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One foot in the past, one foot in the future: Japanese cultural identity and preservation law 1868-1950

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One foot in the past, one foot in the future: Japanese cultural identity and preservation law 1868-1950

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Content One Foot in the Past, One Foot in the Future: Japanese Cultural Identity and
Preservation Law 1868-1950
Lenore Lowen
Master of Historic Preservation Program
University of Southern California School of Architecture
i
Meeting of General Nogi and General Stessel at Shuishihying, 1906, historical postcard (http://
commons.wikimedia.org)
ii
Table of Contents
Title Page i
Frontispiece Meeting of General Nogi and General Stessel at Shuishihying, 1906,
historical postcard (http://commons.wikimedia.org) ii
Image List iv
!
Map of Japan vii

Chronology of Historic Periods viii

Abstract ix
I. Introduction 1
II. Modernization and National Identity 7
III. Preservation Laws 49
IV . The 1950 Cultural Properties Protection Law 84
V . Going Forward Into The Future 97
Back Image Shinjuku District at Night, Tōkyō, Japan
(http://www.masterfile.com) 109
Acknowledgments 110

Appendix I. Outline of Japanese Preservation Laws
1871-1950 111
Appendix II: Japanese Cultural Properties
On The World Heritage List 115
Bibliography 131
iii
List of Images
Figure 1: Hōryūji Kondō (photography courtesy of Ken Breisch) 1
Figure 2: Hōryūji pagoda (photograph courtesy of Ken Breisch) 2
Figure 3: Oda Nobunaga http://www.samurai-archives.com 9
Figure 4: Toyotomi Hideyoshi http://www.artsales.com 10
Figure 5: The Island of Dejima (http://www.gcapitan.com) 11
Figure 6: Tokugawa Ieyasu (http://www.kiku.com) 12
Figure 7: Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō, Hiroshige Ando 14
(http://www.mmdc.net)
Figure 8: Commodore Matthew C. Perry 17
(http://www.timpanogos.wordpress.com)
Figure 9: Members of the Iwakura Mission 21
(http:/www.ja.wikipedia.org)
Figure 10: Fukuzawa Yukichi 23
(http://www.historyofchristianityinjapan.wordpress.com
Figure 11: Kamo Mabuchi (http://www.ja.wikipedia.ja.org) 31
Figure 12: Motoori Norinaga (http://www.philosophyblog.com.au) 31
Figure 13: Hirata Atsutane (http://www.en.wikipedia.org) 33
Figure 14: Professor Edward S. Morse (http://www.etc.usf.edu) 37
Figure 15: Yanagi Soetsu (http://www.mambrinoshelmet.com) 39
Figure 16: Sakaguchi Ango (http://www.wordpress.com)! ! ! 45
Figure 17: Kon-dō of Tōshodaiji (http://www.toppan.co.uk) 53

Figure 18: Five-Story Pagoda of Daigoji (http://www.onlyrooms.com) 54
iv
Figure 19: Hon-dō of Kiyomizu-dera (http://www.kyoto.asanoxn.com)! 54

Figure 20: Itō Chûta 57
(http://www.jfindia.org.in)
Figure 21: Ernest Fenollosa (http://www.japan.org) 59
Figure 22: Okakura Tenshin (http://www.tea.news.bulletea.com) 59
Figure 23: The Great Buddha Hall of Tōdaiji 65
(photograph courtesy of Ken Breisch)
Figure 24: Detail of entry showing the karahafu 66
(photograph courtesy of Ken Breisch)
Figure 25: Akasaka Detached Palace, (http://www.takenaka.co.jp) 68
Figure 26: Tōkyō Train Station, 1898-90 (http://www.carto.net) 68
Figure 27: Bracket detail of the Great Buddha Hall 69
(photograph courtesy of Ken Breisch)

Figure 28: Great South Gate at Tōdaiji 79
(photograph courtesy of Ken Breisch)

Figure 29: The Great South Gate detail of Ungyō 79
(photograph courtesy of Ken Breisch)
Figure 30: The Golden Hall at Hōryūji 84
(photograph courtesy of Ken Breisch)
Figure 31: Langdon Warner (http://www.harvardartmuseum.org) 87
Figure 32: Sherman E. Lee (http://www.clevelandartsprize.org) 87
Figure 33: Map of Japan showing Imai-cho (http://www.gdrc.org) 100
Figure 34: Imai-cho streetscape (http://www.shinchiku.homes.co.jp) 100
Figure 35: Nakagin Capsule Hotel Exterior 102
(http://www.figure-ground.com)
v
Figure 36: Isometric of Capsule 102
(http://www.architecturalmoleskine.blogspot.com)
Figure 37: Kishio Kurokawa (http://www.nytimes.com) 103
Figure 38: Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotional Hall 107
(http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp)
Figure 39: Hiroshima Peace Memorial (http://whc.unesco.org) 107
vi
Map of Japan with Administrative Divisions (http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east-asia/japan_divisions)
vii
Chronology of Historic Periods
Jōmom Period c. 10,000-300 BC
Yayoi Period c. 300BC-300CE
Age of Reform
Asuka Period c. 300-552
Hakuhō Period 552-710
Nara Period 710-794
Tempyō period (mid-eighth century)
Heian Period 794-1185
Jōgan period (mid-to late ninth century)
Fujiwara peiod (tenth to late eleventh century)
Kamakura Period 1185-1333
Kemmu Restoration 1333-1336
Muromachi (Ashikaga) Period 1336-1573
Kitayama Period (late 14
th
and early 15
th
century)
Higashiyama Period (second half of the 15
th
century)
Age of Unification
Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1568-1600 or 1615)
Namban period (late 16
th
and early 17
th
centuries)
Edō Period 1600-1867
Genroku Period (c. 1675-1725)
Bunka-Bunsei period (late 18
th
and early 19
th
centuries)
Meiji Period 1868-1912
Taishō Period 1912-1926
Shōwa Period 1926-1989
Heisei Period 1989-
viii
Abstract
One Foot in the Past, One Foot in the Future: Japanese Cultural Identity and
Preservation Law 1868-1950
Lenore Lowen
This thesis examines the historic trajectory of Japan’s cultural identity and its effect on
preservation laws between 1868 and 1950. Instead of focusing on the post-World War II (1945
and beyond) or the Feudal periods (c.1185-1868), this document charts the social and cultural
changes during an underestimated part of Japanese history and how the document informed the
preservation laws. The goal of this analysis is to demonstrate how the laws reflected the ongoing
formation of a national cultural identity. The years between 1868 and 1950 saw Japanese society
undergo a swift transformation from an agrarian-based culture to an industrial and urbanized
society in a very short time. In doing so, the Japanese adapted and assimilated all manner of
ideologies and institutions from the West into their culture. This thesis argues that the question
of how cultural identity affected preservation law is always open to new information and new
interpretations. Japan’s cultural identity continues to inform the way the nation and its people
relate to their historic and cultural resources.
The analysis is laid out in six parts: the first chapter looks at the fire at the 1949 Hōryūji
and the popular reaction to it. The second part discusses modernization and national identity,
first by examining Japan’s evolving modernization between first contact with the West in 1543 to
the of the Meiji era (1868-1912). The national identity half studies the philosophical trends from
the eighteenth century focusing on the National Learning School and the formation of an ethnic
identity in the early twentieth century. The third chapter examines the preservation laws enacted
between 1871 and 1933 as a response to the changes in the legal tradition and sudden
ix
urbanization and industrialization. Chapter four is an extended discussion of the 1950 Law for
the Protection of Cultural Properties. This chapter also looks at the role of the Arts and
Monument Branch of the Supreme Command of the Allied Powers and the function it played in
the passage of the 1950 Law. Chapter five examines Japanese preservation activities from the
mid-twentieth through the present. The focus of this chapter is on preservation of historic
districts, Japan’s modern heritage, participation in global heritage conservation, and concludes
with the issues facing Japanese historic preservation today.
This thesis follows the changes in Japanese culture and its effect on preservation law
through a study of Japanese history, culture, and preservation policy. Taken together, the
Japanese preservation laws helps us understand a country that tries to negotiate a middle ground
between east and west; past and future.
x
I. Introduction: The Fire at H!ry"ji and Public Reaction

The Japanese Law for The Protection of Cultural Properties, enacted on May 30, 1950, is
considered one of the most fully realized preservation efforts of its time.
1
Since taking effect on
August 29, 1950, the law has been amended several times yet still retains its original and primary
legal integrity. The 1950 Law has become an influential model for similar legislation in other
countries. It was not, however, a product of immaculate conception. Its birth was a result of a
long process that began before the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1868 and the succeeding
social and cultural revolution through the Allied Occupation between 1945 and 1952. To truly
grasp the law’s significance of it is vital to understand its social, political, and cultural influences.
The most immediate of these forces that shaped The Law for the Protection of Cultural
Properties is a near disastrous fire at H!ry"ji.

Figure 1: H!ry"ji Kon-d! (courtesy of Ken Breisch)
1
1
Geoffrey R. Scott, The Cultural Property Laws Of Japan: Social, Political, and Legal Influences; (Seattle, Pacific
Rim Law and Policy Journal Association, 2003), 32; http://digital.law.washington.edu/dspace-law/
1773.1/728/12PacRimLPolyJ315.pdf?sequence=1 (Date accessed January 16, 2012); 316
In January 1949, the Kond! (Golden Hall) of H!ry"ji (c.7
th
CE, figure 1), a temple
located in the Nara Prefecture and the oldest extant wooden building in Japan, was badly
damaged in a fire. The timing of the fire could not have been worse. The abrupt end of World
War II left the Japanese people psychologically devastated with Prime Minister Higashikuni
Naruhiko urging the people to “repent” for their failure to bring the war to a successful close.
2

As one writer observed, “[T]he recent Horyuji fire is not caused by leakage of electricity or
blunder, but rather...by the niggardly spirit of a nation.”
3
In the aftermath, there were conflicting
reports about what happened and the extent of the damage. Popular accounts of the fire
suggested the cause of the fire to the Kond! was accidental.
Among the badly damage areas was a series of mural paintings
depicting the Buddhist Paradise, considered the most important
relic of the Asuka Period (552-710 CE).

Figure 2: H!ry"ji pagoda (photograph courtesy of Ken Breisch)
2
2
Peter Duus, Modern Japan second edition, (Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998), 253
3
Report About the Execution of Social Education Programs After the Termination of the War (undated) (on file with
Scott); quoted in Scott, 378
Recognition of H!ry"ji (figure 2, above) as a signifier of national cultural identity was
well-established by the 1930s, after the late nineteenth century ideological interpretations of
American collector Ernest Fenollosa (1853-1908) and his student Okakura Tenshin (1862-1913).
Their work was part of a national trend that emphasized Japan’s links with the West and
diminished its Asian roots. In keeping with the realpolitik of the mid-to-late Meiji period,
architect and historian It! Ch"ta (1867-1954), observed that the graceful bulge of the temple’s
columns had Hellenic inspiration.
4
It! noted, “...the design of H!ry"ji is rooted, of course, in the
spirit, tastes, and preferences of our Japanese race, cultivated over thousands of years.”
5
In
reinterpreting the temple, as proof of Japan’s unique place in global culture, It!’s analysis
reflected changes in the zeitgeist that spawned Japanese ethnic nationalism in the pre-World War
II years.
6
In the early twentieth century, writer Sakaguchi Ango (1906-1955) asserted that the
temple was not a signifier of Japan-ness.
7
Sakaguchi boldly and ironically stated that it did not
matter if H!ry"ji burned down or was demolished and replaced with a parking lot. His disdain
for the temple was a response to German expatriate architect Bruno Taut’s discourse on Japanese
architecture in his books Fundamentals of Japanese Architecture, Houses and People of Japan,
and Yoroppajin no me de mita (Japan as Seen Through European Eyes), which had a large
readership in a country that was eager for further affirmation of its status as a culturally advanced
3
4
James Dorsey, “Culture, Nationalism, and Sakaguchi Ango;” Journal of Japan Studies; V ol. 27, No. 2 (Summer
2001); pp. 347-379; The Society for Japanese Studies; http://www.jstor.org/stable/3591970 (date accessed June 23,
2008)
5
Ch"ta It!; “Asuka jidai no kenchiku,” Sendai bijutsu zensh"; V ol. 6 (Tokyo; Heibonsha, 1928), pp. 27-8; quoted in
Inoune, H!ry"-ji e no seishinshi; p 196 and Dorsey, 352
6
Dorsey, 352
7
Arata Isozaki, Kohso Sabu transl, David B. Stewart editor, Mori Toshiko foreword Japan-ness in Architecture,
(Cambridge and London, The MIT Press, 2006); 111
country.
8
These contrasting opinions of H!ryuji are a metaphor for the contrasting views of
Japanese cultural identity. The former places the temple within the canon of non-Asian
architecture to demonstrate Japan’s connection to the Western world. The latter is effort to create
a more natural cultural identity.
By 1946, it was already common knowledge that repairs at the temple were going very
slowly despite a subsidy of ¥125,000 annually from the state to help defray costs.
9
Further, the
annual costs for the repair and preservation of all national treasures, including icons, objects, and
the buildings such as H!ry"ji, was estimated at ¥100 million. By 1949, it was predicted that
thirty to forty percent of the national treasures would be lost within four to five years because of
sustained neglect and insufficient funding for repair and maintenance.
10
The most significant
issue regarding the protection of cultural property was the bleak attitude of the nation following
the end of the war and the lack of necessary economic support from the government. Existing
cultural property protection laws of the period, though well meaning, did not provide a budget
allocation to support the administration of the laws.
H!ry"ji, like many national treasures, had been neglected for long periods of time and
was in deplorable state. The Kyoto National Treasure Preservation Association, communicated a
less than positive petition to the Minister of Culture:
4
8
Isozaki
9
Report About the Execution of Social Education Programs After the Termination of the War (undated) (on file with
Scott); quoted in Scott, 378
10
Scott
...Although we are sacrificing ourselves as the owners as much as possible for
repairing our national treasures, as we believe such sacrifice is morally
duty-bound, it has [sic] almost impossible nowadays for us to continue
maintaining them at our own cost because of the inflation prices of commodities
so high beyond our private financial power.
11
Considering the immediate post war priorities of basic necessities such as food, shelter, and
medicine, preserving historic resources was not considered a priority. In an editorial for Tokyo
Shimbun dated July 4, 1950, one writer opined,
...We often have a feeling that we cannot cry too much or resent too much certain
matters. We have both feelings at the same time at the loss of the Golden
Pavilion. To our regret, we see Japanese everywhere suffering from an abandoned
feeling due to defeat in the war, and they handle things very roughly...
12

Other writers suggested that Japan was in the middle of a cultural awakening during the
Occupation, not unlike the transition from the feudal to modern period, and had difficulty
shedding aging traditions and points of view. Arts and architecture had long been considered a
lesser form of cultural expression and their promotion and protection at the administrative level
was not a high priority. From another perspective, the general attitude of the population was not
naturally inclined to protect cultural property. An editorial in the Tokyo Shimbun dated
November 30, 1949, reflects this feeling, “...In fact, most Japanese are said to have extreme
indifference in their sense of care for private and public objects.”
13

The story of what led to the 1950 Cultural Properties Protection Law is an engaging look
at how a nation revolutionized itself from the top down. It begins with the first contact with the
5
11
Petition from Kyoto National Treasures Preservation Association, to Mr. Kotaro Tanaka, Minister of Education at
1 (Dec 2, 1946), (on file with Scott); quoted in Scott, 377
12
Sub-Editorial, Look Out for Fire; Tokyo Shimbum; July 4, 1950; quoted in Scott, 375
13
Beauty Should Not Exist Apart from our Daily Lives; Nippon Times, June 29, 1949 quoted in Scott, 376;
West in the mid-sixteenth century and continues into contemporary times. The 1950 Law was an
outgrowth of a series of laws that began in the nineteenth century with the Meiji Restoration and
Japan’s learning to negotiate a middle ground between east and west. To properly frame the
discussion of the preservation laws between 1868 and 1950, it is necessary to examine pre-Meiji
historic, social, and cultural trends and their effect on the creation of a Japanese cultural identity.
Included in this discussion is an analysis of affect of contact with the West, and the growth of
urbanization and industrialization.
6
II.Modernization and National Identity
Modernization
Late Heian period society established a system of administration which enabled stability,
accommodated sizable social growth, and the social elite’s elegant lifestyle possible. The same
system also fostered the development of a new social class, the military men (bushi i.e samurai),
who replaced the authority of civil bureaucrats and ushered in a new period.
14
Medieval polity
was martial in one sense that its main participants were from samurai and in another sense
because they heavily relied on military organization, values, procedure for governance.
15
During
the Ed! Period martial oriented rule took on mercantile characteristics. This phenomena was due
to the era’s long period of peace and stability which led to the demobilization of a permanent
fighting force and created of a class of landed gentry and urban dwellers. The result was a
sophisticated political order that drew its strength from the balance of samurai and commoner.
16

At the same time, there was tension and conflict from the contradiction between a polity that was
couched in a complex economy intricately linked to the social order, and a theory of state that
envisioned a society as a single hierarchy based in an agrarian economy.
17
The middle of the
eighteenth century saw this carefully balanced political order begin to teeter as the ruling elite
lost its social, cultural, political, economic primacy.
18
By the nineteenth century, the carefully
constructed social order could no longer sustain itself and began to collapse.
7
14
Conrad Totman; Japan Before Perry A Short History; (Berkeley, Los Angeles, London; University of California
Press, 1981), 70
15
Totman
16
Totman 158
17
Totman
18
Totman, 199
Historic conservation efforts often accompany periods of social, cultural, and economic
change. Every nation has a strong desire to preserve tangible links to the past while looking to
the future. Yet, Japan’s history suggests that there were forces from within and without that
propelled the nation to adapt and assimilate Western and reject its history. The ruling
government expressed an interest in foreign trade and its promise of prosperity and power.
However, the authorities were also faced with mounting threats to their hegemon by their foreign
trading partners. In response, the government instituted a policy of isolation and controlled
contact with the outside world. This policy attempted to counteract European plans for
colonization and the conversion activities of Jesuit Missionaries. In the seventeenth and
eighteenth century, as a result of the government imposed alternate attendance system,
mercantile enterprises developed around the road between Ky!t! and Ed! and propelled the
growth of urban areas around castles and the middle class, setting the stage for Japan’s entry into
the industrialized world.
Japan’s road to modernity began in the mid-sixteenth century, a period of great political
and social change that included the country’s first contact with the West. The #nin War
(1467-77) left the shogunate weak and ineffectual. The great chaos of the war destroyed what
was left of medieval polity. Provincial lands were torn apart by interfamily fighting and peasant
uprisings.
19
In 1543, the Portuguese landed a junk on the island of Tanegashima, off the coast of
Kyushu. In their wake, Jesuit missionaries, led by Francis Xavier (1506-52), arrived in 1549
from Goa, India and began conversion activities. At first glance, Catholicism appeared to the
another form of Buddhism.
20
The provincial lords (daimyo) tolerated the proselytizing activities
8
19
Paul Varley, Japanese Culture fourth edition, (Honolulu, University of Hawai’i Press), 2000, 140
20
Carolyn Brown Heinz; Asian Cultural Traditions; (Prospect Heights, Illinois, Waveland Press, Inc. 1999); 337
of the missionaries as the price for lucrative trade with the West. They also were wary of this
potential influence and initially restricted the Missionaries’ activities to the domains around
Kyushu. Also, major institutional changes were afoot, especially at the regional level of
Japanese society, setting the stage for unification. By the mid-sixteenth century, most of Japan
had been brought under the control of the daimyo creating competition among the more powerful
lords to restore order to the country.
21
The task of unification fell to three of Japan’s great feudal
leaders: Oda Nobunaga (1543-82 figure 3) Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-98), and Tokugawa Ieyasu
(1542-1616). Oda was quite hospitable to the priests and foreign diplomats, granting them, on
several occasions, personal interviews. In reality, he was extremely interested in their guns.

Figure 3: Oda Nobunaga http://www.samurai-archives.com

9
21
Varley, 141
Figure 4: Toyotomi Hideyoshi (http://www.artsales.com)
Toyotomi Hideyoshi (figure 4) took up the mantle of unification in 1582 after the
assassination of Oda Nobunaga by one of his generals. Motivated by an interest in foreign trade,
Toyotomi was hospitable towards the Jesuits in the early years of his regime, extending
courtesies to the missionaries, in the hope of enticing a greater number of trading vessels to
Japan. He soon realized that the foreigners had imperialist ambitions and hungrily eyed valuable
land. In 1587, without warning, Toyotomi nationalized the port of Nagasaki and ordered the
Jesuit missionaries out of the country within twenty days.
22
The plan was never fully
implemented because he feared that it might drive the Portuguese traders away and suggested a
growing animosity toward the missionaries and their disciples from the ruling class.
Additionally, the increasing number of Christian Japanese, such as #mura Sumitada, posed a
threat to Toyotomi’s hegemon. Acting on his suspicions that #mura and other daimyo would
10
22
Varley, 144
align themselves with the Portuguese and Spanish, Toyotomi began persecuting missionaries and
their disciples in 1597. This presaged four decades of death and destruction, culminating in the
institution of sakoku (closed, i.e “chained” nation), limiting Japan’s interaction with other nations
and greatly stunting its growth at the same time the West was entering a period of great scientific
and technological progress. By1640, no foreigners remained except for a small group of Dutch
traders who were virtually imprisoned on the Island of Dejima (also known as Deshima, figure
5).
23
The Japanese continued to conduct mercantile enterprises but were restricted to doing
business with the Dutch on Dejima
Figure 5: The Island of Dejima (http://www.gcapitan.com)
The Dutch did more than trade with the Japanese, they became the main conduits of
knowledge of the outside world. Rangaku or Dutch Studies was the last major intellectual trend
in the Ed! period and offered the Japanese a way to engage their interests beyond the
archipelago. While few Japanese had direct contact with the foreigners, by the early eighteenth
11
23
Varley
century a small but growing group of scholars and officials was acquiring practical knowledge
through the study of Dutch scientific and technical texts.
24
Japanese Dutch Studies scholars
produced a significant body of work including dictionaries, translations, and analyses of Western
subjects.
25
In 1720 the eighth Tokugawa Sh!gun Yoshimune (1684-1751) lifted the ban on
foreign books, allowing their importation as long as
they did not include the still forbidden subject of
Christianity.
26

Figure 6: Tokugawa Ieyasu (http://www.kiku.com)
Following the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu (figure 6) assumed the
title of sh!gun, imposed his will militarily on the nation, and relocated his government to Ed!
(present day T!ky!). From there, he could directly administer Tokugawa family lands and
supervise the activities of some two hundred-fifty daimyo. Both the sh!gun and the daimyo
governed their own lands and vassals according to bureaucratic procedures based on military and
civil organization, personnel, judicial processes, taxes, the governance of villages and towns.
27

12
24
Duus, 62
25
Varley, 220-1
26
Varley
27
Varley, 141
The regional lords devoted their energies to strengthening and expanding their territorial rule,
organizing their vassals into a permanent fighting force, initiating policies that reflected the
changed period, encouraging both commercial and agricultural development and the exploitation
of non-agrarian natural resources such as mining.
28
The late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries was the great era of castle building.
The castles and various religious buildings became the primary types of historic sites of later
interest. The castles responded to the conditions generated by accelerated warfare and smartly
controlled dominions. One of the results of these conflicts was the estate owners gained more
power. The estates (sh!en
29
) now became the backdrop for addressing new types of military,
economic, commercial and administrative needs. Despite their multifunctional purpose, the
castle towns grew out of a specific political process, holding hostages to ensure the good
behavior of one’s allies and requiring one’s vassals to live on the estate.
30
The shogunate also
instituted the policy of sankin k!tai (alternate attendance), which helped spur urbanization,
between 1635 and 1642.
When the Tokugawa clan consolidated its power between 1614 and 1615 they were
greatly concerned over possible insurrection by powerful vassals. To prevent individual samurai
or daimyo from plotting against the shogunate, the Tokugawa government enacted a number of
laws that required daimyo to maintain surveillance on one another and limited their autonomy in
13
28
Varley
29
Most of the sho#n tracts of agricultural land that contained rice paddies, dry fields, or forests. The land holders
were not gentry living in manors but aristocrats who lived in Heian (Ky!t!) in monasteries or shrines. The sho#n
holder was granted an imperial-government charter defining the boundaries of his land, his tax liability, and
administrative authority; Totman, 28
30
Totman, 189
a myriad of ways.
31
One of these laws was the alternate attendance system which grew out of
the practice of using hostages to control powerful vassals. Half of the daimyo were required to
live in Ed! for a year, alternating the following year with the other half. The daimyo’ families
remained in Ed! all year, serving as well-cared for hostages who made certain the return of each
daimyo and their loyalty.
32
The system weakened the lords financially because of the increased
cost of maintaining multiple mansions and appearances.
33
In addition, the remaining households
created a new consumer class that required goods and services. The alternate attendance system
had far more reaching implications,
helping Ed! grow into a major
metropolitan center.

Figure 7: Fifty-Three Stations of The Tokaid!, Hiroshige And!, polychrome woodblock, 1834 (http://
www.mmdc.net)
By the eighteenth century, the city’s population was over one million people, equally
divided between samurai and non-samurai.
34
Commoners affected by Ed!’s growth, clustered
around the city and along the road between the Kansai and Kant! regions. Another marked
development of the Ed! era that laid the foundation for the modern era was the growth of the
14
31
Duus, 23
32
Varley, 168
33
Duus, 24-5
34
Totman, Japan Before Perry A Short History, 189-90
merchant class. The daimyo, their families, and retinues were joined by enterprising artisans
and merchants,
35
who saw great opportunities in the constant flow of the daimyo and his
entourage between Ed! and their domains. Growing urbanization provided excellent stimulus
for interregional trade in goods and services creating specialization which led to greater choice
for consumers. The transit towns along the T!kaid! (figure 7, above), the main highway
between Ky!t! and Ed! were filled with vibrant commercial and cultural activity. The Ed! era’s
legacy was the consolidation of political power, increased agricultural activity, lasting peace and
stability, improved transportation and communications. The castle towns also fostered activities
that would pave the way for a proto-industrial society and the end of the feudal era.
! Economic changes during the Ed! period were driven by an expanding population as
more people moved to cities for work. This meant a greater available labor pool and more land
could be cultivated, prompting entrepreneurs to find newer and more efficient ways to meet the
demands for food, shelter, clothing, and other necessities. Despite the growing economy, general
prosperity brought tension, dislocation, and change that had a profound impact in both urban and
rural areas.
36
Urban growth created rural labor shortages and gave the poor and dissatisfied
options to the village. Those living near the highways, towns, and cities experienced greater
shifts in their way of life through agglomeration.
37
By the nineteenth century, the majority of the
rural population was composed of landless peasants, poor tenant farmers, small farmers, and
landlords.
38
The young men left to seek their fortunes in the urban areas, undercutting the
15
35
ch!nin-city people. The term used to describe the merchants. They were lower in social because the merchants
made their living from other people’s labors.
36
Duus, 54
37
Totman, 197
38
Totman
established, hereditary and hierarchal relationships. Proto-industrialization production was based
in the countryside where the labor resources were cheap and abundant. By the early nineteenth
century local commercial and mercantile enterprises accounted for a substantial part of
nonagricultural output.
39
Social stresses created by these changes in the communal order brought
by proto-industrialization radically altered Japanese society leading to questions of military
preparedness, economics, and foreign policy.
In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, unprecedented changes raised
concerns among the Dutch Studies Scholars, who were in a unique position to view them in a
more global context. To counter the effects of the seclusion policy and the growth of
urbanization, the Dutch Studies scholars turned their attentions to questions of military
preparedness, economics, and foreign policy, and proposed a plan of action. The reason was
...dis-equilibrium caused by the growth of commercial markets and a complex
monetary system in a state still theoretically based on a natural economy...because
of the seclusion policy, to alleviate domestic economic difficulties by increasing
foreign trade; and continuance of the samurai as a largely idle class separated
from their main source of income, the soil.
40

Their concerns were further fanned by the mounting incursions of foreigners into the territories
surrounding Japan as old fears of Christianity and foreign invasion returned to the forefront. In
the 1790s, Russian expansion into the waters of Hokkaido; the Sakhalin and Kurile Islands after
a century long period of eastward territorial expansion prefigured a new foreign threat to Japan.
The Western intrusions into Japanese territorial waters in the nineteenth century became more
brazen, occasionally tense, and violent, making the shogunate more apprehensive. In the
nineteenth century, the Americans began to eye Japan as a possible trade partner. In 1837 the
16
39
Duus, 49
40
Varley, 221
American merchant vessel Morrison was driven out of Ed! and Kagoshima Bay under a hail of
cannon fire. The shogunate’s fears of invasion were misplaced because the West was not trying
to turn Japan into a colony, instead, as the Industrial Revolution gained strength, the search for
foreign markets accelerated and Japan began to look attractive
Figure 8: Commodore Matthew C. Perry (http://www.timpanogos.wordpress.com)
In 1853, President Millard Fillmore sent a fleet of ships to Japan under the command of
Commodore Matthew C. Perry (figure 8) to inquire about opening diplomatic channels between
the two countries. Perry carried a letter calling for an agreement between the two countries
regarding the fair treatment of shipwrecked sailors and commercial trade. In 1854, the Treaty of
Kanagawa was signed and two years later first American consul, Townsend Harris arrived. He
pressed for a commercial treaty, called The Harris Treaty, signed without imperial approval on
July 29, 1858. Perry’s arrival and successive foreign trade delegations posed the biggest
challenge to the government’s isolationist policies. The Japanese government realized that the
Western powers were too strong technologically, economically, and militarily; concluding that it
17
could no longer maintain its isolation policy. From the mid-1850 until the Meiji period, the
impact of renewed contact with the West was immediately felt in the political sphere, despite
limited involvement with foreign countries. Opponents of the foreign intruders began to use the
term j!i (repel the barbarians) together with sonn! (revere the emperor) as political weapon to
badger the sh!gun into including the imperial court in the decision-making process.
41
The
impact was also felt in the cultural and economic sphere as port cities such as Yokohama began
to grow into important centers of Western culture. Commerce with the West, although still
limited, began to increase in the 1860s.
42
The government recognized that it needed to train
some officials in Western languages and in 1857 opened the “The Institute for the Investigation
of Barbarian Books.”
43
In 1860, a Japanese delegation was sent to the United States to exchange
ratifications of the Treaty of Kanagawa and in 1861 a group was dispatched to Europe. Among
the members of the delegation was Fukuzawa Yukichi, a leading educator, who was convinced
that Japan must adopt Western practices and institutions.
44
During the final chaotic years of the Tokugawa era, the Imperial Court began to reassert
itself. Ii Naosuke (1815-1860), supported by the daimyo of Satsuma, Echizen, and Aizu,
brokered k!bu-gattai (union of court and military
45
) centered on the marriage of the sh!gun
Ieomochi and Emperor K!mei’s sister Kazunomiya in 1862. This union was violently opposed
by the shishi (men of talent) in Ch!sh", who launched a campaign of terror, killing a number of
foreigners and their Japanese sympathizers including Henry Heuskin, Townsend Harris’ Dutch
18
41
Mikiso Hane and Louis G. Perez; Modern Japan A Historical Survey; (Boulder, Westview Press, 2009); 65
42
Hane and Pereze, 67
43
Hane and Perez
44
Hane and Perez, 66-67
45
Hane and Perez, 72
translator and Ii Naosuke. The shogunate staggered along in years immediately preceding the
Meiji Restoration, unable to effectively counter its opposition forces. The arrival of the Western
powers was considered the single most important factor in ending the feudal period. Perry’s
arrival precipitated the joining of Imperial Court and the shogunate in the decision-making
process. Eventually, the anti-Western forces were subdued and the sh!gun agreed to relinquish
power to the Emperor Mutsuhito, ending Tokugawa rule after two hundred sixty-five years.
What came next was a transformation that took place over the course of time. The incipient
Meiji era was built on the foundations of older values, attitudes, and institutions and created a
new society. Imported science and technology, as new political, social, and cultural thoughts
were layered on top contributing to an exciting period in Japanese history.
In accordance with the new Meiji government’s policies, provincial revenues were given
over to the crown, leaving the samurai without an income, merchants were unable to collect
payment and subsequently lost their businesses, and farmers were crushed by taxes.
46
The
situation was ripe for a growing inferiority complex about all things Japanese. Improvement was
sought for every element of Japanese culture, improvement meaning westernization.
47
The
Restoration was both retrospective and progressive; reformers attempted to create a new national
government through the restoration of imperial rule and reestablishment of ancient practices.
From the outset of the Meiji Restoration, an effort was made to promote Shint! as the national
religion to strengthen the base of imperial rule. Initially, the government established the
Department of Shint! (Jingikan) and placed it ahead of the Council of State (Daj!kan). Steps
19
46
Scott, 331
47
Scott
were taken to end the past syncretic practices of Buddhism and Shint!.
48
The effect of political
and social chaos associated with the end of the Tokugawa regime and the transition to the Meiji
era dramatically effected the architectural and cultural heritage of Japan. The Buddhist temples
suffered tremendously from the virulent iconoclasm initiated by Shintoists to suppress the faith.
The consequence of their actions were many temples and artifacts destroyed or damaged. The
anti-Buddhist sentiments at the center of this frenzied activity were followed by actions taken by
prefectural authorities that eliminated a large number of temples.
49
This situation was further
exacerbated by the Meiji government’s nearly two-decade period pursuit of all things Western.
Despite the stresses caused by the political and social upheavals, samurai families gave up on
their bid to restore their traditional status and joined the march toward Western-style progress
under the banner of bummei-kaika (“civilization and enlightenment”).
Bummei-kaika was more of a cultural than political theme. Government leaders believed
that if they affected European manners, it would persuade the reluctant Western powers to
renegotiate the treaties. Not everything about bummei-kaika was glamour and glitter, there was
another element posited by scholar Fukuzawa Yukichi (1834-1901). Fukuzawa asserted that his
role was, “...become the sole functioning agent for the introduction of Western learning.”
50

Fukuzawa was credited with introducing Western ideas to Japan and translating English texts that
became the foundation of Japanese intellectual and educational modernization. His main
argument was Japanese people should educate themselves in the Western tradition to maintain
20
48
Hane and Perez, 106
49
Hane and Perez, 107; the authors’ notes cite the example of the Toyama han in north central Honsho where 1630
temples were abolished, leaving on seven to serve the area
50
Ian Buruma; Inventing Japan 1853-1965; (New York, Modern Library, 2003); 47
their political independence from threat of colonization.
51
Fukuzawa was not interested in
maintaining Japan’s unique identity, instead, his attention was centered its defense. The crucial
first step in this process was the ‘independence’ of each the individual, the creation of new moral
ties based on rational rule, and the discussion of important subjects.
52
Through education, in the
Western tradition, Japan could shed the suffocating Confucian feudal tradition and attain the
ultimate goal of civilization. The Iwakura Mission was part of the march towards Western-style
progress and civilization.

Figure 9: Members of the Iwakura Mission (http:/www.ja.wikipedia.org)
In 1871 the Iwakura Mission (figure 9), named for one of its leaders Prince Iwakura
Tomomi (1825-83), embarked on a worldwide mission with two primary goals: learn as much as
they could from the West and “...overcome the humiliation of the ‘unequal treaties’ signed with
the Western nations.”
53
It quickly became obvious that the Western powers had no intention of
rethinking the treaties unless Japan made major legal and constitutional reforms, open treaty
21
51
Joel Joos, Bert Edström, editor; The Japanese and Europe Images and Preceptions; (Richmond Surrey, England,
Curzon Press Ltd, 2000); 28
52
Joos, 31
53
Duus, 135
revisions negotiations, and learned from the West. In his journal, mission member Kido
Takayoshi make this observation on the need for constitutional reform,
In the first year of the Restoration, we worked out the five-article Charter Oath
hastily and had it accepted by the leaders, daimyo, and court nobles, setting out
the direction for the people’s future. But now it is time for us to have an
unshakable fundamental law. Therefore, from now on I want to concentrate my
attention on matters such as the basic laws and governmental structures of other
countries.
54
Since the American and European governments were reluctant to renegotiate the treaties, the
envoys focused on learning from the West. They visited factories, museums, schools (public and
private), arsenals, government agencies, and public parks carefully studying their progress and
modernization, to help Japan become a progressive and modern nation.
55
Upon his return to
Japan, Kido concluded that the arbitrary exercise of power should be replaced by the rule of law.
What impressed him the most about the West was the way the constitutional process limited
those in power and provided a strong foundation for orderly change. Kido wrote, “...The laws
grow out of the Constitution, for the Constitution is the root of every part of the government, and
there is nothing which does not branch out from it...”
56

22
54
Kido Takayoshi nikki, vol. 2, p. 142; Irokawa, The Culture of the Meiji Period, p. 56; quoted in Wm. Theodore de
Bary, Carol Gluck and Arthur E. Tiedemann; Sources of Japanese Tradition second edition Volume Two: 1600-2000;
(New York, Columbia University Press, 2005); , 679
55
Varley, 239
56
Kido Takayoshi, Sh!giku Kido-k! den; vol. 2, pp.1563-68: McLaren, Japanese Government Documents, pp.
571-75, quoted in de Bary, Gluck and Tiedemann, 681
Figure 10: Fukuzawa Yukichi (http://www.http:www.historyofchristianityinjapan.wordpress.com)
The Iwakura Mission’s intellectual ancestor was the concerns of the Dutch Studies
scholars over Japan’s military, economic, and political preparedness. The Iwakura Mission was a
way to continue the education advocated by Fukuzawa (figure 10) by carefully studying the West
and its institutions in order for Japan to come of age politically. Fukuzawa also recognized that
there would be conflicts and Japan needed to preserve its independence at the expense of its
feudal heritage.
57
Fukuzawa’s own words from An Outline Of A Theory Of Civilization gave a
more precise definition of the nature of civilization,
...Civilization is all-important; it is the goal of all human endeavors. We can
discuss civilization in terms of its various aspects, such as institutions, literature,
commerces, industry, war, government, and law; but when taking all of these
together and discussing their relative value, what criteria are we to use? The only
criterion we have is that what advances civilization is beneficial and what retards
it is harmful....
58
[sic]
23
57
Joos, 29
58
Fukuzawa Yukichi, Dilworth and Hurst translation; Bummereiron no gairyaku [An Outline of A Theory of
Civilization]; Tokyo; 1875; pp. 10-11, 13-15, 35-36, 47, 60, 60-61, 98-99; quoted in de Bary, Gluck and Tiedemann,
702
The above excerpt from the opening chapter can be understood as Fukuzawa’s attempt to impose
a standard for the discussion of safeguarding Japan’s national polity (kokutai). The remaining
chapters of his book explain the way to preserve the national polity is to get rid of the
“...erroneous and suffocating Confucian feudal bonds, moral views, and understanding of
nature...wakudeki, ‘uncritical faith.’”
59
Fukuzawa believed that the bonds of the past were
strangling Japan’s future. Civilization was attainable and independence was an absolutely
necessary condition to reach this goal. The Western civilization was not the ideal model in the
absolute sense. Instead it should be considered a successful example among nations, using
newly discovered knowledge for its own purposes, subduing less developed nations, and
claiming the world’s riches.
60
Fukuzawa Yukichi’s statement about civilization as an attainable goal and independence
as an absolute condition necessary to reach this goal seems to contradict the centuries of
Japanese history that came before the Meiji period. By inference, Fukuzawa appears to support
the Meiji government’s aggressive approach to modernization. Yet from his own statements, he
advocates adapting institutions from the West for use in Japan. He believed that the reason Asia
had fallen behind the West was from a lack of a multifaceted tradition. Fukuzawa’s
understanding of Western history was that it had enjoyed the intellectual traditions that came
from the Church, nobility, the merchant class, the German and Graeco-Roman heritage. His own
view of Japan was that from the beginning of time, politics and religion were subjected to
24
59
Joos, Carmen Blacker published a study on Fukuzawa also had trouble translating wakudeki; Blacker, The
Japanese Enlightenment Study of the Writings of Fukuzawa Yukichi; (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press,
1964), 108
60
Joos, 30
political power.
61
Fukuzawa’s view of Western intellectual history seems romanticized, denying
the centuries of brutal and repressive regimes. Yet he believed that Japan should adapt a
multifaceted approach to civilization. In one respect, this is a positive because it allows scholars
to formulate a new philosophy based on multiple schools of thought and help propel Japan
forward. On the other hand, it is a negative because of the denial of centuries of philosophy that
formed the basis for Japan’s new era.
Growing modernization and urbanization were expressed in demographic trends. By
1914, the Japanese population reached 51 million with a majority of Japanese citizens living in
urban areas. Large cities were expanding into the rural areas absorbing the new residents.
Perhaps the most striking example of urban intrusion into a rural areas was in the Kamikawa
Basin, on the Island of Hokkaido, the traditional birthplace of Ainu rice cropping. Rapid
industrialization overwhelmed indigenous Ainu culture and kept the population static,
disadvantaged, and demoralized. This matter became even more acute when real estate
development in the Kamikawa Basin, began in 1857. Takeshiro Matsuura, a development officer
on Hokkaido, came to the area to survey the water resources of the Ishikari River. In 1885,
Michitoshi Iwamura and Takeshiro Nagayama inspected the basin and concluded that the land
was suitable for development. Five years later in the Nagayama District, Asahikawa City, the
villages of Nagayama, Asahikawa, Takasu, and Kagura were established. As development
continued, railways and highways were built. Currently, urbanization is progressing so much
that the original landscape has dramatically changed.
62
25
61
Joos
62
“Editorial Committee of History of Asahikawa City, 1994” quoted in Hisako Tachibana, Motoi, Matsuzawa, Yuki
Suwa, and Jin Zhou; “Land Use/Cover Changes in the Kamikawa Basin, Hokkaido, Japan, since 1898;”Reports of
the Taisetsuzan Institute of Science No. 39: (March, 2005); http://www.taisetsu.asa.hokkyodai.ac.jp/taisetsu/reports/
v39/tachibana.pdf (date accessed May 7, 2012)
Traditional fishing villages were also affected by growing urban density. Sanbanze
(“third sand bar”) was a rich costal environment in T!ky! Bay that underwent development
beginning in 1910. The earliest written record of the area’s human habitation dates from the
Heian Period, when it was known as the Tone River estuary. In the Meiji era, the area’s fisheries
were a priority export industry for securing foreign exchange. Urban growth progressed without
significant effect through the Taish! era until the aftermath of a major flood along the Tone River
in 1910 resulted in the construction of a spillway along the Ed! River. The ecological changes
included a reduced natural fertilizer supply to the fields, severed watercourse, and general
changes in the brackish and water environment. Urbanization brought new modes of
transportation and smaller rivers were either filled or channeled elsewhere to facilitate road
construction. The historic link between the people and their river was severed and urbanization
patterns shifted.
63
These examples underscored the need for legislation to protect these sites of
traditional agricultural from being completely overrun by the unchecked urban growth.
The strains of industrial progress exacerbated the tensions surrounding the East-West
dichotomy. This tension was brought to the forefront at the Ashio Copper Mine in Furukawa.
Metal refining in Japan can be traced back to the seventh century from evidence found in written
documents and archeological finds. In the Ed! era, all the mines were the property of the
daimyo. In the Meiji era, imported Western technology revitalized mining operations and made
rapid development possible. Various blasting methods enable the drilling of tunnels to move
along at a quicker pace and steam or electrically powered drainage pumps and winches resolved
26
63
Satoquo Seino; “Sanbanze Restoration Project and Historical Fishery Ground Changes in Tokyo Bay:” Graduate
School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo; http://www.csc.noaa.gov/cz/c205_Proceedings/pdf%20files/
seino.pdf (date accessed May 7, 2012)
long-standing issues of run-off.
64
However, there were consequences to the newly revitalized
mines. The copper mine was located in a narrow dendritic valley whose main river, the
Watarase, flowed into the heavily populated Kant! agricultural plain. The denuding of the
mountainsides combined with the dumping of tailings into the river produced poisonous runoffs
and massive flooding.
An industrial society was regarded as a symbol of “Western,” replacing the traditional
agricultural society as a signifier of ethnic identity. The passing of the traditional agricultural
culture meant a loss of Japanese-ness.
65
There were observers who blamed the loss of Japan’s
agrarian culture on the “city” problem.”
66
At the heart of this was growing urbanization which
accompanied industrialization was a quickly shifting social center of gravity where eighty
percent of the residents lived in villages in 1870 to the same number of residents living in urban
areas one hundred years later.
67

27
64
Nimura Kazuo, Andrew Gordon, editor; Terry Boardman and Andrew Gordon translators; The Ashio Riot of 1907
A Social History of Mining in Japan; (Durham, NC Duke University Press, 1997); 12-13 http://books.google.com
(date accessed July 2, 2012)
65
Conrad Totman; A History of Japan; (Malden, Ma Blackwell Publishers, Inc. 2000); 337
66
Totman, 338
67
Totman, A History of Japan, 338
National Identity
In the Meiji period, two new intellectual trends developed and became major components
of modernization: the rise of a modern, Western-style nation-state and cultural nationalism.
Some of the earliest extant writings in Japan documented a keen interest in its history,
mythology, cultural, and traditions.
68
Scholarly and intellectual activity in the sixteenth century
adapted Confucianism as a way to reconcile it with Japan’s indigenous religion, Shint!. Two
examples, The Comprehensive Mirror of Our Country (Honch! Tsugan)
69
of the Hayashi family
and The History of Our Great Japan (Dai Nihon Shi) completed by the school for historical
studies in the Mito han were written in Chinese and based on Chinese models of textual
organization. The History of Our Great Japan stressed the continuity and sanctity of the emperor
and aroused nationalist sentiments of those that would lead the Meiji Restoration.
70
In literature
studies, the great interest in the Japanese poetry and prose was aided by the spread of printing.
This freed the common people from the constraints of traditional modes of dissemination and
created a new group of enthusiastic readers, the townspeople in Japan’s growing cities. Another
source of inspiration for nativist thinkers was The National Learning School.
28
68
Peter Nosco; de Bary, Gluck and Tiedemann; 481
69
In this case, the word mirror means reflector, completed during the Tokugawa era Varley, 215
70
Varley; the Mito book was not completed until 1906
The National Learning School
In the seventeenth century, there was an interest in all things Japanese which developed
into preoccupation with national identity and character.
71
During the Ed! period, the most
striking intellectual trend was the flourishing field of philosophy and the function it played in
legitimatizing the Tokugawa regime. Scholarly activity continued to follow the Chinese
traditions set down in previous centuries that appeared to be part of a single “learning” whose
main purpose was the enrichment of the human condition through the pursuit of knowledge.
72

This direction shifted in the eighteenth century with the rise of the nativist National Learning
School (kokugaku-ha). There were a number of reasons for this new trend, related to Japan’s
relative isolation after its contact with Europe was restricted in 1630. One factor was the
redefinition of the relationship between the producers and consumers of culture. Another
possible factor was the increased commodification of cultural and other transactions in society,
such as the popularity of Kabuki Theater.
73
In the eighteenth century, an interest in
antiquarianism helped create a sense of a prehistory. This was expanded upon in the Meiji era
with the discoveries of American scholar Professor Edward S. Morse. In the early twentieth
century, the discussion of national identity turned to developing a definition of an ethnic
Japanese. Thus, an analysis of this intellectual trend beginning in the Tokugawa era is necessary
to understanding the twentieth century redefinition of Japan-ness.
The National Learning School began in the eighteenth century as an antiquarian literary
movement, whose members studied Japanese literary masterpieces such as the Man’y!sh" and
29
71
Nosco; de Bary,Gluck and Tiedemann, 481
72
Nosco; de Bary, Gluck, and Tiedmann
73
Nosco; de Bary, Gluck, and Tiedmann, 482
The Tales of Genji (Genji monogatari) in search of a true and original Japanese spirit untainted
by alien systems of thought and behavior such as Buddhism and Confucianism, which were
introduced from China in the preceding thousand years.
74
The National Learning School was an
extremely potent expression of cultural ethnocentrism that emerged as a reaction to the heavy
influence of Confucian ideology on Japanese culture. This philosophy was expanded upon by
nativist thinkers who searched for a Japanese “Way” that predated the influx of morals, ideas,
and institutions from China.
75
By analyzing foundational texts such as the Kojiki (“Record of
Ancient Matter”) and the Nihongi (“Chronicle of Japan”), scholars hoped to discover what Japan
was like before it was touched by Chinese learning and culture. The founders of the movement
undertook philological studies on the origins of the Japanese language, which paved the way for
the work of the two leading scholars in the movement: Kamo Mabuchi (1697-1769) and Motoori
Norinaga (1730-1801). Despite its radical appeal, this philosophy did not start out
as an extremist movement. Instead it developed as a logical progression in Japanese intellectual
history that had origination in the various schools of Tokugawa Confucianism.
76

30
74
Varley, 216
75
Varley
76
Varley
Figure 11: Kamo Mabuchi (http://www.ja.wikipedia.ja.org), left
Figure 12: Motoori Norinaga (http://www.philosophyblog.com.au)
Kamo Mabuchi (figure 11) was inspired by the Man’y!sh" and believed that the eighth
century poetry anthology was imbued with the true Japanese spirit. He identified that spirit as
possessed of pure naturalness, spontaneity, masculine vigor, and charged that the influx of
Chinese culture into Japan had distorted its way of life as exemplified in the Heian era
(794-1185), which he characterized as effeminate and artificial.
77
Mabuchi wrote,
Indeed, in early antiquity [before the Nara period 710-794], the people’s hearts
(kokoro) were straightforward and correct.
Since their hearts were straightforward, there was little scheming, and since
affairs were few, word likewise unadorned. Accordingly, when matters arose in
the heart, persons voiced these matter in song. These “songs” were called uta
[which also means “poetry”]. Thus, since their verses were straightforward and
since their words were correct using unadorned language, their composition was
spontaneous and naturally poetic...
78
Norinaga’s (figure 12) studies of ancient literature focused on The Tales of Genji and
Shinkokinsh", leading to a different conclusion about the Japanese spirit. Norinaga mined the
scholarly writings of Neo-Confucianist Ogy" Sorai, paying close attention to Ogy"’s political
31
77
Varley
78
Nosco; Wm. de Bary, Gluck and Tiedemann, 489
interpretation of the “Way.”
79
Norinaga posited that the most important quality of the Japanese
spirit was its sensitivity (mono no aware). Noringaga believed that The Tales of Genji was the
classic definition of this feeling seen in the courtier society of the Heian court. Norinaga writes,
The True Way is one and the same, in every country and throughout
Heaven-and-earth. This way, however, had been correctly transmitted only in our
imperial land. It’s transmission in all foreign countries was lost long ago in early
antiquity, and many varied Ways have been expounded, each country representing
its own Right Way...
80
[sic]
From these contrasting outlooks, we can develop an overarching theme: Japan as the land of
purity touched by foreign, meaning Chinese, ideology.
Kamo Mabuchi believed that poetry and prose were the superior medium for
communicating genuine sentiment. He asserted that oeuvre of Japanese poetry, especially the
verses of the Man’y!sh" were deserving of high praise. He believed the value of these verses
was twofold: first, composing poetry was socially beneficial and second, the verses in the
Man’y!sh" were composed before the introduction of Buddhism and Confucianism which made
them vehicles for expressing the virtues and sentiments of “true heart” (magokoro).
81
Mabuchi
emphasized a return to a more natural “Way” and the spontaneous spirit of the past while
Norinaga regarded the “Way” as a product of divine origin and given to the people by earthly
representatives, and the unbroken chain of succession of divine emperors from the beginning of
time.
82

32
79
Totman, Japan Before Perry A Short History, 184
80
Nosco, Wm. de Bary, Carol Gluck, and Tiedemann, 496
81
Nosco, Wm. de Bary, Carol Gluck, and Tiedemann, Nosco, Wm. de Bary, Carol Gluck, and Tiedemann 483-4
82
Nosco, Wm. de Bary, Carol Gluck, and Tiedemann
Figure 13: Hirata Atsutane (http://www.en.wikipedia.org)

In the nineteenth century, Hirata Atsutane (1776-1843, figure 13) used foundational
myths to argue that the Japanese were the chosen people, whose country was founded by the Sun
Deity and who enjoyed the special protection of the deities (kami). Atsutane is credited with
popularizing Shint! nativism through the singular assertion of Japan’s cultural supremacy as an
extension of eighteenth century trends in Shint! theology. Atsutane incorporated other traditions
including Western science to make his argument in support of Shint!. He also liberally co-opted
banned Christian texts to argue against Confucianism in a manner that supported the supremacy
of Japan’s indigenous religion. Atsutane writes,
...People all over the world refer to Japan as the Land of the Gods and call us the
descendants of gods. Indeed, it is exactly as they say: as a special mark of favor
from heavenly gods, they gave birth to our country, and thus there is so immense
a difference between Japan and all other nations as to defy comparison.
83
Hirata stated that the reason that ancient Japan had not cultivated the Way of Virtue was the
Japanese were inherently virtuous therefore had no need to identify or preach virtue. Second, he
argued that the Japanese had no need to develop medicine because they were originally pure and
33
83
K!d! taii in Hirata Atsutane zensh", vol. 1, pp.22-23; quoted in Nosco, de Bary, Carol Gluck, and Tiedemann,
512
without disease, thus had no need for medicines. Only after contact with the outside world did
the Japanese need medical remedies.
84
The philosophy of the National Learning School was a
contributor to development of a national identity couched in the idea of Japan’s uniqueness
among the nations of world.
While Motoori Norinaga made the National Learning School a subject worthy of
attention, Hirata Atsutane popularized Shint! nativism by asserting the singular supremacy of
Japan, its culture, and the “Way.”
85
Atsutane’s focus on Shint! was an extension of intellectual
trends in eighteenth century theology. Much of what is understood about contemporary Shint!
can be traced back to the teachings of Norinaga’s imaginative renderings of the faith he claimed
to find in the Kojiki and Atsutane’s popularization of Shint!. Atsutane’s willingness to look to at
non-Japanese references, made him more open to foreign ideas than his predecessors. He
expressed great interest in Western subjects, especially astronomy because of its relevance to the
Shint! heliocentric cosmology.
86
He also made ample use Christian theological texts obtained
from missionaries in Beijing, adapting the writings of Matteo Ricci to support his arguments for
the supremacy of Shint!. At times, he also turned to Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism to
make his claims.
87
The scholars of the National Learning used the legacy of seventeenth and eighteenth
century philosophical discourse to reexamine Japanese traditions and craft new statements about
Japan’s imperial legacy, Shint!, and the world’s significance of the empire’s historical
34
84
Varley 218-19
85
Nosco, de Bary, Gluck, and Tiedemann, 509
86
Nosco, Wm. de Bary, Carol Gluck, and Tiedemann, 510
87
Nosco, Wm. de Bary, Carol Gluck, and Tiedemann
experience.
88
They also gleaned information about the West from the Dutch traders in Nagasaki,
assembling a body of work on the subject that informed their views. The result was a new study
on the proper character of polity and society. Beginning in the mid-eighteenth century the
development of this new discourse was simultaneous with the end of the creative forces
generated by the samurai and merchants, who managed the bureaucratic order. New social
forces and intellectual ideas were emerging, foreshadowing the coming age.
89
The scholarship of
The National Learning School was part of the redefinition of Japan-ness that gave way to a
cultural redefinition based on an ethnic identity.
Antiquarianism
Another element in defining Japan-ness was antiquarianism and its role in giving Japan a
sense of prehistory. Pre-seventeenth century Japanese historic sources refer to ancient and
curious artifacts, attributing them to a supernatural origins in a similar manner as their European
counterparts. The oldest known description of an ancient artifact, “Ethnography of
Fudoki” (Hitachi Fudoki), was written by Naga-gun in the Nara period.
90
Accounts from the
early Heian period describe stone arrowheads believed to have fallen from the sky. Around 1600
supernatural and mythological reason gave away to scientific understanding with the emergence
of a strong centralized national state under the Tokugawa dynasty and exposure to the West.
35
88
Totman, Japan Before Perry A Short History, 205
89
Totman, 199
90
Yoshimasa Kamaki, A survey of Jomon culture, Nihon No Kokogaku, 2 Translated manuscript in Library of
Japanese Prehistory, Department of Anthropology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, 1965; quoted in Michael A.
Hoffman; “The Rise of Antiquarianism in Japan and Western Europe;” Arctic Anthropology, V ol. 11 Supplement:
Festschrift Issue in Honor of Chester S. Chard; (1974); pp. 182-188; University of Wisconsin Press; http://
www.jstor.org/stable/40315813 (date accessed February 28, 2012);
Despite officially hostile attitudes towards the West, there were several intellectual threads that
developed, which led Japanese scholarship to a new view of the past. The first was
antiquarianism in the early seventeenth century, followed by the rise of Neo-Shintoism, the
influence of Dutch Learning, and the emergence of a formal and scholarly approach to history
which embraced the techniques of ethnohistory and prehistoric archeology.
91

As in Europe, by the eighteenth and early nineteenth century a strong antiquarian interest
emerged among the educated Japanese. Artifacts such as stone tools, pottery shards, ancient
bronzes, and fossils were described in books and members of local antiquarian societies would
display these objects. However, all of this interest did not lead to any systematic cataloging or
study of archeology.
92
In short, the important features that characterized Japanese antiquarianism
and archeology were: the role of nascent nationalism and political stabilization, aristocratic
patronage, the rise of anti-Chinese (anti-classical) nationalistic and antiquarian Neo-Shintoism,
Dutch Learning, and the development of a scholarly tradition of prehistoric and antiquarian
research within the context to intellectual generalities with the stress on accurate field work and
documentation.
93

36
91
Hoffman, 186
92
Bleed, 1986; Ikawa-Smith, 1982; quoted in Hoffman, 36
93
Hoffman, 186-7
Figure 14: Professor Edward S. Morse(http://www.etc.usf.edu)
In the Meiji period, the first scientific investigation of an archeological site was
undertaken by self-educated American Professor of Zoology Edward Sylvester Morse
(1838-1925 figure 14), shortly after he arrived in 1877. Morse was affiliated with the Peabody
Academy of Science in Salem, Massachusetts and taught biology at the T!ky! Imperial
University. Professor Morse, the author of Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings (1885) the
first Western scholarship on Japanese architecture, developed a deep affection for Japanese
culture and its artifacts and is “credited with inspiring the Japanese effort to preserve their
national treasures by controlling their sale to foreigners.”
94
The same year Morse arrived in
Japan, he observed a cut made through a low mound near #mori Station on the outskirts of
T!ky!. He immediately recognized it as shell midden, a rubbish heap made from layers of
discarded shells reaching depths of a meter or more, and associated with sites of early human
habitation. The midden dated to approximately 3500 BCE, when much of the shoreline of T!ky!
Bay consisted of shallow inlets perfect for gathering various shellfish.
95
This enabled the area to
37
94
Robert A. Rosenstone, Learning from Those Imitative Japanese: Another side of the American Experience in the
Mikado’ s Empire, 85 Am. Historical Rev. 572 (1980), quoted in Scott, 336
95
Rosenstone, 37
support and sustain large and stable settlements. Morse’s findings were published in Japan and
were widely recognized as setting a high standard for the field. He accurately identified the
site’s inhabitants as “prehistoric,” thus introducing the Japanese to the concept of prehistory.
Concurrent with Morse’s findings was the rise of a new form of Nationalism that focused
on cultural identity, National Romanticism (alternately Romantic Nationalism). This intellectual
trend continued into the twentieth century and contributed to the preservation of historic secular
sites.
96
National Romanticism combined two-nineteenth century ideologies that were linked to
the struggle for political legitimacy of a geographic region. It core belief was, “...indigenous
arts, history, music, and folk traditions of a nation contributed to the spiritual and political
survival of its people.” It was a response to pervasive internationalism that was perceived as a
threat to unity within a single geographic group.
97
Takeuchi Mito, citing Bruce Stronach writes,
“...Nationalism involves a group’s perception of itself as distinct from others, and the awareness
of its members as components of the group...It is this that leads nationalism to become territorial,
to develop an attachment to a certain land as home...”
98
In the Meiji period National
Romanticism became a springboard for a discourse on cultural nationalism and the redefinition
of an ethnic identity.

38
96
Inaba, Nobuko, Ph.D; “Policy and System of Urban/Territorial Conservation;” presented at the 7
th
Seminar on the
Conservation of Asian Cultural Heritage The World Cultural Heritage in Asian Countries Sustainable Development
and Conservation; (Tokyo National Research Institute of Cultural Properties, 1998); http://www.tobunken.go.jp/
~kokusen/ENGLISH/SEMINAR/7SEMINAR/inaba.html (date accessed December 19, 2011)
97
Oxford Art Online; “National Romanticism;” http://www.oxfordonline.com.libproxy.usc.edu (date accessed July
2, 2012)
98
Bruce Stronach, introduction to Beyond The Rising Sun: Nationalism in contemporary Japan; (Westport, CT,
Praeger Publisher, 1995); quoted in Takeuchi, Mito “The Reinforcement of Cultural Nationalism In Japan: An
Investigation of Japaneseness and “the Notebook for the Heart;” http://www.tru.ca/jsac2006/pdf/
jsac2006_proceedings_mito_takeuechi_manuscript.Pdf (date accessed June 28, 2012)
Figure 15: Yanagi Soetsu (http://www.mambrinoshelmet.com)
The years between 1910 and 1920s was a significant period in Japanese intellectual
history. New developments in mass communications made numerous translations of Western
scholarship available for wide dissemination. It was also a time when criticism of modern
industrial capitalism by John Ruskin,William Morris, and Leo Tolstoy were gaining currency
triggering similar analyses and led to the development of social movements in Japan.
Encouraged by revisionist Western ideas, Japanese intellectuals began to search for an alternative
Japanese-type modernization with its own national identity.
99
In Japan, the works of Ruskin and
Morris helped inspire the development of Mingei (folk craft) theory by writer Yanagi Sôetsu
(1889-1961 figure 15 above), who lead the nation wide campaign for the revival of indigenous
crafts
John Ruskin was introduced in 1888 in the magazine Kokumin no Tomo (Friends of the
Nation) by Tokutomi Sohô. William Morris was first presented in Eikoku Bungakushi (History
of English Literature) by Shibue Tamotsu in 1891. There is further evidence to suggest that
39
99
Yuko Kikuchi, Japanese Modernisation And Mingei Theory; (Routledge Curzon, London and New York, 2004);
24
Yanagi did read and show interest in Ruskin and Morris based on the collected letters, books, and
notes at the Japanese Folk Craft Museum. Mingei Theory emphasized “...the supreme beauty of
hand made folk craft for ordinary use made by unknown craftsmen working in groups free of ego
and free of desire to be famous or rich, merely working to earn their daily bread.”
100
In Kôgei no
Michi (The Way of Crafts), Kôgei Biron no Senkusha ni tsuite (About the Predecessors of Crafts
Aesthetic), written in 1927, Yanagi claimed his theories were original and borrowed nothing
from John Ruskin and William Morris. However, Wendy Jones Nakanishi disputes this claim,
writing, “Yanagi supposedly constructed his ‘Mingei’ theory at roughly the same time (1927-8)
as the publication of his book Kôgei no Michi (The Way of Crafts), widely considered the
‘Bible’ of the movement.”
101
Yanagi’s appropriations of John Ruskin’s and William Morris’s
theories on craftwork would not be out of character with the Japanese trend towards adoption,
adaptation, and assimilation of Western ideology.
Yanagi’s quest for national cultural ethnic identity developed simultaneously with the
growth in cultural nationalism, came to the forefront in the 1890s in the fields of language, art,
and architecture. Ironically, Japanese cultural nationalism, was a reaction to the Westernization
encouraged by the Meiji government but was still dependent on Western notions of “nation,”
“nationality,” “ethnicity,” and “culture” as well as the “scientific” disciplines in Western
historiography in order for the Japanese to create their own national identity. The result of which
is a hybrid (yûgo) of east and west under the banner of tôzai o utte ichigan to suru (forge east and
40
100
Yuko Kikuchi, ”The Myth of Yanagi’s Originality: The Formation of “Mingei” Theory in its Social and Historical
Context,” Journal of Design History, V olume 1, No. 4, (1994), Oxford University Press on behalf of the Design
History Society, pages 247-266, http://www.jstor.org, (date accessed June 17, 2008)
101
Wendy Jones Nakanishi, “The Anxiety of Influence Ambivalent Relations Between Japan’s ‘Mingei’ and
Britain’s ‘Arts and Crafts’ Movement,” Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies; Discussion Paper 8
(2008); http://www.japanesestudies.org/discussionpapers/2008/Nakanishi.html (date accessed March 8, 2012); 1-16
west into one).
102
From the 1880s onward, Japanese ethnicity was the subject of debate in
conjunction with the development of the field of anthropology in Japan based in Western
scholarship and European ethnic nationalism.
Mingei theory was Japan’s first modern craft and design theory created in the twenties
and was used in association with the development of a national identity in context to
“Orientalism.” “Orientalism,” like “medievalism” and “primitivism,” triggered Western interest
in Japanese art during the nineteenth century, growing out of the interest in Chinese, Indian, and
Middle Eastern art. The word “Orientalism” contains a circular construct of how Orient is
defined. First, “Orientalism” influenced how Japan defined its own art. Second, Japan applied
“Orientalism” not only to itself but also the art from other Asian countries, “Oriental
Orientalism.”
103
Finally, “Oriental Orientalism” was projected back to the West by Japan, thus
reinforcing an understanding of Japan by the West that both Western and Eastern.
104
Orientalism
also had an impact on the way Mingei theory was evaluated. Mingei theory was considered by
the West to be an “authentic” and “traditional” Eastern theory partly due to Yanagi who created
an impression of Orientalism using Buddhist rhetoric.
105
One example of Yanagi’s application of
“Oriental Orientalism” is his appreciation for Okinawan handicraft. Yanagi Sôetsu greatly
admired the handiwork of the Okinawans and was also taken by the architecture and landscape
of the people. Yanagi overlapped his images of Naha, the capital of Okinawa and Shuri, a
41
102
Kikuchi, ”Hybridity and the Oriental Orientalism of Mingei Theory,” 349
103
Kikuchi, 349
104
Kikuchi
105
Kikuchi
district of the city of Naha,
106
the with those of T!daiji, Sangatsud!, and T!sh!daiji in Nara.
Yanagi Sôetsu did not evaluate the work of the Okinawans and the Ainu with a Japanese
construct, instead he used a Western construct.
At the same time Yanagi was developing his ideas on Japanese handicraft, theories of
cultural nationalism were beginning to take shape. Cultural nationalism is characterized by
internationalist and imperialist tendencies, and manifested itself in Japan as Pan-Asianism.
Originally defined in Japanese terms, it sought a common religious and aesthetic foundation with
other Asian nations and exploited by Japanese colonialism.
107
This period saw the emergence of
a specific use of ethnicity and the new term minzoku (the ethnic nation) as a way to redefine
national membership in the context to a modern political state.
108
This newly formed sense of
ethnic identity was fraught with a complex variety of political values which later informed ideas
of racism, fascism, populism, and democracy.
109
At the dawn of the twentieth century,
representations of a national identity were moving away from the careful constructs of the Meiji
State to a more natural version of an ethnic nation centered on cultural and populist motifs. One
early attempt to redefine the Meiji idea of a national identity was the 1899 Nationality Law and
the Law for the Protection of Former Hokkaido Aborigines, which contained an early concept of
an ethnic nation vis-a-vis indigenous people. In a larger sense, Japan’s new, more natural sense
of ethnic identity was part of a global movement of creating national identity through ethnicity.
42
106
Both Naha and Shuri are currently inscribed as World Heritage Sites. http://www.whc.unesco.org/en/list/972/
multiple=1&unique_number=1136 (date accessed October 9, 2012)
107
Helen Hardacre; de Bary, Gluck, and Tiedemann, 790
108
Sharon A. Minichiello, editor Kevin Doak and Jonathan Reynolds, Japan’ s Competing Modernities Issues in
Culture and Democracy 1900-1930, (Honolulu, Hawai’i, University of Hawai’i Press, 1998); 181, Doak is quoting
Yoon, Keun-Cha 1993; “Minzoku gens! no satetsu;” Shis! 834; 4-37
109
Minichiello, ed; Doak and Reynolds
The growing ethnic national identity discourse in early twentieth century Japan can be explained
as a process that superimposed domestic worries over international trends in race and racial
studies.
In the twentieth century, Western scholarship on nationalism, race, and cultural identity
entered Japanese intellectual discourse and provided a foundation for a more natural cultural
identity. Populist movements in the post World War I period placed emphasis on the individual
identity. In the thirties, the definition of Japan-ness became a collective construct as more
virulent nationalism made its way into the conversation. As Japan moved into the 1930s the
issue took on more ominous tones as racism and fascism began to creep into the discussion. The
definition of the Japanese cultural identity was changing in response to events outside the nation.
The Manchurian Incident in 1931 and The Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937 added an element
of ultra-nationalism to the conversation. It was hoped that Manchuria (called Manchukuo under
Japanese Occupation), together with the Korean and Taiwanese Occupations, would be bound
together in a great economic bloc to bring prosperity to all the emperor’s subjects.
110
The Manchurian Incident provided fertile territory for a resurgence of chauvinistic
nationalism and traditional values. Conservative politicians, with the support of the military,
mobilized the schools to orchestrate the revival of the “Japanese spirit” based on devotion to the
emperor and the national polity (kokutai).
111
Mythologies were presented as authentic history
and school children were admonished to become courageous soldiers and punish those who
questioned the official party line.
112
The Great Depression heightened demands from nationalists
43
110
Buruma, 93
111
Duus, 215
112
Hane and Perez, 303
that Japan abandon its unproductive cooperation with the West and act independently in foreign
affairs. While the military was involved in conflict on the continent, ultra-nationalist groups
mounted a campaign of terror against capitalists, party leaders, and anyone they considered
responsible for the country’s critical state of affairs brought on by the hardships that resulted
from conflict in China. They called for a Sh!wa Restoration, the destruction of bad ministers of
state and the restoration of power to the emperor.
113
In August 1937, as part of the wartime
efforts, local censors began enforcing regulations that prohibited any suggestions that the
Japanese were opposed to war, hinted that the Japanese were warlike, commented that living
conditions in Japan would be harmed by conflict, or suggested the shortcomings of the Japanese
and prompt public confusion.
114
Critic Takahashi Haruo wrote, “...the topic of things Japanese
was no longer an object of discussion but rather an absolute and sacred concept.”
115

44
113
Varley, 296
114
The guidelines, distributed to publishers and newspapers by the Home Ministry (Namush!), reproduced in S!ma
Sh!ichi, Wakakihi no Sakaguchi Ango; (Tokyo: Y!y!sha, 1992), pp.250-51. English translation available at Richard
H. Mitchell, Censorship in Imperial Japan; (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1983), p. 306, quoted in Dorsey,
347-8
115
Takahashi Haruo, “Nihon bunka shikan’ to ‘Darakuron’ no aida,” in Moriyasu Masafumi and Takano Yoshitomo,
eds., Sakaguchi Ango kenky" (Tokyo: Nans!sha, 1973), p. 306; Dorsey

Figure16: Sakaguchi Ango (http://www.wordpress.com)
As Japan drifted further and further into perilous waters, writer and critic Sakaguchi Ango
(figure 16) questioned the validity of Japan’s national treasures and their contribution to national
identity. Sakaguchi’s essay “Nihon bunka shikan” (A personal view of Japanese culture),
published in Gendai bungaku (Contemporary Literature) in March 1942, three months into the
Pacific War, was one of the most controversial cultural criticisms published in Japan. Written at
the apex of Japan’s war efforts, it was a bold examination of national identity, making this paper
an oddity at time when writers were being suppressed by heavy government censorship, forcing
them to compose with utmost care. In the opening salvos of his essay, Sakaguchi upends the
official hierarchy of cultural practices and objects, taking aim at a wide range of Japanese
cultural icons, specifically targeting Bruno Taut’s appraisal of Katsura Detached Palace.
116
For
example he writes,
45
116
Dorsey
“I know next to nothing about traditional Japanese culture. I’ve never seen the
Katsura Detached Palace which Bruno Taut praised so highly,...I am not much of
a tourist, so the towns and villages of our homeland, with all their various local
customs and landmarks, are a mystery to me...On top of that, I was born in what
Taut called the most vulgar city in Japan, Niigata, and I adore the strip running
from Ueno to Ginza and the neon lights, both of which he despised...”
117

This rather blunt statement set the tone for a sustained attack on a wide variety of cultural icons.
Sakaguchi’s pursuit of “convenience” prompted him to defend the Western inflected lifestyle of
his contemporaries at time when it was being looked on with suspicion.
Furthermore,
“What is the essence of the ‘Japanese spirit’”? We, of all people, do not need to
theorize on that,...We yank trousers over our tubby bowlegs, deck ourselves out in
Western clothes, waddle about, dance the jitterbug, toss out tatami [straw mats
used for floor covering], and strike our affected poses amidst tacky chairs and
tables. That this appears absurd to the Western eye has absolutely no bearing on
the fact that we ourselves are satisfied with the convenience of it all.
118

At first read, he seems to make fun of the Western affectations of his fellow countrymen thus
playing into the realpolitik of the period. He concludes this statement by noting that as absurd as
it all appears, the Japanese appreciate all the conveniences of the Western lifestyle. His
reputation as a tireless critic of reductive definitions of national cultural and identity was
cemented in the postwar period with the essay “Darakuron” (Discourse on Decadence, 1946).
Both essays share much of the same rhetoric and message and it was no surprise that they were
sanctioned. “Nihon bunka shikan” was a scathing attack on the embrace of all things Western
46
117
Sakaguchi Ango; “Nihon bunka shikan” (“Shikan”), in V ol 7 of Okuno Takeo et al., eds, Teihon Sakaguchi Ango
zensh" (SAZ), 13 vols, (Tokyo: T!jusha, 1968), translations are by James Dorsey, “A Personal View of Japanese
Culture,” J. Thomas Rimer and Van Gessel, eds. The Columbia anthology of Modern Japanese Literature; (New
York: Columbia University Press, date unknown), Dorsey, 348
118
“Shikan,”141, quoted in Dorsey, 349
while “Darakuron” was accepted by the public in the wake of surrender and freed from wartime
censorship.
119

The point to Sakaguchi’s scathing attacks on Japanese cultural icons is that he is
questioning their validity at time when cultural nationalism is high. He questions why a
monument like Katsura is more worthy of scholarly examination then Kurumazaki Shrine,
dedicated to the yen and Arashiyama Theater, a run-down filthy vaudeville hall. These sites are
not grand places of historic significance, rather they celebrate the foibles of the human condition:
greed and biological urges. By extension, why are certain monuments and more worthy of
protection under the preservation laws passed in 1919, 1929, and 1933? In “Nihon bunka
shikan,” Sakaguchi reacts to the core of Taut’s argument: beauty and values of Japanese culture
is based on it being “purely” Japanese.
120
He cuts the questionable link that bound art and
culture to issues of nationhood inferring,
...regardless of personality an individual is drawn by some innate urge to abide by
certain customs and traditions. However, it does not stand to reason that just
because a practice existed in Japan long ago, it is somehow innately Japanese. It
is quite conceivable that customs followed in foreign countries and not in Japan
are, in fact, [sic] more intimately suited to the Japanese.
121

The primary issue was defining what was “suitable” or convenient, regardless of national origin.
The disconnect between culture and nationality is his rationale for defending a Westernized
lifestyle.
122
If greater convenience was the result was convenience then, the “apish imitation is
47
119
Dorsey 350
120
Dorsey, 356
121
Sakaguchi, “Shikan,” p. 134, Ibid
122
Dorsey, 356
as precious as creativity.”
123
He rejected all attempts to analyze and develop the idea of a
national essence deriding them as “rhetorical contrivance” and instead called for a spiritual
purity or authenticity, available in the realm that previously existed to such abstractions and
ideology.
124
Sakaguchi Ango’s casual dismissal of the national roots of cultural practice was
revolutionary at time when the eradication of foreign influences was a national priority.
Nationalism has been a part of Japanese culture from since the beginning of its recorded
history. During the Ed! period, the emphasis was Japan’s indigenous culture, history, and the
role it played in legitimatizing the shogunate. The National Learning School developed as a
reaction to the Confucianist ideology introduced from China and by analyzing foundational texts,
the proponents of this philosophy hoped to discover the true essence of Japan. During the late
Meiji and Taish! periods, the definition of cultural identity began to shift towards a natural and
collective identity based on Western ideas of race, culture, the nation, and the state. This
ultimately led to more virulent strains of nationalism and militarism as Japan moved closer to
World War II. In the late thirties, Sakaguchi Ango responded to Bruno Taut’s scholarship on
Katsura Detached Palace by questioning the validity of Western constructs in determining what
was worthy of designation. Sakaguchi argued that a Shint! shrine dedicate to the yen was just as
worthy of designation as Ise Grand Shrine because it captured the essence of the human
condition. He rejected efforts to define national identity, dismissing them as verbal
machinations, instead calling for spiritual authenticity. The various analyses of what constituted
Japanese identity helped inform the Preservation Laws through the expanding scope of properties
and sites that held a connection to the Japanese national identity.
48
123
Sakaguchi, “Shikan,” p. 141, Dorsey
124
Dorsey, 349-50
III. The Preservation Laws
Early preservation laws were the first real effort by the Meiji government to catalog and
protect the country’s cultural heritage. There have been a myriad of laws, additional laws,
imperial edicts, rules and regulations that were and continue to be relevant to the field.
125
The
main laws that served as the building blocks for the 1950 Law for the Protection of Cultural
Properties were the 1871 Plan for The Preservation of Ancient Artifacts, the 1897 Law for the
Preservation of Ancient Shrines and Temples, the 1919 Law for Preservation of Historic Sites,
Scenic Spots, and Natural History Preserves, the 1929 National Preservation Law, and the 1933
Law for Preservation of Important Art Objects. These laws were augmented by amendments
such as: Preservation of Rituals of Shrines (Law Number159), The 1895 Application for
Preservation, and the Archeological Finds Preserved by Prefectures (Law Number 221). Taken
together, these laws and edict parallel Japan’s cultural redefinition from the mid-nineteenth
century through the twentieth century. They were enacted as a response to events within and
without the nation and gradually widened the scope of preservation. This chapter is a
chronological discussion of the various laws, regulations, and amendments that led to the 1950
Law for the Protection Cultural Properties in relation to their social and cultural history.
49
125
Scott
The 1871 Plan for The Preservation of Ancient Artifacts
! The 1871 Plan for The Preservation of Ancient Artifacts (hereafter the 1871 Plan) was
sponsored by the Meiji government and based on the legacy of the Tokugawa period and limited
to temples and shrines. During the Ed! era, the shogunate supported temples and other religious
institutions that were connected to the Tokugawa family and Imperial household. This changed in
the early Meiji period as anything connected to the old regime was suspect, while objects and
buildings associated with the new order received greater consideration. For example, objects
connected with the establishment of State Shint! and important shrines began receiving
subsidizes as early as 1874.
126
From the outset, it was not the intention of the new government to
completely abandon long-held tradition. Its goal was modernization instead of large-scale
Westernization and could be summed up in the words of Sakuma Sh!zan, “Eastern ethics and
Western science.”
127
In conjunction with this objective, traditional culture was placed under
government protection, which led to The Preservation of Antiquities and Ancient Goods, Cabinet
Announcement in 1871, the government’s first effort to inventory it historic resources to select
properties suitable for preservation.
The Meiji Emperor Mutsuhito set the tone for his reign by issuing Charter Oath of Five
Articles in April 1868. The Charter Oath formally ended the Tokugawa shogunate and installed
the Meiji government.
128
Three years later, Japan enacted the 1871 Plan in response to art and
archeological artifacts being sold to foreigners, rapid industrialization and urbanization with the
50
126
Enders, R.C.T. and Niels Gutschow, Hozon Architectural and Urban Conservation in Japan Edition Axel
Menges, (Stuttgart, Germany and London, England, Bild und Text, 1996); 12
127
William H. Coaldrake, Architecture and Authority in Japan; (London and New York, Routledge, 1996); 248
128
“The Charter Oath (Of The Meiji Restoration)” Primary Source Document with Questions; Asia For Educators
Columbia University; http://afe.easia.columbia.edu (dated accessed October 22, 2012)
goal of creating an inventory of cultural properties built on the previous regime’s support of
temples and shrines connected with the Imperial family and the Tokugawa clan. The
preservation laws were part of legal reforms, based on the French and German legal codes, and
were slowly being enacted to make Japan more acceptable to foreign travelers and businesses.
These reforms were part of Japan’s program of learning from the West with the hope that, by
assimilating Western civilization, Japan could take its place in the global community. Part of
learning from the West included changes in architectural education gave Japan a firmer grasp on
its built heritage and introduced new building methods.
The Council of State issued the 1871 Plan ordering prefectures, temples, and shrines to
assist with compiling a national register of important buildings and art treasures.
129
The 1871
Plan was referred to by historian Nishimura Yuki as the first preservation regulation that
addressed religious institutions that suffered financially from nationalization.
130
The Daigaku, an
ancestor to the Ministry of Education (Mombusho), decreed the designation of thirty-one
categories of cultural artifacts be placed under protection with the express purpose of stimulating
appreciation from their owners and prevent properties from being sold.
131
The Order of the
Grand Administration Office of May 23, 1871 declared,
Against deplorable loss or damage of antiquities that are significant examples of
changing systems and customs of ages in the course of time, such antiquities
must be preserved in districts for future generations.
132
51
129
Coaldrake
130
Choi Don; “Meiji Restorations: Defining Preservation, Education, and Architecture for Modern Japan;”Offprint
From Preservation Education and Research; V olume Two, 2009 1-14; http://www.ncpe.us/per2articles/choi.pdf
(date accessed February 28, 2012)
131
Scott, 346
132
The National Treasures Preservation Law (March 28, 1929), Law No. 17, Imperial Ordinance No. 203, in §V
(Preservation of National Treasures) of the 1938 Edition of Genko H!rei Shuran; cited in Interdepartmental
Committee for the Acquisition of Foreign Publication, SCAP (on file with Geoffrey Scott), quoted Scott, 347
In 1874, as part of a continuing effort to extend protection to ancient artifacts, the Council of
State issued Law Number 59, which required a report and registration of shell mounds and
ancient tombs.
133
In 1875, the Meiji government passed the Preservation of Rituals of Shrines
(Law Number159), formally declaring the shrines as National Treasures.
134
From 1880 onward
the government allotted funds for the preservation of shrines and temples, however, the focus
was on repair and rehabilitation. Law Number 59 was followed in 1880 by Law Number 3,
issued by the Imperial Household Agency (kunaisho) which obliged private landowners who
discovered ancient tombs on their properties to register it with the agency.
135
In 1888, a special
office for the inventory of treasures (rinji zenkoku h!motsu torishirabe kyoku) was established
within the Imperial Household Agency.
136
By 1894, five hundred thirty-nine shrines and temples
received funds for repair (sh"zen) and reconstruction (saiken).
By 1889 a National survey taken by the Imperial Household Ministry identified 215, 091
treasures (homotsu) worthy of designation.
137
The reconsideration of the significance of historic
and cultural resources was partly due to the insistence of foreign advisors such as Ernest
Fenollosa, and German architects Wilhelm Böckmann and Hermann Ende, who argued for
incorporating traditional Japanese architectural features in their work. This forced government
officials to reassess its attitudes towards civilization and enlightenment and resulted, after 1885,
52
133
Scott, 347
134
Scott, appendix 1: Compliation of Various Cultural Property Protection Laws of Japan, from The Cultural
Property Laws Of Japan: Social, Political, and Legal Influences; (Seattle, Pacific Rim Law and Policy Journal
Association, 2003), 389 Japanese Cultural Resources Report No. 3 of the Civil Info and Educ. Sec. Research and
Info. Div (February 1, 1946) (Index of Rules for Administration of Preservation)(on file with Scott)
135
Enders. and Gutschow, 12
136
Enders. and Gutschow
137
Alexander MacKay-Smith IV , “Mission to preserve and protect;” The Japan Times Academy, April 29, 2000; 1
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fa20000429a2.html (date accessed December 19, 2011)
in the Ministry of Interior allocating funds for the preservation of temples and shrines. This led
to the repair of a number of historically significant temples and shrines around the Ky!t!-Nara
area. This program of repair included: the Kon-d! of T!shodaiji (figure 17), the Five-Story
Pagoda of Daigoji (figure 18), and the Hon-d! of Kiyomizu-dera (figure 19).
138
At first, the
funds were provided through the Imperial Household Agency, but in 1888 a “Provisional Bureau
for Investigation of National Treasures was established within the agency, marking the
consolidation of preservation and restoration activities.
139
Figure 17: Kon-d! of T!shodaiji (http://www.toppan.co.uk)
53
138
Bunkazai hogo iinkai jimukyoku kenz!butsuka (It! Nobuo); “Bunkazai (kenz!butsu) hogo jigy!, Kenchiku
zasshi, December, 1959; pp. 1-2; quoted in Coaldrake 248
139
Coaldrake
Figure 19: Five-Story Pagoda of Daigoji (http://www.onlyrooms.com), left
Figure 20: Hon-d! of Kiyomizu-dera (http://www.kyoto.asanoxn.com), right
The program of modernization and westernization extended to Japan’s legal traditions
and government institutions. The legal reforms enacted during the early Meiji era were inspired
by the observations made by Kido Takayoshi during the Iwakura Mission. The goal of reforms
was to make Japan more acceptable to Western business and visitors. The Tokugawa regime’s
legal system was based on a rule-by-status instead of the Western of rule-by-law. What emerged
was a system defined by some legal scholars as rule-by-law instead of rule-of-law. Japan’s first
introduction to foreign law came from A Treatise on Western Public Law
140
written by Tsuda
Mamichi and published in 1868. This book was based on his notes taken during lectures he
attended at the University of Leyden. Beginning in 1870, the Meiji leaders turned to the French
civil law as their model.
141
In 1877 French legal expert Emile Gustave Boissanade de Fontarabie
was invited to Japan as a consultant and given the task with drafting the first Criminal Code and
54
140
Chitoshi, Yanaga, Japan Since Perry 6 (1949), cited in Scott, 327
141
Scott, 328; for further discussion see Hideo Tanaka, The Japanese Legal System; 179 (Hideo Tanaka ed. 1976)
and W.G. Beasley, Forword to Paul Heng-Chao Ch’en; The Formation Of The Early Meiji Legal Order, The
Japanese Code Of 1871 And Its Chinese Foundation; (1981)
Code of Criminal Procedure,
142
formally adopted in 1888. Although there was a commitment to
the idea of administration under law, there were no legal limitations imposed on policy formation
or legislation.
143

In the 1880s, the French tradition of civil law gradually lost favor and was replaced by
the German civil law tradition. An accommodation was eventually made that allowed German
legal principle to be incorporated into the civil code, effective in 1898. The Civil Law tradition
accepts that in some cases a thief can pass bona fide legal title to a legitimate purchaser for
value. Whereas in the Common Law tradition, a thief cannot pass good legal title to a
successor.
144
The emphasis on civil law is a contributor to Japan’s status in the global
community regarding the protection of cultural property and makes it difficult to agree to
international conventions such as the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the
Illicit Import, Exports and Transfer of Ownership (1970). The convention is a binding agreement
and only applicable to cultural objects that were stolen or illicitly exported from one member
nation to another after the date of entry into the agreement. This facilitated more aggressive
responses from countries that have keenly felt the loss of cultural assets and frequently
complicates recovery efforts by the international community. The 1871 Plan was part of the
legal reforms that were enacted during the Meiji period and created an inventory of historic and
cultural resources. Unfortunately, it left many other valuable resources connected to the Imperial
household and the Tokugawa regime vulnerable to export, theft, and deterioration. To save
55
142
Scott
143
Rule-of-law, in which limitations are fixed by the law in deference to a consideration of fundamental human
rights and electoral process did not come in existence until after World War II. For a further discussion see Dan F.
Henderson, “Law and Political Modernization in Japan;”Political Development in Modern Japan; Robert E. Ward
(Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1968), Scott, 415
144
Scott, 328-9
precious resources from further sale, legitimate or otherwise, or destruction, the Meiji
government needed to recognize their value. One step in the process of recognizing the value of
historic resources was a change in architectural education.
In the years immediately following the Restoration, the government vigorously promoted
Western-style architecture for public buildings such as train stations, schools, and ministry
offices, encouraging masonry building in variations of Western styles. Architecture was also
profoundly shaped by government policy, notably the separation of Buddhist and Shint!
institutions; suppressing the former and making the latter a pillar of the modern state.
145
To
accomplish this endeavor, The Department of Public Works established the Imperial College of
Engineering in 1876, employing British professors to train scientists, architects, and engineers
for the state. Josiah Conder was among this group invited to Japan to teach architecture students
how to design in the latest mode. Conder brought the design philosophy of mid-nineteenth
century Great Britain that asserted modern buildings should have a foundation in past. Conder’s
approach reflected the prevailing attitudes of his contemporaries who believed that buildings
should develop from a national past.
146
However, this philosophy was at odds with the Meiji
leaders who desired Western looking buildings to attract foreign businesses and visitors. As he
attempted to apply this principle to Japan and was met with roadblocks in his efforts to relate
Japan’s past to the mode of architecture desired by the Meiji government.
147
Conder was able to
find a few points of intersection between the wooden post-and-beam architecture of Japan and
the masonry buildings of Europe, only the symbolism, content, and ornament differed. Thus, in
56
145
Choi, 4
146
Choi
147
Choi, 4-5
the face of government attempts to sponsor the wide spread dissemination of Western
architecture, there was no viable Japanese architectural past that Conder and others could use for
modern purposes
Figure 21: It! Chûta (http://www.jfindia.org.in)
In the late nineteenth century, architect and historian It! Chûta (figure 21) undertook a
thorough analysis of H!ry"ji, concluding that it was the last link in a chain that stretched back to
Alexander the Great. It! attempted to stake a claim for Japanese architecture within the
trajectory of global architecture by connecting H!ry"ji with the great monuments of the Greco-
Roman tradition. It!’s “Essay on the Architecture of H!ry"ji,” based on his graduate thesis, was
the first extended analysis of a Japanese historical site.
148
Other students had attempted brief
documentations of Japanese architecture, but It!’s was the first to offer a more rigorous analysis
of a specific site.
149
His discussion centered on the buildings themselves, placing them in an
extended chronological and geographic context. He argued that the temple was the terminus in a
57
148
Choi, 6
149
Prof. Choi cites the 1879 thesis of Tatsuno Kingo and Sone Tatsuzô on the future of domestic architecture, which
begins with a brief outline of developments in Japanese architecture. In 1881, Kuru Masamichi submitted “History
and Theory of Japanese Architecture. Ishii Keikichi wrote “A Short History of the Development of Buddhist Temple
Architecture in Japan” (Honpô butsuji kenchiku enkaku ryaksuhi). For a further discussion see Ôta, HIrotarô;
Kenchikushi sendatsutachi); Tokyo: Shôkokusha; 1983. Choi
line of architecture that stretched back to Alexander the Great. In his thesis, It! speculated,
150

“...the entasis of the columns of H!ry"ji, one of the oldest buildings in Japan, had originated in
Greece.” He continued, while the temple maintains its appearance of the Chinese style of
architecture, it preserved the old traditions of India with echoes of the Greek styles.
151
It!
attempted to create a legitimate place for Japanese architecture within the chronological
trajectory of architectural history. Like Okakura Tenshin who used paintings and sculpture to
stake Japan’s claim of being the storehouse of Asian culture, It! used H!ry"-ji to make a similar
assertion about Japan’s traditional architecture. In the late nineteenth century, the direction of
architectural education and preservation began to shift as buildings and objects of unique
historical value and aesthetic quality were recognized for the value to Japanese cultural history.
The field surveys of Ernest Fenollosa and Okakura Tenshin uncovered a wealth of historic and
cultural resources that helped identify sites potentially worthy of preservation.

58
150
It! Ch"ta; H!ry"ji Kenchikuron (On The Architecture of H!ry"ji); Kenchiku Zasshi (Architecture Journal);
August, 1930; quoted in Isozaki, 120
151
It!, 321; quoted in Choi, 7
Figure 22 Ernest Fenollosa (http://www.japan.org), left
Figure 23 Okakura Tenshin (http://www.tea.news.bulletea.com), right
During the 1880s American collector and philosophy professor Ernest Fenollosa
(1853-1908 figure 22) and his former student Okakura Tenshin (1862-1913 figure 23) taught at
the School of Fine Arts and frequently traveled throughout Japan on behalf of The National
Treasures Research Bureau of the Ministry of Education recording and registering historic and
cultural stock.
152
In September of 1888 the director of the Imperial Household Museum, Ryuichi
Kuki, created The Temporary All-Treasure Research Bureau of the Imperial Household. Under
the leadership of Fenollosa and Okakura, its members investigated assorted artifacts in private
collections as well as temples and shrines around Ky!t! and Nara.
153
Kigo Kiyoshi and It!
Chûta also surveyed dozens of shrines and temples as part of a directive to catalog religious
buildings and their objects, publishing numerous articles about the sites in a publication called
59
152
As members of the Pictorial Research Committee of the Ministry of Education, Fenollosa and Okakura were
successful in persuading the Ministry to reverse a fifteen year of policy of teaching pencil drawing in favor of
reinstating traditional ink and brush. Fenollosa, Okakura and Ryuchi Kuki served on the Commission for
Investigating National Painting, which late became the T!ky! School (Academy) of Fine Art. Scott 341-42
153
Naoteru Uo and Richard Lane, eds; Japanese Culture In The Meiji Era, Japanese Arts and Crafts In The Meiji
Era (1958), 315; quoted in Scott, 343
Architecture Journal.
154
The purpose of the survey was to identify and document important
works. This survey served as the foundation for Old Shrines and Temples Preservation Society
which evolved into the National Treasures Research Committee and finally the Cultural
Properties Protection Commission.
155
The result of this large-scale project was placing
preservation in the forefront of Japan’s consciousness leading to The 1897 The Law for the
Preservation of Ancient Shrines and Temples.
Under the auspices of the 1871 Law extensive field research was carried out to create an
inventory of cultural properties. This work was done under the direction of Ernest Fenollosa , an
American scholar invited by Zoology Professor and fellow collector Edward Morse to come to
Japan in 1878. Fenollosa, a recent graduate of Harvard, was originally hired to teach philosophy
at the Imperial University in T!ky!. While there, Fenollosa lectured on political economy and
philosophy. Before long he became an outspoken and highly opinionated admirer of Far Eastern
art, especially that of Japan. Fenollosa developed a view of Japanese art that combined “Eastern
morals and Western technology,” in which he asserts the synthesis of the “...spiritual East and the
material West.”
156
Fenollosa worked with Okakura to compile a list of important Japanese art
and architecture and develop methods to draw attention and preserve them. Before joining
Fenollosa, Okakura worked in the music research section of the Ministry of Education before
being transferred to the art section. From that point onward, Okakura began a lifelong task of
promoting the value of Japanese tradition and cultural treasures. He is best known for The Book
of Tea (1902), which focused on the pacific Japanese aesthetic and the serenity of the classic arts
60
154
Choi, 7
155
Uo and Lane, 119; Choi
156
Varley, 265
while deemphasizing the violent background of the samurai culture. Okakura wrote, “The
philosophy of tea is not mere aestheticism in the ordinary acceptance of the term, for it expresses
conjointly with ethics and religion our point of view about man and nature.”
157
In his book The
Ideals of the East (1902). Okakura asserted that Japan acted as a living museum of Asiatic
civilizations, therefore, Asia’s historic culture was concentrated in Japan in pure form, protected
from the barbaric European mercenaries.
158
The recognition of the value of historic properties, in the early Meiji years, was built on
the foundations of the previous regime’s support of religious institutions connected to the sh!gun
and imperial court. This recognition led to the first ministerial efforts to catalog historic and
cultural resources. Changes in the curriculum of architectural education and the legal system
were part of comprehensive efforts by the Meiji government to incorporate Western ideas. In the
late nineteenth century, field studies undertaken by Ernest Fenollosa and Okakura Tenshin
brought attention to long neglected historic properties and a contributor to broader preservation
laws. In the 1920s, the Mingei Movement inherited the legacy in its appreciation of the beauty
of common objects. Early ministerial remedies, changes in the architecture curriculum, and the
field surveys of Fenollosa and Okakura led the way to further preservation legislation.
One example is the 1895 Application for Preservation Funds for Ancient Shrines and
Temples (Kishaji Hozonkin Shutsugan Kisoku).
159
The 1895 Application covered buildings,
stone monuments, ritual objects, and everyday utensils.
160
There were seven criteria used for
61
157
Adapted from Okakura, The Book of Tea, pp.1-7, 13-14, quoted in de Bary, Gluck, and Tiedmann, 815
158
Pekka Kornhonen, “The Geography of Okakura Tenshin;”Japan Review, (2001), no. 13, 112
159
Scott, 347
160
Nishimura Yukio, 1985; “Meiji chûki ikô senzen ni okeru kenzôbutsu o chûshin to suru bunkazai hogo gyôsei no
tenkai;” Nihon kenchiku gakkai keikakukei ronbun hôkokushû 351, 39-40; quoted in Choi, 7
determining eligibility for funds, three of which were tied to the Tokugawa period. Of the three,
the first criterion was art and artifacts that had a close historical relationship with the Imperial
family or important military families such as the Tokugawa clan. This was a carry over from the
previous era’s practice of funding shrines and temples that were affiliated with the Tokugawa
regime or the Imperial family. The second requirement addressed beautiful scenes of famous
places and historical sites. The third criterion, drawing from pre-Meiji practices included shrines
and temples that normally undertook reconstruction. The remaining criteria were centered on
historical architecture that developed in the 1870s and 1880s. The last two criteria addressed
age; shrines and temples built before 1486 were automatically eligible for funds as were
buildings that adhered to the above criteria and built before 1703.
161
This set the stage for the
next generation of preservation laws.
The 1897 Law for the Preservation of Ancient Shrines and Temples
On June 5, 1897, the government enacted the Law for the Preservation of Ancient Shrines
and Temples ( Law Number 49, Koshaji honzon-h!, the 1897 Law hereafter), based, in part, on
the surveys completed by Fenollosa and Okakura.
162
The 1897 Law set up a program of
registration, designation, maintenance, and subsidies for temples and shrines that evolved out of
early preservation practices and a wide range of sources such as a standardized system for
registration, designation, maintenance, and subsidy; it is considered the prototype for the 1950
cultural property law.
163
This introduced the first systematic program for preservation of historic
62
161
Choi,7
162
http://www.enotes.com/topic/Cultural_Properties_of_Japan
163
Scott, 347
art and architecture and administered, first by the Ministry of Home Affairs until 1913, then by
the Ministry of Education.
164
Under the guidance of It! Ch"ta a designation system was
established to create a uniform method for selecting and landmarking objects and buildings. This
system was based on the Proposition to Preserve Shrines, Temples and Their Treasures enacted
in 1879 by the Ministry of Interior with recommendations on selection, management, and
fundamental methodology from the national government.
165
The mandated inventories of
temples and shrines, along with objects in their possession, helped to stop the more radical
directions of civilization and enlightenment thus preserving tangible properties connected with
the past as Japan plunged into a development boom.
The l897 law contained twenty articles that established government financial support for
the preservation of buildings and the restoration of artworks. Pursuant to Article One,
applications for financial support were made to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for works of
architecture and related art of historical value and exceptional quality as specified in Article
Two.
166
Related works of art included: painting, sculpture, calligraphy, books, handicrafts and,
later, swords. However, the law effected the works of art in the hands of temples and shrines,
leaving private collections unprotected and ripe for antique sellers. The responsibility for
preservation and restoration was given over to local officials, pursuant to Article Three, and
restoration work was financed by the national treasury, following Article Eight.
167
The 1897 law
was followed by a second law passed on December 15, 1897, which set aside supplementary aid
63
164
Yamamoto Tandanao, The Protection of Cultural Properties in Japan: Characteristics and Problems
165
Yamamoto
166
Coaldrake, 248-9; for a further discussion see Bunkazai hogo iinkai (ed.); Bunkazai no ayumi; Tokyo: Bunkazai
hogo iinkai; 1960; pp. 473-74; 476-77
167
Coaldrake
for works of art and architecture “...in the possession of temples and shrines as ‘National
Treasures.”
168
The Ministry of Interior was originally given the responsibility of implementing
The 1897 law, in 1914 the task was transferred to the Ministry of Education.
169
The 1897 law
became the foundation for contemporary Japanese preservation law and remained in effect until
it was overturned by the National Treasures Preservation Act of 1929. Together, the laws
enacted in June and December 1897 created a systematic approach for designating and protecting
cultural resources, laying the foundation for modern Japanese preservation. One project
undertaken under this law was the reconstruction of T!dai-ji’s Daibutsu-den, between 1906 and
1913.
64
168
Coaldrake,Architecture and Authority in Japan; 249
169
Coaldrake
T!daij

Figure 24: The Great Buddha Hall of T!daiji (photograph courtesy of Ken Breisch)
T!daiji (Great Eastern Temple figure 24) was built in 752 CE, and dedicated to the
Vairocana (Birushana) Buddha as part of Emperor Shom"’s effort to demonstrate the harmonious
relationship between Buddhism and Shint!.
170
The central focus of the temple is the Great
Buddha Hall where the emperor placed a colossal bronze Buddha. This Buddha was part of a
sculptural program for the temple that included figures of the fearsome looking Kei-style Kong!-
Rikishi figures, Agy! and Ungy!.
171
In 1180, the temple was burned to the ground during the
Genpei Civil War. Before the civil war ended, the government began the reconstruction process.
Ch!gen Shunj!b! (1121-1206), a Shingon Buddhist priest turned Pure Land Buddhist, was
placed in charge of the rebuilding campaign, including the Buddha Hall and the Great South
Gate (Nandai-mon, built 1199). T!daiji survived centuries of warfare, loss of patronage, and the
destruction by fire of its principal buildings including the Great Buddha Hall in the sixteenth
65
170
Penelope Mason, History of Japanese Art, (Tallahassee, Harry N. Abrams, Inc, 1993), 34
171
This is a reference to the family of sculptures whose hallmark was graphic realism. They were active in Nara.
Agy! is attributed to Unkei (1203) and Ungy! is credited to Kaikei (1203), Mason, 150
century. The Great Buddha Hall persevered into the Ed! period when it was rebuilt under the
patronage of the Tokugawa regime between 1688 and 1707. In 1882 there were unsuccessful
attempts to repair the Hall using conventional methods.
172
By the late nineteenth century, the
hall was endanger of complete structural failure. The failed efforts were further complicated by
the fact that by the early twentieth century many of the master carpenters capable of undertaking
this reconstruction project had passed away leaving no trained successors and there was no large-
scale traditional work attempted in the Meiji period to keep these special skills active. The repair
and reconstruction of the Great Buddha Hall provides a glimpse into the authority of tradition in
the face of blatant Westernization.

Figure 25: Detail of entry showing the karahafu (photograph courtesy of Ken Breisch)
The Great Buddha Hall (figure 25) was the complete opposite of the Meiji State’s
emphasis on modernization. Its religious and architectural character was completely at odds with
both State Shint! as an official faith and the Western building types as the established
environment.
173
While newer buildings such as Akasaka Detached Palace (figure 26, below)
completed by Katayama T!kuma in 1909 and the T!ky! Train Station (figure 27, below)
66
172
T!daiji Daibutsuden Sh!wa daish"ri sh"ri iinkai (eds); Kokuh! T!daiji Kond! (Daibutsuden) sh"ri h!kokusho;
Nara Meishinsha, 1980, vol. 1; p.36: quoted in Coaldrake, 247
173
Coaldrake, 244
completed by Tatsuno Kingo 1898-90 stood in the spotlight, they also represented a challenge to
accommodating tradition. The rebuilding campaign was not a case of careful application of
policy followed by orderly execution at the temple. The work on the Great Buddha Hall began
on June 1906 and ended in May 1913 shortly after the death of Emperor Mutsuhito and carried
out under the provisions of The 1897 law. However, it would be incorrect to imply that this
project was an example of careful cultural preservation policy formulation followed by orderly
execution. The technical requirements of the rebuilding process dictated policy as much as
policy governed the building.
174
The sequence of events leading to the reconstruction published
in the official records (1915) by T!daij presented evidence suggesting that the main preservation
laws for temples and shrines were a response to the financial and architectural crisis posed by the
actual condition of the Great Buddha Hall.
175
The main preservation laws were formulated over
the course of a nearly decade-long debate between the chief abbot at T!daiji and the Meiji
government over the importance of the building, the ways and methods to fund its
reconstruction. A desperate letter from the temple sent begging for financial assistance from the
Minister of Internal Affairs in 1892, temple representatives cited the temple’s unique historical
significance and reminded the government of the role played important figures such as Emperor
Sh!mu and Tokugawa Tsunayoshi as patrons of past building campaigns.
176
67
174
Coaldrake, 249
175
Washio Ry" and Hiraoka My!ai, eds; Daibutsu oyobi Daibutsudenshi; Nara; Nara Daibutsu ky! kinen hakk!;
1915; pp. 85-120; quoted in Coaldrake
176
Coaldrake, 245
Figure 26: Akasaka Detached Palace, Katayama T!kuma, T!ky!, 1909 (http://www.takenaka.co.jp)
Figure 27: T!ky! Train Station, Tatsuno Kingo, T!ky!, 1898-90 (http://www.carto.net)
68
Figure 28: Bracket Detail of The Great Buddha Hall (photograph courtesy of Ken Breisch)
The Great Buddha Hall (figure 28) had to be completely dismantled and reconstructed.
The project was carried out under the supervision of the Ministry of Interior with site work
supervised by a special bureau in Nara. Technical direction was in the hands of a new generation
of architects trained in Western methods and in possession of engineering doctorates from the
University of T!ky!. Leading the group was technical director Tsumaki Yorinaka, assistant
directors It! Ch"ta and Sekino Tadashi, and technical consultant Amanuma Shun’ichi. The
architect and engineer’s Western training enabled them to find a solution for the structural issues
of the Buddha Hall. The reconstruction of T!daiji represented newly acquired mastery of
advanced Western engineering techniques. The use of steel framing to resolve the structural
issues of the Great Buddha Hall was a result of Meiji adaptation of Western technology. It
presented the fundamental objective of restoration while maintaining the appearance of the
original building while resorting to artificial means.
177
Behind this technical process was the
confrontation between a Westernizing nation and the preservation of its earlier tradition. The
69
177
Coaldrake, 247
issue of repairing and preserving of the country’s architectural legacy forced the government to
come to terms with it heritage. The massive structural issues of the Great Buddha Hall occurred
at time when the government and all who were considered “progressive” were concerned with
Westernization. Thus, while Japanese traditions remained relevant, they were being cast aside in
pursuit of all things foreign, the rotting, sagging, and leaking Great Buddha Hall forced a long
and difficult reevaluation of the role of tradition in the contemporary world that Japan
inhabited.
178
Further, the reconstruction of the Great Buddha Hall revealed that main objective
behind the project was maintenance of the appearance of original building while incorporating
non-traditional methods to preserve it, reflecting the approach taken by contemporary European
architects. Finally, the master carpenters who created the Japanese architecture were now
supporting player to the new generation of Japanese ‘architects.’ This drove a wedge between
the design and construction process as master carpenters were reduced to the same status as
manual laborers.
179

The 1897 Law for the Preservation of Ancient Shrines and Temples extended protection
to objects within temples and shrines, and created a national registry and served as the prototype
for the 1950 law. The reconstruction of the Great Buddha Hall at T!daiji demonstrated how
Japanese architects and engineers could successfully integrate new technology into a traditional
building. The Great Buddha Hall was an anomaly for the Meiji State in both form and function.
While the Meiji government highlighted Western-style buildings and religious institutions that
supported state sponsored Shint!, the reconstruction project forced the central government to
confront Japan’s cultural heritage which was being cast aside. The reconstruction project also
70
178
Coaldrake
179
Coaldrake, 247-8
revealed its main objective was maintenance of appearance through Western steel construction.
We can speculate that the Great Buddha Hall was part of the Meiji State’s program of supporting
temples and shrines connected with the Imperial family. Also, it is possible that foreign advisors
such as Ernest Fenollosa were instrumental in calling attention to Japan’s traditional building
heritage forcing the new regime to reevaluate its Westernization priorities and allocate funds for
the preservation of temples and shrines. We can also infer that the project was part of the repair
and reconstruction program begun in the late 1880s by Imperial Household Agency. In 1913,
administration of The 1897 law was transferred to the Department of Religion of the Ministry of
Education.
180
As cities and industries grew, they began to threaten historic landscapes. The 1895
Application for Preservation Funds for Ancient Shrines and Temples established a criteria for
funding historic landscapes, the issue of urbanization and industrialization encroaching on
historic landscapes was not addressed. Earlier laws focused on archeological finds. Land
development and new construction facilitated the passage of a new preservation law aimed at
saving historic landscapes.

The 1919 Historical Sites, Places of Scenic Beauty, and Natural Monuments Preservation Law
The Meiji government first addressed historic landscape preservation as early as 1874
with Law Number 59, which required the registration of shell mounds and ancient tombs and
Law Number 3 which obliged land owners to report ancient tombs found on their property. By
the twenties, the modern sector of the Japanese economy was reaching maturity.
181
Growing
industrialization and urbanization continued to pose a threat to historic landscape sites which
71
180
Scott, 347
181
Duus, 185
required government intervention. Land development, the building of railroads and factories
stimulated the 1919 passage of Law Number 44, the Historical Sites, Places of Scenic Beauty,
and Natural Monuments Preservation Law (the 1919 law hereafter). This legislation empowered
the Minister of Home Affairs to designate “...Those historic sites, scenic spots and natural history
preserves to which the present is to be applied shall be applied...”
182
[sic]. Further, “The
prefectural governor may designate a site temporarily, in case it is necessary to do so prior to
designation as mentioned above.”
183
[sic]
In the 1920s, the Taish! government encouraged prefectural governments to undertake
extensive surveys necessary to locate and identify these sites often, in conjunction with,
conservation measures initiated by the Archeological Finds Preserved by Prefectures (Law
Number 221) and -Do-(Law Number 222) enacted in 1901.
184
Article 5 of The 1919 Law states,
The Minister of Home Affairs may designate local communities to take charge of
historic sites, scenic spots or natural history preserves. Expenses incurred in the
administration as stated in the preceding article shall fall on the community
concerned. The National Treasury may grant a subsidy for part of the
expenses.
185
Article 6 instituted penalties of a ¥100
186
fine and imprisonment of no less than six months for
anyone acting “...against the provisions of Article 3, or according to the provisions of Clause 1,
Article 4. According to Article 3, anyone attempting to modify the conditions of historical sites,
72
182
Scott, appendix 2; Law for Preservation of Historic Sites, Scenic Spots and Natural Beauty Preserves, Law No.
44 (1919) from The Cultural Property Laws Of Japan: Social, Political, and Legal Influences; (Seattle, Pacific Rim
Law and Policy Journal Association, 2003); 394: Law for Preservation of Historic Sites, Scenic Spots and Natural
Beauty Preserves, Law No. 44 (1919)(on file with Scott)
183
Scott
184
Scott, 392
185
Scott, appendix 2; Law for Preservation of Historic Sites, Scenic Spots and Natural Beauty Preserves, Law No.
44 (1919) from The Cultural Property Laws Of Japan: Social, Political, and Legal Influences; 392-3
186
In today’s amounts 659¥, today 100¥=1.27
scenic spots, and natural preserves must receive permission from the prefectural governor or face
sanctions. Pursuant to Article 4, Clause 1, “The Minister of Home Affairs may, in connection
with the preservation of historic sites, scenic spots, natural history preserves, prohibit or limit
certain acts, or establish necessary measures within a fixed area.”
187
Thus, any changes or
modifications outside the scope of preservation fixed by the Minister of Home Affairs would also
be subject to penalty. Additional enforcement of The 1919 Law was provided by the
Enforcement of Laws for the Preservation of Historic Sites, Scenic Spots, and Natural History
Preserves (Law Number 499), passed the same year.
The 1919 Law was designed to protect and catalog historic landscape sites in the same
manner as temples, shrines, and works of art. The 1897 Law contained an article that covered
scenic sites and monuments but was seldom used and the emphasis was on shrines, temples, and
objects placed in the care of religious institutions. Archeological finds were brought under
protection beginning in 1899 with laws that regulated their use for study purposes and
handling.
188
In 1920, the Classifications of Historic Sites; Scenic Spots, Natural History (Law
Number 51) was passed, further systematizing survey methodologies. This was followed by a
decision issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1920 called “Principal Sites To Be Preserved
in this Classification and Items in the Records of Historic Sites, Scenic Spots, Natural History
Preserves.” While initial cultural property protection laws targeted antique religious objects, The
1919 Law established protection of historic sites, such as castles, and “...places of scenic beauty,
73
187
Scott
188
Scott, appendix 1; Miscellaneous Laws Referring To Preservation from The Cultural Property Laws Of Japan:
Social, Political, and Legal Influences; (Seattle, Pacific Rim Law and Policy Journal Association, 2003); 392:
Japanese Cultural Resources Report No. 3 of the Civil Info and Educ. Sec. Research and Info. Div (February 1,
1946) (Index of Rules for Administration of Preservation)(on file with Scott)
and natural monuments.”
189
Rapid urbanization and industrialization beginning in the early
Meiji period through the end of World War I and beyond threatened to destroy Japan’s historic
landscape sites. One law passed in 1928, the Construction of Cable Railways Number 22, was
enacted as a way to keep railway construction in check.
190
A subsequent law passed in 1928, Law Number 81: Control of Matters Relating to
Preservation of Historic Sites, Scenic Spots and Natural History Preserves transferred the
administration of the 1919 Law, as well as the 1897 Law, from Agency of Domestic Affairs to
the Department of Religion of the Ministry of Education. The 1928 Law marked the
consolidation of the administration and enforcement of cultural property protection within the
Ministry of Education. Additional laws were passed throughout the Taish! and early Showa eras
dealing with the use, selection, and administration of historic landscapes. Thus the 1919 Law
can be seen as an attempt to stem the loss of a wide variety of valuable natural resources, as well
as historic landscapes, that represented a connection to Japan’s agrarian and ancient past.
1929 Law For The Preservation of National Treasures
By the late twenties, approximately 1,100 properties were designated as national
treasures under the 1897 Law.
191
The early twentieth century was a prosperous period, propelled
by the World War I industrial and economic boom. Japan transitioned from a light industry and
agricultural economy to heavy industry and urban factory production. In the late twenties,
rumors of bank collapse spurred depositors to withdraw their savings. In 1929, just as Japan’s
74
189
Inaba,
190
Scott, appendix 1; Miscellaneous Laws Referring To Preservation from The Cultural Property Laws Of Japan:
Social, Political, and Legal Influences; (Seattle, Pacific Rim Law and Policy Journal Association, 2003); 392
191
Jukka Jokilehto, A History of Architectural Conservation; (Oxford, Butterworth Heinemann, 2002); 280
banks were starting to their balance sheets back in order, the economy became tangled in The
Great Depression.
192
To settle debts, private citizens sold off valuable works of art and historic
secular properties and other objects being lost to deterioration. More comprehensive and
balanced legislation was needed to control the movement
193
and maintenance of the resources.
On March 28, 1929 The Law For The Preservation of National Treasures (Law Number17, 1929
Law hereafter) was enacted. Unlike previous preservation efforts by the central government
which focused on religious buildings and their objects within, the new law covered all property
whether it was publicly or privately owned. While the 1897 Law narrowly focused on religious
institutions, the 1929 Law was a more comprehensive ordinance that widened the scope of
available historic properties to include secular buildings such as tea houses, castles, and private
homes.
The 1929 Law incorporated the essence of the 1897 law into its provisions, expanding it
to include any structure, treasure, or significant historical object and fine arts.
194
Specifically,
Article 1 of the 1929 Law states, “Buildings and other highly-priced articles that have historical
significance and artistic values shall be designated as national treasures by the responsible
minister through the deliberations of the National Treasures Preservation Committee [NTPC].”
195

An additional regulation formally abolished The 1897 Law and declared that buildings and
objects previously qualified for designation were considered under the new law,
75
192
James L. McClain, Japan A Modern History; (United States, W.W. Norton & Company, 2002): 359-61;
books,google.com/books (date accessed October 30, 2012)
193
Sale or import
194
Scott, 348-9
195
Scott, appendix 3; The National Treasures Preservation Law (1929) from The Cultural Property Laws Of Japan:
Social, Political, and Legal Influences; (Seattle, Pacific Rim Law and Policy Journal Association, 2003); (on file
with Scott); 396
...[2]The old Shrines and Temples law shall be abolished.
[3] Specifically protected buildings and article that qualified as national treasures
under the old Shrines and Temples Preservation Law shall be defined under this
law. The preservation funds that were given under the old Shrines and Temples
Preservation Law shall also be defined as the subsidies given under this law.
(Imperial Ordinance No. 209 or 1929 shall be enforced from 1 July 1929)
196

The NTPC was a special administrative agency created to address the formal protection of
cultural properties. Further, this article granted the Minister of Education the power to refer
documented properties to the NTPC.
197
A property referred to this committee was investigated
for potential designation as a National Treasure. Once an object was designated, it was subject to
government control. It further generalized preservation by combining buildings and art objects
as National Treasures, instead of creating separate categories. For example, in the mid-
nineteenth century and before, the government allocated maintenance funds for Buddhist temples
buildings but not the objects within.
Once an artifact or work of art was designated a National Treasure, it could not be
moved without ministerial approval. According to Article 3 of the law, “No national treasure
shall be exported or shipped without the permission of the responsible minister.” Further, if an
the owner of a National Treasure wished to perform any maintenance, he or she was required the
approval of the appropriate minister. In conjunction, the responsible minister was permitted,
with the approval of the NTPC, to allocate subsidies for repairs.
198
If the minister did grant his
76
196
Scott, appendix 3; The National Treasures Preservation Law (1929) from The Cultural Property Laws Of Japan:
Social, Political, and Legal Influences; (Seattle, Pacific Rim Law and Policy Journal Association, 2003); (on file
with Scott); 400
197
Scott, 349; for further reference see Regulation for the Enforcement for the Law Regarding Preservation of
National Treasures, art 1 (1929) (Japan), in SCAP Civil Info and Educ. Sec Report of Conference with Mombusho
Rep (Jan 22, 1947) (on file with Geoffrey Scott)
198
Scott, appendix 3; The National Treasures Preservation Law (1929) from The Cultural Property Laws Of Japan:
Social, Political, and Legal Influences; (Seattle, Pacific Rim Law and Policy Journal Association, 2003); (on file
with Scott); 398; (on file with Geoffrey Scott)
approval for export, alteration, or change of ownership, the decision was subject to review by the
NTPC. Private owner interests were curtailed through a requirement found in Article 7,
The owner of a national treasure has the duty of exhibiting his treasure (kokuho)
in the Imperial Household Museum or in government or public museums or art
gallery for the space of one year, upon command of the responsible ministers
except when the article is to be used under a religious celebration law or when it
is necessary for official business. When the owner is dissatisfied with the above
command, he may appeal the matter.
199
.
Limited subsidies available to help with the upkeep of the properties and were to granted to
compliant owners as a reciprocal gesture. Article 9 of the 1929 law limited the amount an owner
could recover due to loss or damage while the property was exhibit except under conditions of
force majeure.
200

Property owners were required to provide detailed reports according to administrative
regulations adopted to support the administration of The 1929 Law. Also, there were criminal
sanctions were embedded in The 1929 Law to assure compliance. The sanctions included:
1) Five year prison term or ¥2,000 fine for improper removal or export of a national
treasure (Article 20)
2) Five year imprisonment or ¥500 fine for destroying, damaging, or hiding a national
treasure (Article 21)
3) ¥500 for changing the location of a national treasure without prior notification (Article
22)
4) ¥100 fine for failure to notify change of ownership (Article 23)
201

What makes these sanctions unique is, for the first time, the central government imposed
substantial penalties on individuals and placed full responsibility of the historic property or
77
199
Scott, 397
200
Scott, Civil Info and Educ Sec; Research and Info Div Japanese Cultural Resources General Report No.3; at 9
(Feb 1, 1946)
201
Scott, appendix 3; The National Treasures Preservation Law (1929); Articles 20-24 from The Cultural Property
Laws Of Japan: Social, Political, and Legal Influences; (Seattle, Pacific Rim Law and Policy Journal Association,
2003); (on file with Scott); 398; (on file with Geoffrey Scott)
national treasure on the owner and deterred the private sale, export, deliberate damage, or
destruction of a historic property. The objects and monuments that were covered by these laws
were to be protected in situ. Unlike the 1871 Plan and the 1897 Law, the 1929 appears to take
the preservation of historic and cultural assets more seriously as a way to stem the losses from
sale or deterioration. The 1919 Law levied a ¥100 for altering a historic landscapes site without
approval. This would have been hard to enforce because we can infer that someone pruning the
brushes as part of regular maintenance could be subject sanctions. However, since the 1929 Law
contained articles that regulated every element of historic and cultural asset ownership, the threat
of fines or imprisonment might have been an effective deterrent to dubious activities. At the
same time, the serious tone of these regulations would make it appear that the simple act of
sweeping the floor of a historic house could get a person in trouble.
Under The 1929 Law, for example, two former feudal castles: the Yoshimura Residence
(completed 1937) in Kyoto and the Ogawa Residence (completed 1944) in Osaka became subject
to protection. Permits for alterations (genj! henk!) were introduced and the budget for
restorations increased on the average of seventy to seventy-five percent, financed from the
national budget, including during the World War II years.
202
In the thirties, it became customary
for restoration work to be supervised by an onsite architect. As a result, the standard of the
investigations accompanying the restoration work rose. When the restoration of the Nandai-mon
(Great South Gate figures 29 and 30 below) at T!daiji was completed in 1930, a report was
published for the first time. The report contained plans, the results of the survey, historical
sources, and a documentation of the work done. In successive years, it became customary to
78
202
Henrichsen, Ender and Gutschow, 12
issue restoration reports (sh"ri h!kokusho) for large scale projects. These documents helped
disseminate historic conservation techniques and placed Japanese architectural history on a new
foundation.
Figure 29: The Great South Gate at T!daiji (photograph courtesy of Ken Breisch), left
Figure 30: The Great South Gate at T!daiji with detail of Ungy! (photograph courtesy of Ken Breisch), right
The early twentieth century in Japan was a period of great prosperity followed by
economic collapse and the Great Depression. Even before the boom and bust period of the
nineteen teens and twenties the Japanese central government was keenly aware of historic and
cultural assets being lost to sale or deterioration and sought to take steps to stem the losses. The
1871 Plan established an inventory of temples and shrines, focusing on the building solely. The
field surveys of Ernest Fenollosa and Okakura Tenshin called attention to the artifacts within the
temples and shrines and helped inspire the 1897 Law which expanded cultural property
protection to the artifacts held by religious institutions. The 1897 Law also laid the foundation
for a registration, designation, and maintenance system.
203
The 1919 Law addressed the
79
203
Scott, 347
preservation of historic landscapes that were being threatened by Japan’s land development
boom and the construction of new factories and railroads. The 1929 Law For The Preservation
of National Treasures expanded the protection of culturally significant properties to secular
buildings and the objects contained within them and suggests that a nation can institute a
balanced approach to the protection of its cultural heritage.
204
However, in the years following
the 1929 law’s enactment, the central government became alarmed at the increasing number of
fine art objects that were departing Japanese shores. The government concluded that this
situation was injurious to the Japanese people.
205
Thus new legislation was need to address
historically and aesthetically valuable and important art objects.
1933 Law on the Preservation of Important Art Objects
While The 1929 Law For The Preservation of National Treasures provided some measure
of protection for designated properties, the Sh!wa Government (1926-89) became aware in the
years following its enactment that numerous and important works of fine art were being spirited
out of the country. Some of these works were culturally significant and were being exported at
an alarming rate because of the economic crisis and the Great Depression. In response, the
Sh!wa government concluded that the illicit trade in historic and cultural assets was detrimental
to the interests of the Japanese people. On April 1, 1933, the Law on the Preservation of
Important Art Objects, Law Number 43 (the 1933 Law), was passed. This law was primarily an
emergency response to prevent art objects not yet designated as National Treasures from being
80
204
Henrichsen, Ender and Gutschow
205
Jiro Arimitsu Chief of Preservation Section, Religious Bureau Ministry of Education (1934); (handwritten
manuscript); (on file with Geoffrey Scott); quoted in Scott, 350
sent out of the country during the Depression. It created a simpler designation procedure with a
measure of temporary protection that excluded export. As a result, approximately 8,000 objects
were protected.
206
The 1933 Law was designed to strictly control the sale and movement of important art
objects defined as, “...objects excluding national treasures which are considered important from
the viewpoint of history or fine arts...”
207
The foundation of the 1933 Law was The 1897 Law
which widened the category of designated works to include, books, painting, sculpture,
calligraphy, and later swords. Further, “...the same rule may not be applied to works done by
living artists or which are less than fifty years old, or have been imported within a year.” We can
draw an interesting parallel between Article 1 in the 1933 Law and the American National
Historic Preservation Act which also instituted a fifty-year rule for consideration on the National
Register. Regarding the sale and movement,
Those objects which require permission for their export or removal shall be
designated by the minister concerned, announced in the official gazette, and such
action shall be reported to their owner.
Those who obtain ownership to such objects as a result of sale, exchange, or gift
after the notice of designation has been published, shall be presumed to have
known that such objects are so designated.
208
Finally, if a property, such as those mentioned above are transferred or exported without
permission, the owner is subject to a penalty of not more than three years in prison and a fine of
not more than ¥1000.
209
This article lessened the penalty for illicit export found in Article 20 of
81
206
Henrichsen, Ender and Gutschow, 12
207
Scott, appendix 4; Law for Preservation of Important Art Objects, Law No. 43, article 1 (1933) from The
Cultural Property Laws Of Japan: Social, Political, and Legal Influences; (Seattle, Pacific Rim Law and Policy
Journal Association, 2003); (on file with Scott); 401; (on file with Geoffrey Scott), 401
208
Scott, Article 2
209
Scott, Article 5; $12.70 by today’s amounts
the 1929 Law. The law was considered an administrative success and the loss of cultural
properties was stemmed.
210

The wording of The 1933 Law, Article Two, by requiring the private to seek government
approval. This deprives the owner of the right to dispose of a scroll or ceramic jar as he or she
sees fit. Article One requires ministerial sanction of export or removal of an object. Article
Three states,
In case the minister concerned does not give such sanction to the object as stated
in Article 1, he shall designate it as a national treasure under Article 1 of the Law
Regarding the Preservation of National Treasures within one year, or cancel the
designation under the preceding article.
211
From the language of the above article, a private owner cannot export or sell a historic resource
without formal approval. In conjunction with Article 13 of the 1933 Law, a cultural property
owner could not event sell or mortgage the resource without permission. If the owner did not
receive permission from the appropriate minister, said minister could designate the property
under the provisions of The 1929 Law. By 1939, 8,282 in nine categories of painting, sculpture,
architecture, documents, books, calligraphy, swords, crafts, and archeological artifacts were
designated National Treasures.
212
While the effects of The 1933 Law were later superseded by
The 1950 Cultural Properties Protection Law, it still had limited consequences.
The Manchurian Incident in 1931 and the Second Sino Japanese War in 1937 put Japan in
wartime mode. During this period the restoration of H!ry"ji Kond! began in 1939 as a result of
the confluence of hostilities and boom economy, coupled with heightened interest in cultural
82
210
Scott, 351
211
Scott, appendix 4; Law for Preservation of Important Art Objects, Law No. 43, article 3 (1933) from The
Cultural Property Laws Of Japan: Social, Political, and Legal Influences; (Seattle, Pacific Rim Law and Policy
Journal Association, 2003); (on file with Scott); 401; (on file with Geoffrey Scott)
212
MacKay-Smith, “Mission to protect and preserve;”2
patrimony. On October 1, 1942, the government allocated ¥20,000 to repair on the temple
pagoda. Despite the hardships of the war Ministry of Education continued to designate
properties until 1943 when all cataloging operations ended and attention turned to safe removal
and storage of the cultural treasures. In October 1945, two months following Japan's
unconditional surrender, the Ministry of Education resumed its designation activities in response
to the surge in the exportation of cultural goods and assumed responsibility for structures that
were reported to be in disrepair.
213

83
213
Scott, 351
IV . The 1950 Cultural Properties Protection Law

Figure 30: The Golden Hall at H!ry"ji (photograph courtesy of Ken Breisch)
The disastrous fire that struck in January 1949 at the Golden Hall at H!ry"ji (figure 30),
in the Nara Prefecture and the near loss of precious its Buddhist murals were not the only
catalyst for the passage of the 1950 Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties (the 1950 Law
hereafter). The years following Japan’s defeat and the Allied occupation found Japan in an
appalling state. Most of the major cities were in ruins; Japan’s fishing industry deteriorated, the
economy had virtually collapsed, and the nation suffered from the devastating fall out of two
nuclear bombs. Preservation certainly did not register in the consciousness of the people. While
existing cultural property laws were not suspended during the occupation, the Japanese
government reoriented them in compliance with basic occupation policies and was permitted to
continue with normal power over domestic issues. In 1948, the agency began implementing a
five-year reconstruction program. The tireless and dedicated work of the Arts and Monument
Branch, a subgroup of the Religion and Cultural Resource Division of the Supreme Command of
84
The Allied Powers (SCAP), helped pave the way for a new preservation law that would remain
in force until contemporary times.
Following Japan’s surrender, SCAP was placed in power over the country according to
the terms of the Unconditional Surrender signed by the major allied powers. General Douglas
MacArthur was selected to head SCAP on behalf of the Allies. Cultural matters within SCAP
were the responsibility of the Civil Information and Education Section (CIE). The Cultural
Resource division of CIE was merged with the Religion Division in 1947 to form the Religion
and Cultural Resource Division. Its subgroup, the Arts and Monuments Branch (A&M;
alternately the Division) became the primary force in protecting postwar Japan’s cultural
resources. The A&M was responsible for:
...initiation and recommendations regarding management and finance of numerous
projects for the protection, preservation, restitution, salvage, or other disposition of works
of art, antiquities, cultural treasures, museums, archival repositories, historic and scenic
sites, and historical and natural monuments.
214
The official stance of SCAP regarding the protection of cultural and ethnographic property
during the occupation was, “...historical, cultural and religious objects and installations
(including several Imperial Palaces) will be carefully protected.”
215
The protection of cultural
treasures was so paramount that it became policy:
85
214
The General Headquarters Supreme Commander For The Allied Forces, Missions And Accomplishments In
Selected Fields 1 (U.S. Gov’t Jan 1, 1950) [hereinafter Missions]; Missions, supra note 167, at 26 and footnote
report of accomplishments. This was also the charge of General Order No. 27, dated June 3, 1946, to CIE, 353
215
Summary of Press Reports, Imperial Household Collections and Reparations, Supreme Commander for the Allied
Powers; (undated, on file with Scott); Scott
The immediate postwar problem consists of the reconstitution of the artistic and
historical heritage of occupied countries [i.e Japan, Germany, and Italy]...The
protection of art in time of war is based upon the universally accepted principle
that cultural property is inviolable...The artistic and historic treasures of a nation
are regarded as that Nation’s patrimony, and the great public collections of the
world as an international heritage. It is the preservation of this irreplaceable
cultural heritage of all nations that is recognized,...
216
Why was the preservation of Japan’s traditional cultural heritage a priority for SCAP? After
more than three and a half years of war, unreasonably prolonged in the final months by
unbending fanatical rulers, Japan was morally and spiritually exhausted. The death and
destruction rained upon Hiroshima and Nagasaki by nuclear bombs rendered the nation so
physically and emotionally spent that surrender was the only option. The decision to make the
protection of cultural property, in Japan and Europe as well, important was part of a larger
program to keep cultural icons intact to reduce domestic tension in the short run. By extension,
actively protecting cultural property would send a message to the Japanese people that SCAP
respected Japan’s traditional culture. To accomplish this task, A&M was tasked as a liaison
between the various agencies responsible for promoting similar policies. It was through A&M
that new preservation policies were implemented and executed.
A&M concluded that it was necessary to use a firm hand in guiding the course of
preservation activities at the administrative level. CIE documents record directed efforts by
SCAP to reeducate the Japanese people about the value of their culture and instill an
understanding of cultural property preservation. While this may seem condescending and ironic,
it should be noted that SCAP did engage in significant ideological reorientation and
86
216
Press Release, U.S. Department of State, The Conservation of Cultural Property (August 16, 1946),
Memorandum from Howard C. Hollis, Chief of Arts and Monuments Division, to Chief, Civil Information and
Education Section, General Headquarters, Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, at 2 (September 5, 1946, on
file with Scott); Scott
censorship.
217
The Americans hoped to instill the political values of freedom, individualism, and
democracy in the minds of young Japanese.
218
One influence that led to the 1950 Law was the
staff of A&M.

Figure 31: Langdon Warner (http://www.harvardartmuseum.org), left
Figure 32: Sherman E. Lee (http://www.clevelandartsprize.org), right
The staff was composed of an advisory committee of American officers with backgrounds
in museum work and art history. Two individuals are worth particular mention: Langdon Warner
(figure 31) and Sherman E. Lee. Warner (figure 32), a professor at Harvard University and head
of Oriental Art at the Fogg Museum. He was an acquaintance of Okakura Tenshin from the time
when they worked at the Boston Museum. Lee was a Curator of Oriental Art at the Detroit
Institute of Arts. Their empathy for the Japanese people and its art was demonstrated through
their commitment to the protection of cultural treasures. Their helped expose the West,
particularly the United States, to traditional Japanese culture.

87
217
Scott, 360
218
Duus, 266
It appeared that the A&M felt the existing preservation scheme in Japan was inadequate
and that the government was less than cooperative in securing and promoting the protection of
cultural properties stolen during the War. According the 1929 Law, Article 2, the minister
responsible for designating a treasure was required to publish his decision in the official
gazette.
219
This register was supposedly burned at the time of surrender. The ministry was also
required to keep a record of Important Art Objects but did not exercise due diligence in this task.
Some records did survive however and were accessible to the A&M. Further, in accord with an
order issued by SCAP, the Japanese government was given the job of inventorying foreign
cultural assets in its possession.
220
A report issued by Charles Gallagher, the A&M Fine Arts
Advisor to the Chief, Religion and Cultural Resources in 1949 suggested that efforts by the
Japanese government,
... Did not make “an honest effort” to comply with SCAPIN 1774. They were
dilatory, evasive, haggled over questions and finally produced two institutions out
of a total of 800 that had objects coming under the definition of SCAPIN 1774.
The fact that only four looted items were reported from private collections of
individuals (the basis for the directive) is highly suspicious. It is also the firm
opinion of the undersigned that there is a great deal of looted property still
around, but that much stronger methods than those heretofore taken
will be necessary if it is to be uncovered.
221

88
219
Scott, appendix 3; The National Treasures Preservation Law (1929) from The Cultural Property Laws Of Japan:
Social, Political, and Legal Influences; (Seattle, Pacific Rim Law and Policy Journal Association, 2003); (on file
with Scott); 396
220
Scott, 361
221
Memorandum from Charles F. Gallagher, Fine Arts Advisor to Chief, Religious and Cultural Resources Division
(Jan. 19, 1949); (on file with Scott). Also see Memorandum from Mr. Bunce, CIE to DC/S SCAP (Jan. 26, 1949);
(on file with Scott); (regarding inventories of objects of art of foreign origin and documenting certain looted items
that had come to CIE attention); quoted in Scott, 361. This report was issued on January 19, 1949 around the time
of the fire at H!ry"ji. Coincidence?
In addition, the statutory structure of existing preservation laws were considered insufficient by
the A&M. As part of the effort to improve existing preservation laws, it attempted to create a
category between National Treasures and Important Art Objects called Important Cultural
Property. The point was to restrict the group of Important Art Objects and make administrative
changes between categories less frequent.
222
The Agency for Cultural Affairs abided by the
recommendations of the A&M.
223
However, it held views that were opposed to the Japanese
government, regarding the government’s relation to the people and their property.
224
The
Japanese people had reservations about the postwar preservation efforts of the Ministry of
Education. In an article appearing on January 28, 1946, “...[s]trange to say the Ministry of
Education which was full of formality and bureaucratic egotism has for a long time been nothing
but a sort of state organ hindering the elevation of culture and the arts.”
225
As we can conclude
from this quote, the Japanese people wanted a change in the way cultural resources were dealt
with. The 1950 Law provided a new structure for dealing with historic and cultural assets.
A&M was extremely active in the promotion of cultural property protection. The A&M’s
regular involvement with such activities was part of the sweeping actions taken by SCAP to
demilitarize and democratize Japan. There was evidence that suggested the A&M had intimate
knowledge of plans to modify and improve previous cultural protection laws during the
Occupation. For example, during early attempts to reform existing preservation laws concerns
89
222
Scott, 362
223
Scott
224
Scott
225
Press Translation No. 1021, GHP, SCAP, Allied Translator and Interpreter Sec., Item 2: Promotion of the Arts
(Jan. 26, 1946); (on file with Scott); Scott
arose within the Ministry of Education regarding the classification of objects.
226
A&M noticed
that the categories could be manipulated in such a way that made locating and identifying
cultural property immensely difficult. The A&M archives contained a handwritten document,
“A Private Draft Concerning the Revision of the National Treasure Laws,” in which
recommendations in consultation with the Agency for Cultural Affairs were given with
explanations and analysis for suggested for changes to the 1929 Law.
227
The ministry did
prepare revisions of the 1929 Law which included:
1) A shift of emphasis of ownership [private] as a foundation for
preservation as found in existing law to state control of cultural assets.
2) Clarification of state subsidies for the repair of national treasures.
3) Measures that would allow the government to purchase national treasures from
temples and shrines if preservation could not be properly carried out.
4) Significant government control over cultural property.
5) The curtailment of the export of cultural treasures.
6) Exemption of certain transactions concerning cultural property.
228
In its own analysis, the A&M found the Ministry’s proposals contrary to the 1946 SCAP-
manufactured Constitution, declaring that it violated Article 29, “1) The right to own or to hold
property is inviolable. 2) Property rights shall be defined by law, in conformity with the public
welfare. 3) Private property may be taken for public use upon just compensation therefore...”
229

The A&M was genuinely committed to protecting Japan’s cultural property and held fast to the
belief that the people had a right to protection of their heritage. In essence, the concern was that
90
226
Scott, 379
227
Scott
228
Scott, 380
229
The Constitution of Japan; Article 29; http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Japan/English/english-
Constitution.html#CHAPTER_VII (date accessed July 12, 2012)
the ministry’s suggestions appeared as government overreach and create a compulsory
designation system that infringed on the personal rights of property owners.
230

The work on legislation that would become the 1950 Law began in earnest in February
1949. To say that that the fire at H!ry"ji and post war looting by the American and Allied
soldiers were the catalysts for the 1950 law would mean dismissing more urgent factors
regarding the protection and administration of cultural resources that required legislative
attention. These factors were:
1) The pressure of the Japanese tax scheme, including the property, estate, and
sales tax;
2) The sale of objects in response to other needs perceived by the indigenous
population;
3) The fear of export of cultural property following any form of transfer;
4) Theft;
5) Vandalism affected upon objects and monuments;
6) Risks of fire;
7) The use of objects by occupation forces;
8) Perceived Japanese perspectives, including gender attributions, concerning the
place that art should occupy in the life of the Japanese people; and
9) Perceived Japanese perspectives, concerning the role that government should
play in protecting such goods.
231
Of the nine factors listed above, the last two stem from purported trends suggesting that
protection and administration of cultural resources was not a priority in the immediate postwar
year.
232
The 1950 Law was passed unanimously in the Japanese House of Representatives on
May 30, 1950, and became effective on August 29, 1950, by Cabinet Order Number 276 of
August 1950.
233
Chapter One, General Provisions (Purpose of this Law) states,
91
230
Remarks Apropos of Revisions of the N.T. Law; Prepared by the Education Ministry; (Undated); (on file with
Scott); Scott 380
231
Scott, 364
232
Scott
233
Scott, 386
Article 1. The purpose of this Law is to preserve and utilize cultural properties, so
that the culture of the Japanese people may be furthered and a contribution made
to the evolution of world culture.
Article 2. “Cultural properties” in this Law shall be the following:
1) Buildings, pictures, sculptures, applied arts, calligraphic works,
classical books, ancient documents, and other tangible cultural properties,
which possess a high artistic historical and/or artistic value in and for this
country...archeological specimens and other historical materials of high
scientific value...
2) Art and skill employed in drama music, and applied arts, and other
intangible cultural products which possess a high historical and/or artistic
value in and for this country...
3) Manners and customs related to food, clothing and housing, to
occupations, religious faiths, etc., to folk-entertainments and clothes,
implements, houses and other used therefor[sic], which are indispensable
for the understanding of changes in our people’s mode of life...
4) Shell mounds, ancient tombs, sites of palaces, sites of forts or castles,
monumental dwelling houses, and other sites which possess a high
historical and/or scientific values in and for this country; gardens, bridges,
gorges, seashores, mountains, and other places of scenic beauty, which
possess a high value from the point of view of art or visual appreciation in
and for this [sic]; animal...plants...and geological features and
minerals...which possess a high scientific value in and for this country...
5) Groups of historic buildings of high value which form a certain antique
beauty in combination with their environs...
234

Upon effective date, some of the prior laws were abolished and all previously identified
designated cultural resources were covered by the new law. Pursuant to Article 116, “...With
respect to the objects classified under the provision of Article 2 paragraph 1 of the Law
Concerning the Preservation of Important Objects [the 1933 Law], etc. Up to the time of
enforcement of this Law, the old Law shall continue to be in force...”
235
The next article states,
92
234
Japan Agency for Cultural Affairs; Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties; Article 2; May 30, 1950; http://
www.tobunken.go.jp/~kokusen/ENGLSIH/DATA/Htmlfg/japan/japan01.html (date accessed July 4, 2011)
235
Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties; Supplementary Provisions (Transitional Provisions con sequential
upon Abolition of Laws and Orders), Article 116
The designation of historic sites, places of scenic beauty and/or natural
monuments made prior to the enforcement of this Law, in accordance with the
provision of Article 1 paragraph 1 of the Law for the Preservation of Scenic Sites,
Places of Scenic Beauty and Natural Monuments...shall be regarded as the
designation made in accordance with the Article 69 paragraph 1 of this
Law,...
236

The new law collapsed the 1919, 1929, and 1933 laws into an all-inclusive cultural heritage
package and went further by including designation for intangible cultural properties, defined as
manners, customs, clothes, and folk-entertainment. This was expanded by a 1954 amendment
that set up three new categories of cultural properties: intangible cultural properties, buried
cultural properties, and folk materials. The 1954 amendment also created a designation system
for Important Intangible Folk Materials separate from Tangible Cultural Properties and
established a method of documenting selected Intangible Folk Materials.
237

The process of designating Important Cultural Properties was codified and incorporated
the proposed revisions by the Ministry regarding more government control over cultural
property. The 1950 Law gave authority to the Ministry of Education to designate tangible
important cultural properties as important cultural properties. From these properties, the
Minister may designate those which are especially high value from the context of world culture
and unrivaled national treasures.
238
This differs from Article 1 of the 1929 Law which places
the responsibility of designation in the hands of the National Treasures Preservation Committee
and the appropriate Minister. Upon designation, an announcement was placed in the Official
Gazette and formal written notice was given to the owner of an asset in a manner similar to the
93
236
Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties; Article 117
237
Japan Cultural Properties Department, Agency for Cultural Affairs, Cultural Properties for Future Generations,
http://www.bunka.go.jp (date accessed November 7, 2010), 6
238
Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties; Section 1. Important Cultural Properties; Subsection 1.
Designation
second article in the 1929 Law.
239
Designation can be annulled in cases when an important
cultural property has lost its value or for other reasons. In this case, an official announcement is
made in the Gazette, the owner receives official notice, and is required to return the certificate
within thirty days.
240
This is based on Article 11 of The 1929 Law, which permits the responsible
minister to abolish the designation of a national treasure through the consent of the NTPC when
it was deemed necessary for the public benefit or other special reason.
241
Custody of important cultural properties and national treasures is addressed in Subsection
of the 1950 Law. The Agency for Cultural Affairs is directed to give the owner instructions
regarding the stewardship of important cultural property, when necessary. Specifically, “The
owner of an important cultural property shall undertake custody therefor in accordance with, this
Law, as well the Ministry of Education Ordinances and instructions of the Commissioner of the
Agency for Cultural Affairs, issued thereunder...” The owner may appoint a surrogate if
extenuating circumstances exist and must notify the Commissioner of Cultural Affairs within
twenty days. However, if the owner is found to be unacceptable or untraceable, a provision in
the 1950 Law allows the Agency for Cultural Affairs to appoint a custodial body to manage the
resource.
242
This differs from the previous laws which appeared to put primary custody of a
cultural asset in the hands of the property owner but allowed the ministry to impose tight
restrictions on use and movement.
94
239
Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties; Article 28
240
Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties; Article 29
241
Scott, appendix 3; Article 11; The National Treasures Preservation Law (1929) from The Cultural Property Laws
Of Japan: Social, Political, and Legal Influences; (Seattle, Pacific Rim Law and Policy Journal Association, 2003);
(on file with Scott); 397; (on file with Geoffrey Scott)
242
Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, Subsection 2. Custody (Instruction respecting Method of Custody)
Article 30-34
The 1950 Law places the responsibility of repair in the hands of the custodial body. In
particular, “The repair of an important cultural property shall be conducted by its owner. It shall,
however, be conducted by the custodial body, if such has been appointed.”
243
The 1950 Law also
provides for government subsidies for repair and maintenance costs in a similar manner to the
1929 Law, “Subsidies shall be given according to the amounts estimated for maintenance repairs,
but the surplus balance after exact expenses shall be returned.”
244
The difference is that under
the 1929 Law, repair and maintenance subsidies were used as a reward for compliant owners,
whereas, under the 1950 Law, subsidy allocation appear to be based on need. This is consistent
with ministry proposals to clarify state subsidies for repair. When a National Treasure requires
repair, the Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs can act in advisory capacity
regarding the work. Finally, under the new law, penalties were considerably strengthened. For
example, according to Article 106,
Any person who has, in contravention of the provision of Article 44, exported any
important cultural property without obtaining the permission of the Commissioner
of the Agency for Cultural Affairs shall be liable to imprisonment, with or without
hard labor, for a term not exceeding five (5) years or to a fine not exceeding one
million (1,000,000) yen.
245

Further, the 1950 Law proscribes penalties of imprisonment or fines for individuals who damage,
destroy, or alter cultural properties without consent of the Agency for Cultural Affairs.
246
There
are also administrative penalties, such as fines for individuals who are negligent in their custodial
95
243
Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, Subsection 3. Protection (repair); Article 34-2
244
Scott, appendix 3; Article 15; The National Treasures Preservation Law (1929) from The Cultural Property Laws
Of Japan: Social, Political, and Legal Influences; (Seattle, Pacific Rim Law and Policy Journal Association, 2003);
(on file with Scott); 397; (on file with Geoffrey Scott)
245
Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties; Chapter VII Penal Provisions (Criminal Penalties), Article 106;
$12,700 in 2012
246
Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties; Articles 107-2-5
responsibilities.
247
The influence of A&M can be felt throughout the 1950 Law. The irony is
that at the same time A&M was exerting pressure on the Japanese government to reform its
historic preservation laws, the United States still did not have a comprehensive national historic
preservation program.
The tireless activities of the Arts and Monument Branch and the near catastrophic fire at
H!ry"ji prompted a reconsideration of Japan’s relationship to its heritage. The 1950 Law for the
Protection of Cultural Properties and its subsequent amendments are the enduring legacy of the
Arts and Monuments Branch. The protection of cultural property was an important was part of a
larger program of reeducation, preservation of cultural icons, and demonstrate SCAP’s respect
for Japan’s traditional culture. The new cultural properties protection law combined the previous
laws into a more comprehensive law, and was refined with a 1954 amendment that set up three
new categories of cultural properties. The provisions of the 1950 Law put more control of
cultural properties in the hands of their owners. This could be considered proof of the
A&M’s concern about the careful balance between private property ownership and the
central government’s need to control the stewardship and movement of cultural property.
Further, the 1950 Law collapsed the 1919, 1929, and 1933 laws into a comprehensive piece
of legislation that was expanded upon in 1954 with additional categories for intangible
cultural properties, buried cultural properties and folk materials. In the years following the
Occupation, the 1950 Law continued to expand incorporating new categories that signaled
Japan’s readiness to contribute to world culture.
96
247
Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties; Articles 108-111
V . Going Forward To The Future
In September 1951 the official peace treaty between the United States and Japan, the
Treaty of Peace with Japan, was signed in San Francisco formally ending the Occupation. This
left Japan wondering what direction to take domestically and resulted in a decade of contention
between the conservative and left wing members of the government.
248
During the intervening
and subsequent years, the 1950 Law was amended a number of times. Two amendments in
particular, the Ancient Capital Law passed in 1966 and the Preservation District of Groups of
Traditional Buildings, passed in 1975, created a category for historic districts that combined
structures and their surroundings in a holistic manner. The Japanese concept of the built
environment began to expand in the late 1960s as a result of grass roots movements concerned
about the rapid destruction of historic environments due to rapid development. The 1966 Law
was the foundation for this movement, which was partly a result of citizen action and similar
activities in Nara and Ky!t! in the early 1960s.
249

The Ancient Capitals Law instituted conservation measures for historic districts in the
ancient cities of Nara and its surrounding areas, Ky!t! and Kamakura.
250
It also allowed the
Prime Minister to proclaim “Preservation Districts for Historic Landscapes” or “Preservation
Districts.” The 1950 Law establishes preservation districts, “Municipalities may establish
preservation districts for groups of historic buildings in their city plans within the city planning
areas designated under the provision of Article 5 of the City Planning Law...”
251
The
97
248
Duus, 274
249
Andre Sorensen, The Making of Urban Japan Cities and Planning from Edo to the Twenty-First Century;
(London, England, Routledge, 2002); 307 http://books.google.com (date accessed July 19,2012)
250
Enders and Gutschow, 14
251
Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, Chapter V-2, Article 83-2
Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs or the prefectural Board of Education are
directed to provide guidance, as necessary, to the municipalities for the preservation of Important
Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings. Further, “The Minister of Education
may...classify whole or part of the preservation districts for groups of historic buildings which
possess high value...”
252
Additionally, “The classification under the provision of the preceding
paragraph shall be made by an announcement in the Official Gazette, also by the issuance of a
notice thereof to the municipalities.”
253
The Japan Architect’s Association, a forerunner to the
Japan Institute of Architects, was instrumental in advocating conservation of rural and urban
districts with a large number of historic buildings.
254
Their interest in the conservation of rural
and urban districts is part of ongoing activities to research and study relevant architecture and
town development and support citizen’s town and home development.
255
Towards the end of the
sixties, their efforts reached fruition as the public began to discover and explore historic districts
in the cities of: Hagi (1967), Kanazawa (1968), Kurashiki, Nagiso, Takayama, and Ky!t!.
256

An interest in a system for urban conservation developed out of Japan’s intense postwar
economic expansion, which created a chaotic pattern of massive urban sprawl part of the
century-long process of modernization. Traditional wooden buildings located in the cities were
being replaced with concrete and steel buildings.
257
It is difficult to find a “historic center” in
98
252
Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, Article 83-4; Clause 1
253
Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, Chapter V-2, Article 83-2; Clause 2
254
Enders and Gutschow, 14
255
The Japan Institute of Architects; “10 Activities of JIA;” http://www.jia.or.jp/english/about.html; (date accessed
August 22, 2012)
256
Enders and Gutschow, 14
257
Inaba, “Policy and System of Urban/Territorial Conservation,” 4
many Japanese cities such as those found in Paris or Rome. In medium to large-scale cities, the
only remaining historic zones were isolated patches of the urban fabric near the center or in the
outlying areas. Instead of focusing on concentrated historic zones in these areas, Nobuko Inaba,
Senior Specialist for Cultural Properties of the Agency for Cultural Affairs argues, Japanese
planners and government officials needed to confront historic zone conservation in terms of
larger-scale urban planning. In the late sixties, municipalities took initiatives, prior to those of
the central government, and established their own historic preservation distris Law supported
urban conservation efforts, it was limited to certain towns and cities; forced into action by
citizen’s groups.
At the beginning of the seventies, the Agency for Cultural Affairs initiated its own study
of protective measures designed to create historic districts. In 1972, initial funds were allocated
for the investigation of historic districts and a committee of architects, historians, and city
planners was formed to develop measures for implementation. In 1975, an amendment to the
1950 Law, Preservation District for a Group of Historic Buildings and Techniques for the
Preservation of Cultural Properties was passed.
258
The 1975 amendment gave local governments
the authority to establish preservation districts for groups of historic buildings, provide technical
assistance, and made available national government subsidies for their preservation.
259
To date,
the bulk of these designated districts have been have been traditional main-street commercial
districts tying preservation efforts to economic development and typically restoring everything in
99
258
Enders and Gutschow, 14
259
Protection of Cultural Property, ch. V-2, quoted in Chester H. Liebs, “Listing of Tangible Cultural Properties
Expanded Recognitions For Historic Buildings, Pacific Rim Law & Policy Journal; V ol. 7, No. 3 (1998): 679-97
(date accessed December 28, 2011)
the historic fabric to a more idealized time.
260
One example is the town of Imai-cho (figures 33
and 34) in southwest Japan. Imai-cho flourished as a commercial center, and today it looks as it
did during the eighteenth century. Part of Imai-cho’s uniqueness is that most of the houses, eight
of which are designated “Important Cultural Properties,” are inhabited by the descendants of the
original owners.
261
The preservation activities at Imai-cho are expressions of a romanticized idea
of the “old village.”
262
The idea of the “Old village” has been a part of cultural life for over three
decades and has connections to the country’s rural premodern past. At Imai-cho, the goal was
recreating a time before Japan’s modern era.

Figure 33: Map indicating Imai-cho (http://www.gdrc.org), left
Figure 34: Imai-cho streetscape (http://www.shinchiku.homes.co.jp), right

100
260
Liebs
261
Liebs
262
Jennifer Robertson, “Furusato Japan: The Culture and Politics of Nostalgia;” Politics, Culture, and Society 1;
(4); 494-518; quoted in Peter Siegenthaler, “Creation Myths;”Planning Forum, 9; (2003); http://www.txstate.edu
(date accessed July 18, 2012); 34
One of the lingering preservation challenges Japan faces is the continuing loss of its
traditional historic structures. At the same time, the nation is slowly beginning to recognize its
“modern heritage.”
263
In the West, “modern heritage” refers to buildings from the early twentieth
century to the eighties. By contrast, the Japanese “modern heritage” defined as structures built
between the mid-nineteenth century, when Japan entered the Meiji era and the postwar fifties.
This encompasses a wide range of structures including: farms, factories, bridges, railroad
stations, and office buildings. These buildings were long derided as “Western,” thus not
authentically Japanese. Currently there is a growing realization among scholars, officials,
organizations, and organizations that while these buildings display Western influences, they were
filtered through the prism of Japanese sensibilities, traditions, materials, and craftsmanship.
264

While the lack of knowledge regarding the historic value of these buildings may, in part, explain
the continuing demolition, there are other factors at work resulting from postwar economic
expansion. First, is the high inheritance tax for a property and greater land values. Second,
financial institutions make new construction loans at relatively low interest rates. Third, the
SCAP manufactured constitution strongly reinforces private property rights which dampens
preservation efforts. Fourth, the Japanese people often point out that restoring traditional
buildings requires specialized skill and material which are expensive and short supply. Finally,
architects and engineers are enamored with the Modernist tabula rasa philosophy.
265
One
example of efforts to protect Japan’s modern architectural heritage is the Nakagin Capsule Hotel.

101
263
Liebs, 685-6
264
Liebs
265
Liebs, 687-8
Figure 35: Nakagin Capsule Hotel Exterior (http://www.figure-ground.com), left
Figure 36: Isometric of Capsule (http://www.architecturalmoleskine.blogspot.com), right
The Nakagin Capsule Hotel (figures 35 and 36) was completed in 1972 by Kishio
Kurukawa (figure 37). The tower was part of Kurokawa’s exploration of capsule architecture
developed for Expo’70 with the Takara Beautilion, which was demolished after the event.
266
The
idea of impermanence and moveability, based on the Metabolist movement, influenced the
construction of the tower. From its beginning, the two basic components-the megastructure and
the capsules were intended to last sixty years and twenty-five years respectively.
267
Kurokawa
explained, “...the lifespan of the capsule was not a mechanical one, but rather a social one,
implying that it is the changing human needs and social relationship that required such periodic
replacement.”
268
The building was recognized by the Documentation and Conservation of the
102
266
Zhongjie Lin, Kenzo Tange and the Metabolist Movement Urban Utopias of Modern Japan, (London and New
York, Routledge, 2010); 234-5
267
Lin, 236
268
Noriaki Kurokawa, “Challenge to the Capsule: Nakagin Capsule Tower Building;” Japan Architect 47 (Oct.
1972); 17, quoted in Lin
Modern Movement (DoCoMoMo) as an architectural heritage site in 1996. Since then, it has
fallen into disrepair.

Figure 37: Kishio Kurokawa (http://www.nytimes.com)
In 1998, Kishio Kurokawa Architects and Associates developed a renovation plan,
“Nakagin Capsule Tower Renovation Plan,”
269
which would update the service core and replace
the capsules. Kurokawa posited that replacing the individual capsules would be more cost-
effective than tearing down the building. When he designed the hotel, Kurakawa expected to
replace the capsules every twenty-five years. Ironically, as T!ky! continues to grow and
transform itself so much that it outpaces the “metabolism” envisioned by the architects, the
dominant real estate paradigm, and requires the entire hotel be renewed not just the individual
capsules.
270
The result is more renovation and rebuilding in Japan, as well as New York City
than in most other places complicating preservation efforts.
271
Kurokawa’s plan was supported
by the Japanese Institute of Architecture and architects around the world. Global support for his
initiative demonstrates the recognition of the Nakagin Capsule Hotel’s place in the continuum of
103
269
Lin, 241
270
Lin, 240
271
Botand Bogar, “What Goes Up, Must Come Down: recent urban Architecture in Japan,” Harvard Design
Magazine, vol. 3 (Fall, 1997); 35, quoted in Lin
Japan’s architectural heritage. The ongoing efforts to save the hotel from demolition serves as
reminder of its importance in the history of modern Japanese architecture.
The ongoing preservation effort of the Nakagin Capsule Hotel poses the question, what
criteria is used to determine buildings and objects worthy candidates for designation? Isozaki
Arata writes, “The professional appraisal that originated in selecting and judging [what] would
now be called ‘art’ from among everyday utensils was from by Western-style ‘Japanese
taste.’”
272
This concept of “Japan-ness” belonged to the external gaze projected by the West.
Kikuchi Yuko argues that this external gaze was a response by the Japanese to the West’s interest
the exotic and contributed to the way Japan looked at its own works of architecture and art.
273

Writer Yanagi Sôetsu’s theories helped call attention to Japan’s indigenous craft tradition, which
was subject to protection and preservation beginning with the 1933 Law on The Preservation of
Important Art Objects. Whether Yanagi’s theory had any influence on the criteria for
determining what is worthy of protection under The 1933 Law is conjectural and the subject for
another paper. Therefore, it is possible that this Western construct of Japan-ness informed the
way the National Treasures Preservation Committee evaluated what merited preservation.
Perhaps the solution to the question of how to evaluate Japanese historic and cultural resources is
developing a hybrid criteria of what is worthy of designation.
In the years following World War II, Japan has demonstrated an eagerness to be
contributor to world culture. It became a signatory to The Convention for the Protection of
Cultural Properties in the Event of Armed Conflict with Regulations for the Execution of the
104
272
Isozaki, Arata, Kohso Sabu transl, David B. Stewart editor, Mori Toshiko foreword Japan-ness in Architecture,
273
For a full discussion on the topic please refer to Kikuchi, Japanese Modernisation and Mingei Theory; pp.
109-10 and 153
Convention 1954 (Hague Protocol) and the Fight Against The Illicit Trafficking of Cultural
Objects 1970 Convention: Past and Future (1970 Convention). The Hague Protocol was ratified
by Japan on September 6, 1954 and recognized the damage, destruction and theft committed
during the course of war. The document defined cultural properties, conservation procedures for
armies of occupation, and implemented strategies for protection from destruction and theft that
resulted from warfare. The 1970 Convention attempted to institute a legal framework to fight the
illicit trafficking of cultural properties during peacetime. It required member nations to adopt
protective measures in their territories, control the movement of cultural property through
administrative measures, and implement procedures for returning stolen property.
In 1993, the Nara Document on Authenticity (Nara Document) was formally adopted by
the United Nations Economic Sciences and Culture Organization at a conference held in Nara,
Japan. The conference was organized by the Agency for Cultural Affairs and signaled Japan’s
greater commitment to global heritage conservation. The Nara Document is based on the
International Charter For The Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites (Venice
Charter). The Venice Charter expanded on the Athens Charter of 1931 which contributed to the
development of an international consensus regarding historic and cultural conservation. The
Athens Charter focused on single works of architecture irrespective of setting. The Venice
Charter widened the focus to include, “The concept of a historic monument embraces not only
the single architectural work but also the urban or rural setting in which is found the evidence of
a particular civilization, a significant development or a historic event.”
274
The Nara Document
“...builds on [the Venice Charter] and extends it in response to the expanding scope of cultural
105
274
International Charter For The Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites (The Venice Charter 1964);
Article 1, “Definitions,” Venice, Italy May 25-31, 1964; UNESCO, International Congress of Architects and
Technicians of Historic Monuments, ICOMOS; http://whc.unesco.org/conventiontext/
heritage and interests in our contemporary world...”
275
It recognized the diversity of cultures
and heritage as an integral part of the global heritage and declared that its protection and
enhancement are an essential part of human development.
276
Japan accepted the UNESCO
World Heritage Convention in 1992 and has contributed to the establishment of a system of
international cooperation and support predicated on the recognition of the importance of
protecting cultural and natural resources as part of the world heritage.
277
In October 2003, the
UNESCO General Conference approved the Convention for Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural
Heritage, requiring an inventory of intangible cultural heritage from each member country.
Based on its earlier laws, Japan ahead of many countries in this respect.
In contemporary times, Japan has been involved in global efforts to protect cultural
property from illicit trafficking. Its participation stems from the fact that Japan itself has been a
victim of theft. The irony here is Japan has been a considered a safe haven for stolen artifacts
from other countries.
278
This characterization is due to Japan’s perceived concentration of
discretionary wealth, its position as a long-standing, major political and economic force in the
world, and its laws regarding treatment of legitimate purchasers of cultural artifacts sympathetic
to current owners claiming title to objects with a questionable provenances.
279
Of the three
factors, the last is the most problematic because ownership, according to Japanese civil law, is
106
275
The Nara Document On Authenticity; Preamble, Article 3: “Authenticity in Relation to The World Heritage
Convention,” Nara, Japan, November 1-6, 1993; UNESCO, ICCOM, and ICOMOS; http://whc.unesco.org/events/
gt-zimbabwe/nara.htm (date accessed (July 7, 2011)
276
The Nara Document On Authenticity; “Cultural Diversity and Heritage Diversity, Article 5
277
The Convention for the Protection of the World Culture and Natural Heritage, was adopted by UNESCO in 1972:
quoted in Japan; Agency for Cultural Affairs: The World Heritage in Japan
278
Geoffrey R. Scott, Spoliation, Cultural Property, and Japan (Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Journal of
International Law), vol. 29, issue 4; https://www.law.upenn.edu/journals/jil/articles/volume29/issue4/
scott29u.pa.j.int’il.803(2008).pdf (date accessed July 4, 2012); 813
279
Scott
broadly defined. For example, a rightful owner can be defined as the recipient of cultural objects
given or sent as a gesture of goodwill to diplomates, government officials, or business persons by
those who were, in the location where they were exported.
280
This means that even if the object
was dubiously obtained, the gift recipient is considered the rightful owner according to Japanese
law. Thus it makes repatriation of cultural property extremely difficult because finding the
original owner can be difficult if no recognizable living person suffered from its direct loss.
281

Thus Japan’s concept of property ownership has complicated participation in international
agreements on the disposition of illicit movement of cultural property.

Figure 38: Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotional Hall, 1933 (http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp), left
Figure 39: Hiroshima Peace Memorial (http://whc.unesco.org), right
In the 1990s, Japan has submitted a number of historic properties for inscription on the
World Heritage List. Most of the properties predate Japan’s modern era, however, the Hiroshima
Peace Memorial represents Japan’s modern history. The Peace Memorial (originally The
Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotional Hall figures 38 and 39) was designed by Czech
architect Jan Letzel and completed in 1914. The memorial was inscribed as a World Heritage
107
280
Scott, 817
281
Scott, 819
Site in 1996, based on criteria six, “...directly or tangibly associated with events or living
traditions, with idea, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal
significance.”
282
Japan has submitted twelve properties to UNESCO for tentative designation as
World Heritage Sites. Of the twelve sites, the Tomioka Silk Mill and Related Industrial Heritage
(2007), Main Building of the National Museum of Western Art (2007), and the Modern Industrial
Heritage Sites in Kyushu and Yamaguchi (2009) are directly connected to Japan’s modern era.
283

In acknowledgment of the Christian Missionaries in pre-Ed! era Japan, in 2007 a group of
Churches and Christian Sites In Nagasaki was submitted for inclusion on the list for tentative
inscription
Finally, how does the discussion of cultural identity and preservation law fit within the
rubric of Japanese preservation? Japanese preservation laws can be split into two phases,
reactive and proactive. The reactive phase begins in the Early Meiji period and ends after World
War II. This period presents us with laws that address the issues raised by the modernization
program. The key issue was how to conserve historic resources in the face of growing
industrialization and urbanization. The preservation laws enacted during this period appear to
respond to rapidly changing social, political, cultural, economic conditions. They also seem to
tightly control movement and attempt to mitigate the tide of illicit trafficking. The proactive
stage began with the passage of the 1950 Law For The Protection of Cultural Properties. In this
stage, Japan is actively seeking to contribute its historic resources to the canon of world culture.
Also Japan is beginning to recognize its Modern architectural heritage indicated by the ongoing
preservation program of Nakagin Capsule Hotel. Japan has also demonstrated its willingness to
108
282
http://whc.unesco.org/en/criteria (date accessed October 17, 2012)
283
http://whc.unesco.org/en/stateparties/jp (date accessed August 28, 2012)
add to the growing canon of world culture with its participation in UNESCO both as a signatory
on Nara Document and the numerous historic and cultural properties inscribed on the World
Heritage List. Japan has made great strides and continues to help define the ways the global
communities identifies and protects resources important to local, regional, national, and
international cultures.
Shinjuku District at Night, T!ky!, Japan (http://www.masterfile.com)
109
Acknowledgments
On a personal note, this research has been an amazing ride and I had a few people join for the
trip. What started out as nice art history project discussing Bruno Taut’s scholarship on Katsura
Detached Palace and the role it played in the Japanese modern movement morphed into an
exciting and sometimes frustrating look at Japanese Preservation Law. A very big thank you to
the best committee a person could ever have: my very patient Chair Jay Platt and my two
wonderful readers Prof. Vinayak Bharne and Prof. Kendall H. Brown of California State
University Long Beach. Sharing this journey has been all my great and knowledgeable
professors at Santa Monica College who gave me the keys, everyone at CSU Long Beach who
let me explore, my professors at San Jose State University who showed me how, and finally
everyone and USC for proving that the school motto should be changed from “Fight On” to “Go,
do, you’ll be great.” A special thank you goes to the faculty of the Historic Preservation
program: Trudi Sandmeier, Peyton Hall, Ken Breisch for the amazing photographs, Diane
Ghirardo, Warren Techintin, Simon Pastuscha, and Neil Leach, everyone at Sol Price School of
Public Policy; David Sloan, Janis Breidenbach, Tridib Banerjee, Elizabeth Currid-Halskett and
Prof. Geoffrey R. Scott at the Dickinson School of Law at Pennsylvania State University for the
treasure trove of information. Thank you, merci, הבר הדות.
110
Appendix I. Outline of Japanese Preservation Laws 1871-1950
The Preservation of Antiquities and Ancient Goods, Cabinet Announcement (1871)
Ordered prefectures, temples, and shrines to assist with compiling a national register of
important art treasures.
First preservation regulation that addressed religious institutions that suffered financially from
nationalization
The Daigaku, an ancestor to the Ministry of Education decreed the designation of thirty-one
categories of cultural artifacts be placed under protection for the purpose of stimulating
appreciation by their owners and prevent the properties from being sold.
The Law for The Preservation of Ancient Shrines and Temples: Law #49 (1897)
Created a standardized system for registration, designation, maintenance, and subsidy allocation
First preservation law administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs until 1913, then by the
Ministry of Education
Mandated inventories of religious institutions along with the objects in their possession, helped
stop the more radical directions of civilization and enlightenment, thus preserving a tangible link
to the past.
The 1897 Law contained that established government financial support for the preservation of
buildings and the restoration of artworks
Prototype for 1950 Cultural Protection Law
111
The Historical Sites, Places of Scenic Beauty, and Natural Monuments Preservation Law:
Law #44 (1919)
Empowered the Minister of Home Affairs to designate historic sites, scenic spots and natural
history preserves
Allowed prefectural governors to temporarily designate sites
Encouraged prefectural governors to undertake surveys and identify sites in conjunction with
conservation measures initiated by the Archeological Finds Preservation by Prefectures (Law
#221) and the -Do- (Law #222)
Encouraged compliance through threat of fine
Law For The Preservation of National Treasures: Law #17 (1929)
Covered all properties religious or secular
Incorporated the essence of 1897 Law, expanding it to include any structure, treasure, or
significant historical object and fine arts
Established the National Treasures Preservation Committee-tasked with formal protection of
cultural properties
Strictly regulated the use, maintenance and movement of religious and secular cultural property
through threat of fines and prison
Required property owners to provide detailed reports
Provided maintenance subsidies for compliant property owners
Introduced permits
112
Law For The Preservation Important Art Objects Law #43 (1933)
Emergency response to prevent art objects not yet designated as National Treasures from being
sent out of the country
Strictly controlled the sale and movement of important art objects through increased penalties
Widened designation to include books, painting, sculpture, calligraphy, and later swords
The 1933 Law was not applied to works done by living artists less than fifty years old
The Cultural Properties Protection Law (1950)
Abolished prior preservation laws and brought previously designated cultural properties under
protection
Expanded in 1954 to include intangible cultural properties, buried cultural properties, and folk
material. The 1954 amendment also created a designation system for tangible folk material
separate from tangible cultural property and established a method of documenting selected
intangible folk material
Established regulations for ownership, repair.
Instituted administrative penalties for negligent cultural property owners
113
Appendix II: List of National Treasures: Castles
Name of Castle Location Date Prefecture
Hikone Castle Tenshu Momoyama Period c.
1606
Hikone, Shiga
Prefecture
Hikone Castle Connection and Tamon
Towers
Momoyama Period c.
1606
Hikone, Shiga
Prefecture
Himeiji Castle Big Tenshu Momoyama Period c.
1608
Himeiji, Hy!go
Himeiji Castle Northwest Small
Tower
Momoyama Period c.
1609
Himeiji, Hy!go
Himeiji Castle West Small Tower Momoyama Period c.
1609
Himeiji, Hy!go
Himeiji Castle East Small Tower Momoyama Period c.
1609
Himeiji, Hy!go
Himeiji Castle I, Ro, Ha, Ni-
corridors
Momoyama Period c.
1609
Himeiji, Hy!go
Inuyama Castle Tenshu Momoyama Period c.
1601
Inuyama, Aichi
Matsumoto Castle Tenshu Tenshu-early Ed!;
around early Genna era
Matsumoto, Nagano
Matsumoto Castle Northwest Smallest
Tower
Momoyama Period;
Bunroku era
Matsumoto, Nagano
Matsumoto Castle Connecting Tower Early Ed!; around
early Genna era
Matsumoto, Nagano
Matsumoto Castle Southeast Smallest
Tower
Early Ed!; around
early Kan’ei era
Matsumoto, Nagano
Matsumoto Castle Moon-viewing Tower Early Ed!; around
early Kan’ei era
Matsumoto, Nagano
http://www.ask.com/wiki/List_of_National_Treasures_(castles)?qsrc=3044
114
List of National Treasures: Residences
Name of Residence Room Date Prefecture
Sanb!-in Karamon Momoyama Ky!t!, Ky!t!
Ginkaku-ji Ginkaku-ji Mid-Muromachi Ky!t!, Ky!t!
Ginkaku-ji T!gu-d! LateMuromachi
1485
Ky!t!, Ky!t!
Ninomaru Palace
(Nij! Castle)
Retainer’s Room and
Entrance Hall
Early Ed! period,
1602-03 and 1625-6
Ky!t!, Ky!t!
Ninomaru Palace
(Nij! Castle)
Reception Room Early Ed! period,
1602-03 and 1625-6
Ky!t!, Ky!t!
Ninomaru Palace
(Nij! Castle)
Great Hall Early Ed! period,
1602-03 and 1625-6
Ky!t!, Ky!t!
Ninomaru Palace
(Nij! Castle)
Japanese Fern-Palm
chamber
Early Ed! period,
1602-03 and 1625-6
Ky!t!, Ky!t!
Ninomaru Palace
(Nij! Castle)
White Study Room Early Ed! period,
1602-03 and 1625-6
Ky!t!, Ky!t!
Ninomaru Palace
(Nij! Castle)
Black Study Room Early Ed! period,
1657
Ky!t!, Ky!t!
Nishi Honganji Shoin Meeting Room Early Ed! period,1618 Ky!t!, Ky!t!
Nishi Honganji Flying Cloud Pavilion Momoyama
1573-1614 or 1624-44
Ky!t!, Ky!t!
My!kian Taian Momoyama; Tensh!
era
#yamazaki, Ky!t!
Ry!k!-in (Daitoku-ji) Shoin Meeting Room Early Ed! period Ky!t!, Ky!t!
State Guesthouse
Akasaka Palace
Former Crown
Prince’s Palace
Late Meiji period,
1909
T!ky!
http://www.ask.com/wiki/List_of_National_Treasures_(residences)?qsrc=3044
115
List of National Treasures: Shrines
Shrine Room Date Prefecture
#saki Hachiman
Shrine
#saki Hachiman
Shrine
Azuchi-Momoyama
period, 1607
Sendai, Miyagi
T!sh!-g" Main Hall Early Ed! period, 1636 Nikk!, Tochigi
T!sh!-g" Y!meimon Early Ed! period, 1636 Nikk!, Tochigi
T!sh!-g" Karamon Early Ed! period, 1636 Nikk!, Tochigi
T!sh!-g" T!zai Sukibei Early Ed! period, 1636 Nikk!, Tochigi
Taiyuin Mausoleum Main Hall Early Ed! period, 1653 Nikk!, Tochigi
Nishina Shinmei
Shrine
Main Hall and Inner
Gate
Middle Ed! 1630
(inner gate) and 1636
(main hall)
#machi, Nagano
Kangi-in Sh!den Hall Middle Ed! 1744
(Okuden) and 1760
(Ch"den)
Kumagaya, Saitama
Kun!zan T!sh!-g" Main Hall, Room of
Stone, and Oratory
Ed! period, 1617 Shizuoka, Shizuoka
Mii-dera Shinra Zenjin Hall Early Muromachi
period, 1347
Yasu, Shiga
Mikami Shrine Main Hall Late Kamakura Period Yasu, Shiga
#sasahara Shrine Main Hall Middle Muromachi
period 1414
Nagahama, Shiga
Hiyoshi Taisha West Hall of Worship Azuchi-Momoyama
period, 1586
#tsu, Shiga
116
Shrine Room Date Prefecture
Hiyoshi Taisha East Hall of Worship Azuchi-Momoyama
period, 1595
#tsu, Shiga
Namura Shrine West Main Hall Late Kamakura Period,
1308
Ry"!, Shiga
Ujigami Shrine Main Hall Early Kamakura
Period
Uji, Ky!t!
Ujigami Shrine Oratory Early Kamakura
Period
Uji, Ky!t!
Kamomioya Shrine
or Shimogamo Shrine
East Main Hall and
West Main Hall
End of Ed! Period,
1863
Ky!t!
Kamowakeikazuchi
Shrine or Kamigano
Shrine
Main Hall and
Associate Hall
End of Ed! Period,
1863
Ky!t!
Seiry!g" (Daigo-ji
upper Daigo
Oratory Middle Muromachi
period 1434
Ky!t!
Toyokuni Shrine Karamon Azuchi-Momoyama
period, 1573-1614
Ky!t!
Kitano Tenman-g" Main Hall, Room of
Stone, Oratory, and
Music Chamber
Azuchi-Momoyama
period, 1607
Ky!t!
Sakurai Shrine Oratory Late Kamakura Period Sakai, Osaka
Sumiyoshi Taisha Main Hall Late Ed! Period 1810 Osaka
Uda Mikurami Shrine Main Hall Late Kamakura Period,
1320
Uda, Nara
Kasuga Shrine Main Hall Late Ed! Period 1863 Nara, Nara
Sessha Izumo Takeo
Shrine
Oratory Late Kamakura Period,
1300
Tenri, Nara
117
Shrine Room Date Prefecture
Enj!-ji Hakusan-d! Early Kamakura
Period, Antei era
Nara, Nara
Okuno-in (Sanbutsu-ji Nageiri Hall Late Heian Period Misasa, Tottori
Izumo Taisha Main Hall Middle Ed! Period,
Enky! era
Taisha, Shimane
Kamosu Shrine Main Hall Azuchi-Momoyama
period, 1583
Matsue, Shimane
Kibitsu Shrine Main Hall and Oratory Middle Muromachi
period 1425
Okayama
Itsukushima Shrine Main Shrine, Main
Hall, Oratory,
Offering Hall
Early Kamakura and
later Muromachi
period, 1241
Hatsukaichi,
Hiroshima
Itsukushima Shrine Main Shrine,
Purification Hall
Early Kamakura
Period, 1241
Hatsukaichi,
Hiroshima
Itsukushima Shrine Shrine for Guest
Deities and
Purification Hall
Early Kamakura
Period, 1241
Hatsukaichi,
Hiroshima
Itsukushima Shrine East Corridor Azuchi-Momoyama
period, Eiroku to
Keich! era
Hatsukaichi,
Hiroshima
Itsukushima Shrine West Corridor Azuchi-Momoyama
period, 1563-1602
Hatsukaichi,
Hiroshima
Sumiyoshi Shrine Main Hall Early Muromachi
period, 1370
Shimonoseki,
Yamaguchi
Kandani Shrine Main Hall Early Kamakura
Period, 1219
Sakaide, Kagawa
Aoi Aso Shrine Main Hall Azuchi-Momoyama
period, 1610
Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto
Aoi Aso Shrine Corridor Azuchi-Momoyama
period, 1611
Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto
118
Shrine Room Date Prefecture
Aoi Aso Shrine Offering Hall Azuchi-Momoyama
period, 1610
Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto
Aoi Aso Shrine Oratory Azuchi-Momoyama
period, 1611
Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto
Aoi Aso Shrine R!mon Azuchi-Momoyama
period, 1613
Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto
Usa Shrine Main Hall Late Ed! Period
Bunky! era, 1855
Usa, #ita
http://www.ask.com/wiki/List_of_National_Treasures_(shrines)?qsrc=3044
Bolded entries indicate inscription on the World Heritage Monument list
119
List of National Treasures: Temples
Name of Temple Room Date Prefecture
Ch"son-ji Golden Hall Late Heian Period,
1241
Hiraizumi, Iwate
Zuigan-ji Priest Quarters and
Corridors
Momoyama period,
1609
Matsushima, Miyagi
Zuigan-ji Main Hall Momoyama period,
1609
Matsushima, Miyagi
Three Mountains of
Dewa
Five-storied Pagoda Early Muromachi
Period, 1372
Tsuruoka, Yamagata
Ganj!-ji Shiramizu Amidad! Late Heian Period,
1160
Iwaki, Fukushima
Sh!fuku-ji Jiz! Hall Middle Muromachi
period, 1470
Higashimurayama,
T!ky!
Engaku-ji Shariden Middle Muromachi
period
Kamakura, Kanagawa
Zuiry"-ji Lecture Hall Early Ed! period, 1655 Takaoka, Toyama
Zuiry"-ji Sanmon Late Ed! period, 1818 Takaoka, Toyama
My!ts"-ji Three-Storied Pagoda Early Kamakura
period, 1257
Obama, Fukui
My!ts"-ji Main Hall Early Kamakura
period, 1258
Obama, Fukui
Seihaku-ji Buddha Hall Middle Muromachi
period, 1415
Yamanashi, Yamanashi
Daizen-ji Yakushi Hall Late Kamakura Period K!sh", Yamanashi
Anraku-ji Octagonal Three-
Storied Pagoda
Late Kamakura Period Ueda, Nagano
120
Name of Temple Room Date Prefecture
Zenk!-ji Main Hall Early Muromachi
Period, 1333
Nagano, Nagano
Daih!-ji Three-Storied Pagoda Early Muromachi
Period, 1333
Aoki, Nagano
Ankoku-ji Scripture House Middle Muromachi
period, 1408
Takayama, Gifu
Eih!-ji Founder’s Hall Early Muromachi
Period
Tajimi, Gifu
Konren-ji Amida Hall Late Kamakura Period Kira, Aichi
Mii-dera Golden Hall Momoyama period,
1599
#tsu, Shiga
Enryaku-ji Konpon-ch"d! Early Ed! period,
1640
#tsu, Shiga
Kong!rin-ji Main Hall Early Muromachi
Period
Aish!, Shiga
J!raku-ji Three-Storied Pagoda Middle Muromachi
period, 1400
Konan, Shiga
J!raku-ji Main Hall Early Muromachi
Period, 1360
Konan, Shiga
Saimy!-ji Three-Storied Pagoda Late Kamakura Period K!ra, Shiga
Saimy!-ji Main Hall Early Muromachi
Period
K!ra, Shiga
Ishiyama-dera Tah!t! Early Kamakura
period, 1194
#tsu, Shiga
Ishiyama-dera Main Hall Late Heian Period,
1096
#tsu, Shiga
Zensui-ji Main Hall Early Muromachi
Period, 1366
Konan, Shiga
121
Name of Temple Room Date Prefecture
Ch!ju-ji Main Hall Early Kamakura period Konan, Shiga
H!gon-ji Karamon Momoyama period Nagahama, Shiga
Kaij"sen-ji Five-Storied Pagoda Early Kamakura
period, 1214
Kizugawa, Ky!t!
T!-ji Golden Hall Momoyama period,
1603
Ky!t!
T!-ji Five-Storied Pagoda Early Ed! period,
1643
Ky!t!
T!-ji Daishi Hall or Miei
Hall
Early Muromachi
Period, 1380
Ky!t!
T!-ji Lotus Flower Gate Early Kamakura
period
Ky!t!
K!my!-ji Ni!mon Early Kamakura
period, 1248
Ayabe, Ky!t!
K!ry"-ji Keig"-in Main Hall Early Kamakura
period, before 1251
Ky!t!, Ky!t!
K!zani-ji Sekisui-in Early Kamakura period Ky!t!, Ky!t!
J!rui-ji Three-Storied Pagoda Late Heian Period,
before 1178
Kizugawa, Ky!t!
J!rui-ji Main Hall Late Heian Period,
1157
Kizugawa, Ky!t!
Ninna-ji Golden Hall Momoyama period,
1613
Ky!t!
Kiyomizu-dera Main Hall Early Ed! period, 1633 Ky!t!
Daisen-in Main Hall Late Muromachi
period, 1513
Ky!t!
122
Name of Temple Room Date Prefecture
Ry!gen-ji (Daitoku-ji) H!j! with Entrance Early Ed! period,
1635, entrance from
1636
Ky!t!
Daitoku-ji Karamon Momoyama period Ky!t!
Daih!on-ji Main Hall or Senbon
Shakad!
Early Kamakura
period, 1227
Ky!t!
Daigo-ji Golden Hall Late Heian Period Ky!t!
Daigo-ji Five-Storied Pagoda Middle Heian Period,
952
Ky!t!
Daigo-ji Yakushi Hall Late Heian Period,
1121
Ky!t!
Chion-in Sanmon Early Ed! period, 1621 Ky!t!
Chion-in Main Hall or Miei Hall Early Ed! period, 1639 Ky!t!
T!fuku-ji Sanmon Middle Muromachi
period, 1405
Ky!t!
Nanzen-ji H!j! Middle Momoyama
period, 1573-1591
Ky!t!
By!d!-in Phoenix Hall Middle Heian Period,
1053
Uji, Ky!t!
H!kai-ji Amida Hall Early Kamakura period Ky!t!
Nishi Hongan-ji Karamon Momoyama period,
1573-1614
Ky!t!
My!h!-ji Priest Quarters Momoyama period,
1573-1614
Ky!t!
Ry!ginan-ji H!j! Early Muromachi
Period, 1387
Ky!t!
123
Name of Temple Room Date Prefecture
Sanj"sangen-d! Main Hall Kamakura period, 1266 Ky!t!
Kanshin-ji Golden Hall Early Muromachi
Period, Sh!hei era
Kawachinagano, Osaka
K!on-ji Kannon Hall Late Kamakura Period,
1300
Kaizuka, Osaka
Jigen-ji Tah!t! Early Kamakura
period, 1271
Izumisano, Osaka
Ichij!-ji Three-Storied Pagoda Late Heian Period,
1171
Kasai, Hy!go
J!do-ji J!do Hall Late Kamakura Period,
1285
Ono, Hy!go
Taisan-ji Main Hall Late Kamakura Period,
1285
Kobe, Hy!go
Ch!k!-ji Main Hall Middle Muromachi
period, 1413-1428
Kat!, Hy!go
Kakurin-ji Taishid! Late Heian Period,
1121
Kakogawa, Hy!go
Kakurin-ji Main Hall Middle Muromachi
period, 1397
Kakogawa, Hy!go
Kairy"!-ji Small Five-Storied
Pagoda
Nara Period, Tenpy!
era
Nara, Nara
K!fuku-ji Five-Storied Pagoda Middle Muromachi
period
Nara, Nara
K!fuku-ji Three-Storied Pagoda Early Kamakura
period
Nara, Nara
K!fuku-ji Eastern Golden Hall Middle Muromachi
period, 1425
Nara, Nara
K!fuku-ji North Octagonal Hall Early Kamakura
period, 1210
Nara, Nara
124
Name of Temple Room Date Prefecture
Kinpusen-ji Ni! Gate Middle Muromachi
period, 1456
Yoshino, Nara
Kinpusen-ji Main Hall Momoyama period,
1591
Yoshino, Nara
Ganj!-ji Gokurakub! Small Five-Storied
Pagoda
Nara Period, late
eighth century
Nara, Nara
Ganj!-ji Gokurakub! Zen Room Early Kamakura
period
Nara, Nara
Ganj!-ji Gokurakub! Main Hall part of the
World Heritage Site
Historic Monuments
of Ancient Nara
Early Heian Period Nara, Nara
Mur!-ji Golden Hall Early Heian Period Uda, Nara
Mur!-ji Five-Storied Pagoda Early Heian Period Uda, Nara
Mur!-ji Main Hall Late Kamakura Period,
1308
Uda, Nara
Akishinodera Main Hall Early Kamakura period Nara, Nara
J"rin-ji Main Hall Early Kamakura period Nara, Nara
Shin-Yakushi-ji Main Hall Nara Period Nara, Nara
T!dai-ji Sh!s!in Nara Period, c. 756 Nara, Nara
Ch!ky"-ji Main Hall Late Kamakura Period,
1279
Ikoma, Nara
Hase-dera Main Hall Early Ed! period, 1650 Sakurai, Nara
T!sh!dai-ji Golden Hall Nara Period, eighth
century
Nara, Nara
125
Name of Temple Room Date Prefecture
T!sh!dai-ji Scripture House Nara Period, eighth
century
Nara, Nara
T!sh!dai-ji Ko r ! Early Kamakura
period, 1240
Nara, Nara
T!sh!dai-ji Lecture Hall Nara Period, 763 Nara, Nara
T!sh!dai-ji Treasure House Nara Period Nara, Nara
T!dai-ji Founder’s Hall Early Kamakura
period, 1200 (inner
temple 1250
Nara, Nara
T!dai-ji Golden Hall or Great
Buddha Hall
Middle Ed! period,
1705
Nara, Nara
T!dai-ji Belfry Early Kamakura
period, J!gen era
Nara, Nara
T!dai-ji Tegaimon Nara Period, Tenpy!-
h!ji era
Nara, Nara
T!dai-ji Nandaimon Early Kamakura
period, 1199
Nara, Nara
T!dai-ji Nigatsu-do Middle Ed! period,
1669
Nara, Nara
T!dai-ji Hokke-do or
Sangatsu do
Nara Period, 747
(image hall) and 1199
(worship hall
Nara, Nara
T!dai-ji Scripture House Nara Period Nara, Nara
Hokki-ji Three-Storied Pagoda Asuka Period, 706 Ikaruga, Nara
H!ry"-ji East Corridor and
West Corridor
Asuka Period, 700 Ikaruga, Nara
H!ry"-ji Golden Hall Asuka Period, by 693 Ikaruga, Nara
H!ry"-ji Scripture House Nara Period Ikaruga, Nara
126
Name of Temple Room Date Prefecture
H!ry"-ji Five-Storied Pagoda Asuka Period, 703 Ikaruga, Nara
H!ry"-ji K!f"z! Early Heian Period Ikaruga, Nara
H!ry"-ji Three Sutra Hall and
West Dormitory
Early Kamakura
period, 1231
Ikaruga, Nara
H!ry"-ji Belfry Middle Heian Period,
1005-1020
Ikaruga, Nara
H!ry"-ji Refectory Nara Period Ikaruga, Nara
H!ry"-ji Sh!ry!-in Kamakura period,
1284
Ikaruga, Nara
H!ry"-ji West Octagonal Hall Early Kamakura
period, 1250
Ikaruga, Nara
H!ry"-ji Large Lecture Hall Middle Heian Period,
990
Ikaruga, Nara
H!ry"-ji Inner Gate Asuka Period, 700 Ikaruga, Nara
H!ry"-ji (East
Precinct)
Belfry Early Kamakura
period
Ikaruga, Nara
H!ry"-ji (East
Precinct
Denp!d! Nara Period Ikaruga, Nara
H!ry"-ji (East
Precinct
Hall of Dreams Nara Period, 739 Ikaruga, Nara
H!ry"-ji East Dormitory-living
quarters for high
ranking priests
Nara Period Ikaruga, Nara
H!ry"-ji T!daimon Nara Period Ikaruga, Nara
H!ry"-ji Nandaimon Nara Period Ikaruga, Nara
Yakushi-ji T!ind! Late Kamakura
Period, 1285
Nara, Nara
Yakushi-ji East Pagoda Nara Period, 730 Nara, Nara
127
Name of Temple Room Date Prefecture
Ry!sen-ji Main Hall Late Kamakura Period,
1283
Nara, Nara
Eisan-ji Octagonal Hall Nara Period, Tenpy!-
h!ji era eighth century
Goj!, Nara
Taima-dera West Pagoda Early Heian Period,
ninth century
Kastsuragi, Nara
Taima-dera East Pagoda Early Nara period,
eight century
Kastsuragi, Nara
Taima-dera Main Hall Late Heian Period,
1161
Kastsuragi, Nara
Kong!sanmai-in Tah!t! Early Kamakura
period, 1223
K!ya, Wakayama
Kong!bu-ji Fud!d! Early Kamakura period K!ya, Wakayama
Negoro-ji Tah!t! Late Muromachi
period, Mei! era-
Tenbun era
Iwade, Wakayama
Zenpuku-in Shakad! Late Kamakura Period,
1327
Kainan, Wakayama
Ch!ho-ji Tah!t! Early Muromachi
Period, 1357
Kainan, Wakayama
Ch!ho-ji Daimon Early Muromachi
Period, 1388
Kainan, Wakayama
Ch!ho-ji Main Hall Late Kamakura Period,
1311
Kainan, Wakayama
K!j!-ji Three-Storied Pagoda Middle Muromachi
period, 1432
Onomichi, Hiroshima
J!do-ji Tah!t! Late Kamakura Period,
1319
Onomichi, Hiroshima
128
Name of Temple Room Date Prefecture
J!do-ji Main Hall Late Kamakura Period,
1327
Onomichi, Hiroshima
Fud!-in Golden Hall Late Muromachi
period, 1540
Hiroshima
My!!-in Five-Storied Pagoda Early Muromachi
Period, 1348
Fukuyama, Hiroshima
My!!-in Main Hall Late Kamakura Period,
1348
Fukuyama, Hiroshima
K!zan-ji Buddha Hall Late Kamakura Period,
1320
Shimonoseki,
Yamaguchi
Rurik!-ji Five-Storied Pagoda Middle Muromachi
period, 1442
Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi
Motoyama-ji Main Hall Late Kamakura Period,
1300
Mitoyo, Kagawa
Ishite-ji Ni! Gate Late Kamakura Period,
1318
Matsuyama, Ehime
Taisan-ji Main Hall Late Kamakura Period,
1305
Matsuyama, Ehime
Taih!-ji Main Hall Late Kamakura Period Matsuyama, Ehime
Buraku-ji Yakushi Hall Late Heian Period,
1151
#toyo, K!chi
S!fuku-ji Great Leader’s
Treasure Hall
Early Ed! period, 1646 Nagasaki
S!fuku-ji Daiipp!mon Early Ed! period, 1644 Nagasaki
Fuki-ji #d! Late Heian Period Bungotakada, #ita
http://www.ask.com/wiki/List_of_National_Treasure_of_Japan_(temples)?qsrc=3044
Bolded entries indicate inscription on the World Heritage Monument list
129
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Abstract (if available)

Abstract This thesis examines the historic trajectory of Japan’s cultural identity and its effect on preservation laws between 1868 and 1950. Instead of focusing on the post-World War II (1945 and beyond) or the Feudal periods (c.1185-1868), this document charts the social and cultural changes during an underestimated part of Japanese history and how the document informed the preservation laws. The goal of this analysis is to demonstrate how the laws reflected the ongoing formation of a national cultural identity. The years between 1868 and 1950 saw Japanese society undergo a swift transformation from an agrarian-based culture to an industrial and urbanized society in a very short time. In doing so, the Japanese adapted and assimilated all manner of ideologies and institutions from the West into their culture. This thesis argues that the question of how cultural identity affected preservation law is always open to new information and new interpretations. Japan’s cultural identity continues to inform the way the nation and its people relate to their historic and cultural resources. ❧ The analysis is laid out in six parts: the first chapter looks at the fire at the 1949 Hōryūji and the popular reaction to it. The second part discusses modernization and national identity, first by examining Japan’s evolving modernization between first contact with the West in 1543 to the of the Meiji era (1868-1912). The national identity half studies the philosophical trends from the eighteenth century focusing on the National Learning School and the formation of an ethnic identity in the early twentieth century. The third chapter examines the preservation laws enacted between 1871 and 1933 as a response to the changes in the legal tradition and sudden urbanization and industrialization. Chapter four is an extended discussion of the 1950 Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties. This chapter also looks at the role of the Arts and Monument Branch of the Supreme Command of the Allied Powers and the function it played in the passage of the 1950 Law. Chapter five examines Japanese preservation activities from the mid-twentieth through the present. The focus of this chapter is on preservation of historic districts, Japan’s modern heritage, participation in global heritage conservation, and concludes with the issues facing Japanese historic preservation today. ❧ This thesis follows the changes in Japanese culture and its effect on preservation law through a study of Japanese history, culture, and preservation policy. Taken together, the Japanese preservation laws helps us understand a country that tries to negotiate a middle ground between east and west

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Asset Metadata

Creator Lowen, Lenore (author)

Core Title One foot in the past, one foot in the future: Japanese cultural identity and preservation law 1868-1950

School School of Architecture

Degree Master of Historic Preservation

Degree Program Historic Preservation

Publication Date 03/14/2013

Defense Date 03/13/2013

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Historic Preservation,Japan,OAI-PMH Harvest,preservation law

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Platt, Jay (committee chair), Bharne, Vinayak (committee member), Brown, Kendall H. (committee member)

Creator Email lenore.lowen@gmail.com,llowen@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-225118

Unique identifier UC11294466

Identifier usctheses-c3-225118 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-LowenLenor-1471.pdf

Dmrecord 225118

Document Type Thesis

Rights Lowen, Lenore

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA