explained the content of these rules, some of which were very intriguing. He also shed light on various fire-fighting organizations, tracing their changes down through the centuries. In the Kyoho era (1716-36) the jobikeshi [one of Kyoto’s fire-fighting teams] was abolished; in the An’ei era (1772-81) firefighters became contractual; and in the Meiji period (1868-1912) firefighting headquarters were organized by school district. The talk demonstrated that these City Neighborhood Rules are indeed a precious window that allows us to look into disaster awareness of ages past.

The 3rd Symposium on Disaster Mitigation and Information Systems, organized by the Research Center for Disaster Mitigation Systems, and co-organized by Rits-DMUCH, was held at the Umeda Sky Building in Osaka, with the chosen theme of “Earthquake Disasters and Information Systems.” Haruo HAYASHI (professor, Research Center for Disaster Reduction Systems director, Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University) gave a talk titled “Lessons from 2004 Mid Niigata Earthquake: Utilization of GIS as a Disaster Countermeasure.” Yasuo OGAWA (Osaka Gas Engineering Co., Ltd., Pipeline and System Department) gave a talk on “Disaster Information System in Osaka Gas.” Mr. Toshiyuki ADACHI (Kinki Regional Development Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport) gave a talk on “Disaster Prevention and Crisis Management in the Kinki Region.” Roughly 180 people from research institutions, government ministries and agencies and private industry attended.

The 9th Urban Cultural Heritage Disaster Mitigation Seminar was held at the Center, with the chosen theme of “Earthquake Testing and Seismic Technology: State of the Art and the Issues.” About 40 people attended. Hisakazu SAKAI (associate professor, COE promotion organization, Ritsumeikan University) gave a talk on “State-of-the-Art Seismic Safety Evaluation Methods for River Embankments, and the Issues,” in which he explained a number of instances of earthquake damage related to river embankments, whose earthquake resilience was not taken into consideration prior to the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995, and suggested methods of seismic assessment through deformation analysis. Atsumasa OKADA (special invited professor, the Center, Ritsumeikan University) gave a talk titled “Active Faults and the Sub-structure of the Kyoto Basin: A Summary and Recent Findings,” in which he gave a summary of the active faults of the Kyoto Basin, and also explained the latest information on the substructure, including results of trench surveys and tests using reflection seismology.

The 1st seminar on Disaster Mitigation and Information Systems, jointly organized under the COE program, was held at Epoch Ritsumei 21, Biwako Kusatsu Campus. The theme was “Earthquake Disaster Prevention Countermeasures for Structures: Non-Destructive Testing.” There were three talks: Sumio SAWADA (professor, Kyoto University Disaster Prevention Research Institute) gave a presentation titled “Measures to Reduce Convective Action (“Sloshing”) From Oil Storage Tanks During Earthquakes”; Kazuyuki IZUNO (professor, College of Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan University) gave a presentation on “Non-Destructive Testing for Traditional Wooden Structures: Seismic Performance Analysis”; and Shoji AMASAKI (professor, College of Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan University) gave a talk on “Non-destructive Testing Methods for Concrete Structures.”

In this seminar, Katsuya YAMORI (Associate Professor, Kyoto University Disaster Prevention Research Institute) gave a talk titled “The Concept of Daily Disaster Prevention: Disaster Prevention Psychology.” Dr. Yamori gave examples and case studies of the projects of disaster prevention in which he is involved, and the disaster preparedness game he has developed, named “Crossroad.” An excellent risk communication tool, “Crossroad” is proving very effective for getting people to think together as a community about risk preparedness, and is gradually getting the attention of local governing bodies. In his talk Dr. Yamori showed with various examples how approaches using disaster prevention psychology are an essential element of disaster mitigation studies.

Yuukou YAMAZAKI (Associate Professor, Ritsumeikan University) gave a talk on “Politics and Flood Control in Modern Japan.” After showing first of all how closely linked issues in flood management and political situations have been since the start of Japan’s modern period, he pointed out some problems that have come about with modernity. Among them, he made clear, is that in the rush to modernise and become an advanced country, Japan has lost the natural landscapes of its rivers and streams.

Opening memorial lecture of Research Center for Disaster Mitigation of Urban Cultural Heritage, Ritsumeikan University. Special lecture “Cultural assets and disaster mitigation” from Mr. Seihan Mori, the head priest of Kiyomizu temple in Kyoto.

Eiju SUZUKI, associate professor at Kyoto Pharmaceutical University, gave a presentation on “Fire disasters and reconstruction in Kyoto in the Bakumatsu period.” He provided an account of a huge fire that raged in Kyoto for over a day on 6 April 1854, and the reconstruction efforts that took place afterwards. He gave an explanation on the basis of detailed historical documents of the destruction by fire of the personal apartments of the Imperial palace, and their reconstruction, at a time when Japan faced a great political crisis with the arrival of Perry’s ships. Reconstruction of the imperial palace was carried out speedily: by November the following year the building was complete, and the Emperor had returned to his abode.

International symposium entitled as “2nd Two Days Symposium on Mechanics of Sediment Transportation, Debris Flow, Land-slides, River-change and Assosiated Flood Hazards” was held in Ritsumeikan University. The participants from abroad were as follows: Prof. Lopez and Prof. Falcon of Universidad Central de Venezuela, Dr. Papa of University of Salerno, Italy, Dr. Martino of University of Naples, Italy and Prof. Bateman of Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Spain.

Five professors and seven students went abroad to Taiwan, and perticipated the international symposium at Taiwan National Cheng-Kung University on the cultural heritage disaster mitigation.

Annual meeting of the joint network of researchers in cultural heritage disaster mitigation was held after the opening ceremony of the new building of Research Center for Disaster Mitigation of Urban Cultural Heritage, Ritsumeikan University. The importance of the list of the cultural assets for their rescue after the natural disasters was recognized.

“Information and records in disaster history research at the early modern age” by Prof. Shigeru Kobayashi of Osaka University.

“Information Network System at Disasters”

“Construction of urgent information network at disaster occurrence” by Prof. Akira Watanabe (Dept. of Information Eng., Meijo Univ.), “Urgent earthquake information and information appliances” by Prof. Hitoshi Ogawa (Dept. of Information and Communication Sci., Ritsumeikan Univ.), “Disaster and emergengy preparedness” by Mr. Noriyuki Nakamura (Kinki regional development bureau of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport) and “Shelter action of Kyoto citizens at earthquake disasters” by Prof. Hiroshi Tsukaguchi (Dept. of Civil Eng., Ritsumeikan Univ.). The numbers of participants were around 100.

“Geotechnical approach to conservation of cultural assets” “Ancient tomb of Takamatsuzuka from geotechnical point of view” by Assoc. Prof. Mamoru Mimura of Kyoto University Disaster Prevention Research Institute. “Shapes and structures of stone walls – Disaster mitigation of Japanese castles” by Dr. Hiroyuki Morimoto of Kyoto City Fushimi Technical High School.

Public Discussion on Dec.14; “Recent Developments in Conservation Strategies”; Key-note Lecture by Dr. Jukka Jokilehto, “Present situation of Cultural Heritage Protection and its Risk Management” by Prof. Kenzo Toki, Ritsumeikan Univ., “World Heritage Center’s recent activities on World Cultural Heritage’s risk management and future perspective” by Dr. Fujio Ichihara, World Heritage Centre, UNESCO, “A case study report from Korea” by Dr. Choi. Byungha, Korea A.C.A., “A case study report from Iran” by Dr. Azar Jokilehto, and “Cultural Heritage Risk Management – recent initiatives in Asia” by Dr. Rohit Jigyasu, Consultant, UNESCO New Delhi. Expert Meetings on Dec.15-16; Panel discussion on “Tasks and future possibilities of cultural heritage’s risk management ” and “Development of training curriculum on heritage risk management”, all chaired by Prof. Dr. Kanefusa Masuda and coordinated by Dr. Naoko Itaya, Research Center for DMUCH, Ritsum

“Trace of volcanic ash and history of volcanic disaster” by Prof. Hiroshi Moriwaki of Kagoshima University.

“Disaster Mitigation of Urban Cultural Heritage”

Lectures by Prof. Der-Her Lee (National Cheng-Kung University), Prof. Kuang-Yih Yeh (National Cheng-Kung University), Assc. Prof. Chin-Sheng Ku (I-Shou University), Assist. Prof. Yun-Yao Ji (Chang Jung Christian University), Assist. Prof. Ho-Min Lin (Leader University), Mr. Has-Ching Hsia (National Cheng-Kung University), Prof. Ryoichi Fukagawa (Ritsumeikan University), Assist. Prof. Takahiro Ito (Ritsumeikan University) and Assist. Prof. Keiichi Ogawa (Ritsumeikan University). The number of participants was about 40.

“Cultural Heritage Disaster Mitigation -Analysis of Time and Space Information-”

Lectures “Simulation of post-earthquake fire in historical city” by Prof. Takeyoshi Tanaka of Kyoto University Disaster Prevention Institute, “Simulation of landslides and debris flow” by Prof. Shinji Egashira of Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan University, “Visualization of natural disaster history of cultural heritage” by Prof. Kenzo Toki of Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan University, “GIS and cultural heritage in Kyoto” by Assoc. Prof. Yuki Nakaya of Letters, Ritsumeikan University, “Buried cultural property and GIS” by Prof. Takao Uno of International Research Center for Japanese Studies.

Member’s progress report meeting was held in Nagano City. After the meeting, we heard the lecture from Prof. Toshikazu Tsuchimoto of Shinshu University about “Current state and disaster history of Zenkoji Temple”. Then we visited Zenkoji Temple to see the restoration work of the cultural assets “San-mon”.

“21st Century COE Program: Disaster Mitigation of Urban Cultural Heritage”

Lectures by Prof. Kenzo Toki (College of Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan Univ.), Prof. Masatake Murahashi (College of Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan Univ.), Prof. Ryoichi Fukagawa (College of Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan Univ.), Assc. Prof. Kazuhiro Hirao (College of Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan Univ.) and Prof. Makoto Kawai (College of Information Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan Univ.). The number of participants was 115.

As a part of disaster mitigation education, an emergency training was carried out with cooperation of the fire department of Shiga. Training for use of a fire extinguisher, and trial of earthquake vibration using a shaking table.

The progress evaluation result at mid-term was announced by the 21st Century COE Program Committee. The committee reported that the fruit is expected as a new research base challenging the modern problems in the historical cities, and our objectives might be achieved by continuing the current effort.

“Numerical Simulations for Spreading Process of Disaster”

Lectures by Prof. Shinji Egashira (Dept. of Civil Eng., Ritsumeikan Univ.), Prof. Kazuya Inoue (Professor emeritus of Kyoto University) and Mr. Koji Tanimoto (Kinki regional development bureau of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport). Panel discussions by coordinator: Prof. Hiroji Nakagawa (Guest professor of Ritsumeikan University). The numbers of participants were around 200.

Damage and restoration of 2004 Niigata-ken Chuetsu earthquake in Nagaoka City, Tohkamachi City and Ojiya City were investigated. We asked the staffs at Tohkamachi City Museum and Nagaoka Municipal Science Museum about damage of their cultural assets; Jomon wares (ancient straw-rope pattern otteries), and discussed about countermeasures. We also surveyed the slope collapse site in the mountain castle.

“Advanced technology for urban cultural heritage disaster mitigation”

Lectures by Prof. Der-Her Lee (National Cheng-Kung University of Taiwan), Prof. Ryoichi Fukagawa (Dept. of Civil Eng., Ritsumeikan Univ.), Dr. Tetsuo Mizuta (COE Post-Doctoral Fellow of Ritsumeikan Univ.), Prof. Hiroshi Tsukaguchi (Dept. of Civil Eng., Ritsumeikan Univ.) and Prof. Tsunehiko Nakanishi (Dept. of Electrical & Electronic Eng., Ritsumeikan Univ.)

“Source process of Ohmi-Wakasa earthquake in 1662” by Mr. Taku Komatsubara of National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology. “Damage by Ohmi-Wakasa earthquake in 1662” by Mr. Akihito Nishiyama of Ohtani University.

All our members reported on the progress of own researches. More than 50 people participated in the meeting and discussed on the disaster mitigation.

“Earthquake disaster history in Tokyo” by Prof. Iware Matsuda of Kanto Gakuin University.

Earthquake disaster in Tokyo due to Ansei Edo Earthquake in 1855 (inland type earthquake) and Kanto Earthquake in 1923 (plate boundary type earthquake) were compared.

“Analysis of disaster location considering geographical history” by Prof. Kazuko Uchida of Okayama University.

Geographical features and artificial land modification control the aspect of natural disaster. Vulnerability of a polder and a land over old river are discussed using examples of storm surges and floods.

“Landscape and Disaster Mitigation around Kamo river of Kyoto in Edo era” by Prof. Akihisa Yoshikoshi of Ritsumeikan University.

He explained the meaning and the details of Kanbun embankment at Kamo river of Kyoto, which was constructed in the 17th century (Edo era). This embankment fixed the route of Kamo river and made it possible to construct a new town, however, it was not useful for disaster mitigation.

A workshop was held in the second international training in “Policy developments in urban development and conservation of areas of historical and cultural interest in Kyoto,” in cooperation with the College of Policy Science, on the Kinugasa campus, from 16 to 25 March 2005, with 23 students from the Faculty of Architecture and Planning, Thammasat University, Thailand.

“Flood control in Tokugawa and Edo era” by Mr. Takeo Nakamura of Bukkyo University. The role of Kyoto So-Gamae embankment as flood control was discussed.

Research Center for Disaster Mitigation of Urban Cultural Heritage, Ritsumeikan University and Engineering Research Center of National Cheng-Kung University in Taiwan concluded the agreement of the research cooperation.

International symposium on disaster mitigation of historical city from debris flow was held in Ritsumeikan University. The participants from abroad were as follows: Prof. Lopez and Prof. Falcon of Universidad Central de Venezuela, Dr. Papa of University of Salerno, Italy and Dr. Martino of University of Naples, Italy came to Ritsumeikan University.

“Disaster mechanism of 2004 Niigata-Chuetsu Earthquake” by Dr. Manabu Takahashi (Dept. of Geography, Ritsumeikan University)

“Tsunami in Sri Lanka by 2004 Off Sumatra Earthquake” by Dr. Naohiko Yamamoto (Dept. of Architecture and Urban Design, Ritsumeikan University)

“Historical scenery around Kamo river and traces of flood” by Prof. Hirofumi Katahira of Ritsumeikan University. The trace of the flood in the middle ages was discovered at the left bank of Kamo river

“Cultural Heritage Disaster Mitigation”

The international symposium on cultural heritage disaster mitigation was held as a public forum event of the United Nations World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe city. A symposium was planed to joint researchers and associations inside and outside of Japan. Not only the researchers of natural science and engineering, but also cultural science and social science attended the Joint Network of Researchers in Cultural Heritage Disaster Mitigation. Topics were related to the natural disaster mitigation in historical city, the history of the natural disasters which suffered cultural heritages and restoration of the cultural heritages after the natural disasters.

Final meeting for the Joint Symposium on January 19-20th, held as an open forum event of the United Nations World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe.

“Pray for rain events in Edo period” by Prof. Kunihiko Mizumoto of Kyoto Prefectural Univ.

As a part of disaster mitigation education, an emergency lifesaving training was carried out with cooperation of the fire department of Shiga.

Discussion about the program of the Joint Symposium on January 19-20th, held as an open forum event of the United Nations World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe.

Panel presentation at industry-university cooperation fair “ASTER fair” at BKC campus of Ritsumeikan University.

“Damage by slope failure during heavy rain in Malaysia” by Prof. Shukri Maail (University Putra Malaysia, Faculty of Engineering)

“A view of disaster history and disaster prevention”

Lectures by Akira Sangawa (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology), Muneharu Mizukoshi (Professor Emeritus of Mie University), Itoko Kitahara (Kanagawa University), Tamehito Reizei (Visiting Professor of Ritsumeikan University) and Yuukou Yamazaki (Associate Professor of Ritsumeikan University)

Discussion about Joint Symposium on January, held as an open forum event of the United Nations World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe city.

“Folkloric Image of Natural Disasters” by Prof. Tatsuhiko Sakurai of Nagoya University.

Our members visited Chion-in temple. We inspected the natural disaster reduction system for the historical temple.

“History of flood and improvement of Kamo-River” by Mr. Masaru Yasuda (River Department of Kyoto Prefecture)

More than 10 groups gathered to discuss the joint research about cultural heritage disaster.

“Disaster prevention of Kyoto” by Mr. Shuuji Okuyama (Director in Charge of Disaster Prevention and Emergency Management, Kyoto City Fire Department)

“River and water of Kyoto” by Prof. Hiroji Nakagawa (Ritsumeikan University)

Panel presentation of the disaster prevention technology of the cultural heritage in Construction technology exhibition 2004 Kinki held in Mydome Osaka.

“Traditional flood and subsequent scene” by Prof. Takahiro Sasaki of Kyoto Gakuen Univ.

“Disaster Mitigation of urban cultural heritage against fire”

Lectures by Masatake Murahashi (Professor of Ritsumeikan University), Jun Suzuki (Associate Professor of University of Tokyo), Masafumi Yamasaki (Professor of Ritsumeikan University) and Keiichi Ogawa (Lecturer of Ritsumeikan Univ).

“River improvement theory of Dutch Engineers in Meiji era” by Yasuo Ito, Prof. Emeritus of Hanazono University.

“Mt. Hiei and Flood of Otowa River in 1972” by Prof. Ikeda of Nara University.

Three COE programs in Kansai Area held a joint workshop on natural disaster prevention research. “Disaster Mitigation of Urban Cultural Heritage” of Ritsumeikan University, “Natural Disaster Science and Disaster Reduction” of Disaster Prevention Research Institute Kyoto University and “Design Strategy towards Safety and Symbiosis of Urban Space” of Kobe Univ.

Poster presentation at the conference.

“Issues and problems on public policy and planning on the disaster mitigation for the historical city”

1. “Earthquake disaster and historical city preservation: With the aim of improvement of local power for disaster prevention” by Dr. Hideki KAJI, professor (Faculty of Policy Management, Keio Gijuku University)
2. “Earthquake disaster protection management for historical buildings: Actual Conditions of Toukai Region” by Dr. Hitoshi TANIGUCHI (Faculty of Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology)
3. “Let’s create a digital-archives systems for historical cities” by Dr. Fumio YAMAZAKI (Faculty of Engineering, Chiba Univ)

日本文化財科学会第21回大会（於：立命館大学以学館）において、文化遺産の防災技術としてポスターセッションの展示を行い、多くの来場者に対してCOE拠点の説明を行った。

“2003 Bamm Earthquake of Iran” by Dr. Junji Kiyono (Assoc. Prof. of Kyoto University).

“Information networks for prevention of natural disasters in historical cities”

Mr. Yuzawa, Mr. Yamamoto and Mr. Shikata of NTT Infranet, and Prof. Makoto Kawai of Faculty of Information Science, Ritsumeikan University.

Itoko Kitahara, Visiting Professor of National Museum of Japanese History, talked about a state of the art on the historical study of natural disasters.

Prof. Herb Stovel of ICCROM and Prof. Kanefusa Masuda of Ritsumeikan University joined the forum.

It was held in Suekawa Memorial Hall, Ritsumeikan University. There were the lectures entitled “International perspectives on risk preparedness for cultural heritage” by Herb Stovel, professor of ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property), “World heritage of Kyoto and its risk preparedness” by Kanefusa MASUDA, professor of Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music (chair professor of Ritsuemikan University) and “Activities for protection of cultural heritages from natural disasters in Japan” by Kenzo TOKI, director of Research Center for Disaster Mitigation of Urban Cultural Heritage, Ritsumeikan University.

Jun SUZUKI, associate professor, at the Faculty of Letters Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, University of Tokyo, gave a presentation on the history of fire-fighting titled “The modernization of firefighting in Edo/Tokyo.” The talk covered not only Edo and Tokyo, but Osaka and Kyoto as well, in a history of the modernization of the fire services through development of technology and turning points provided by fire disasters.

A collaborative workshop between College of Policy Science, Ritsumeikan University and Faculty of Architecture, Thammasat University was held in Ritsumeikan University, and 22 students from Thammasat University and 10 students from Ritsumeikan University joined the workshop. One of the major purposes was to exchange knowledge and skills for disaster mitigation of urban cultural heritage collaborating academic activities with Thailand and Japan.

It was held in Nakagawa Kaikan, Ritsumeikan University and 27 people participated. Akira SANGAWA, chief researcher of National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, gave a lecture entitled “Archaeoseismology around Kyoto basin.” There was an explanation about the technique for considering past earthquakes from excavation sites.

It was held in Biwako-Kusatsu Campus, Ritsumeikan University and 32 people participated. First, Ikuo YASUKAWA, fellow of COE promotion organization, Ritsumeikan University gave a lecture entitled “The interplateearthquake and the role of disaster prevention wells ” and explained the role of disaster prevention wells through the experience of Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake. Next, Takeyuki OKUBO, associate professor of Graduate school of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University (chair professor of Ritsumeikan University), gave a lecture entitled “Environmental water supply system for protection of cultural heritage from earthquake fire.” There was an explanation about the technique that defends the cultural heritage from the earthquake fire.

It was held in the third kyodokenkyukaishitu, Shugakkan, Ritsumeikan University and about 20 people participated. There was a lecture entitled “Geomorphologic environmental change in historic times and the flood disaster of the Kamo River” by Tatsunori KAWASUMI, lecturer of COE promotion organization, Ritsumeikan University.

It was held in Nakagawa Kaikan, Ritsumeikan University and 20 people participated. Sumio SAWADA, associate professor of Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University, delivered a lecture of “Earthquake motion forecast in Kyoto City region” and explained the earthquake motion forecast based on a new knowledge through the details of 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake. Next, Takeyoshi TANAKA, professor of Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University (chair professor of Ritsumeikan University) gave a lecture entitled “Historical conflagration in Kyoto” and described the situation in which a lot of shrines and temples had been lost due to a fire.

It was held in the third kyodokenkyukaishitu, Shugakkan, Ritsumeikan University and about 20 people participated. Masaharu MIZUKOSHI, professors emeritus, Mie University, gave a lecture entitled “Weather record collection on every day of historic times.”

We made the panel presentation of the disaster prevention technology of the cultural heritage in Construction technology exhibition 2003 Kinki held in Mydome Osaka. It was a huge exhibition and more than 10,000 people visited for the two days.

It was held by the participation of about 20 people in Suekawa Memorial Hall, Ritsumeikan University. First, Prof. Kenzo TOKI, director of Research center for disaster mitigation of urban cultural heritage in Ritsumeikan University, gave a lecture entitled “Kotohajime (making a start) for cultural asset disaster prevention.” Next, Yoshihiro UEMURA, professor of Faculty of letters, University of Bukkyo, gave a lecture about “Earthquake environment of Kyoto and the progress afterwards.”

The symposium was held at Suekawa Memorial Hall, Ritsumeikan University. 132 people attended the symposium.

Our members visited Reizei-ke. A historical house of Reizei-ke (one of the noble family of Japan) has been provided some fire protection system. Chair Professor Reizei explained the history of Reizei-ke, and we inspected the natural disaster reduction system for the historical house.