Planning Strategies and Design Concepts
The Current Factors Impeding the Preservation and Utilization of Historical Buildings in Japan
2024 Volume 12 Issue 4 Pages 117-131
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2024 Volume 12 Issue 4 Pages 117-131
This paper intends to reveal the current situation and problems of historical building preservation in Japanese practices, which are an indispensable asset in town development in Japan. This work focuses mainly on historical building preservation in the city of Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, which contains a high number of historical buildings as an example of historical municipalities. The investigation has been conducted based on the international understanding of historic preservation, and the analysis works have been carried out based on the overall amount of historical buildings in Japan and their relevant cultural property system, and the relationship between historical buildings and the Building Standards Law. The support systems developed for historical buildings, and the relevant factors impeding the preservation and utilization of historical buildings have been discussed. The challenge of bringing historical buildings into conformity with international building guidelines and codes, as well as the difficulty of incorporating modern technologies and materials, how these issues are dealt with in Japan and particularly challenging obstacles are clarified.
In this work, we aim to clarify the factors that impede the preservation and utilization of historical buildings in Kanazawa, Japan. In Kanazawa, much work has been done by the municipality for the preservation of historical buildings. Moreover, an integrated support system is discussed in this paper in order to improve the utilization of historical buildings. For this, we discuss the implementation of the Building Standards Law, the local support system to ameliorate the high costs of restorations and relevant experts involved.
Historical buildings in Kanazawa (The historical buildings referred to in this paper are examples of Japanese architecture built before the enforcement of the Building Standards Law enforced in 1950), as shown in Figure 1, were preserved under the conditions of the local environment and climate throughout a longer-term urbanization process. They are essential for the urban landscape and a precious asset of the local environment. In order to maintain and improve the urban environment (historical landscapes) to enable it to be passed on to future generations, the Law for the Maintenance and Enhancement of Historical Scenic in the Region (Historical Town Development Act) was passed on November 4, 2008. As of the end of March 2018, 66 cities in the country have been certified and are part of the historical landscape maintenance and improvement plan and are promoting the development of historical towns, supported by the government. After the enforcement of the Building Standards Law in 1950, the preservation and utilization of historical buildings in Japan have faced significant difficulties due to the changes of building methods. The traditional construction methods began declining, and traditional buildings were gradually demolished and rebuilt.
The demolition of historical buildings in Japan is currently expected to decrease, because of the increase of cultural tourism following preservation efforts by experts. In order to preserve and utilize historical buildings, it is necessary to analyze and categorize them by examining relevant laws, experts’ activities and support systems.
The review of literature related to international practices in the preservation of historical buildings is conducted firstly. Research reports by Ceccarelli (2017) on international preservation practices of historical buildings indicate that a frozen preservation known as the European standard keeps historical buildings in its original condition. However, diversified preservation methods of cultural and heritage sites have been recognized over time, and more flexible preservation methods have been accepted (Ceccarelli, 2017). Moreover, urban regeneration projects are implemented in historical districts all over the world. The work by Furlan, Petruccioli et al. (2019) on a regeneration project occurring in the historical downtown district of Doha, Msheireb, presents the successful experience of enhancing the quality of common spaces, land use, infrastructure, and buildings. With attention to tradition and innovative aspects based on novel and varying demands of social groups, the building codes and application of technologies and materials for recovering ancient road layouts, assigning of pedestrian paths and diversification of residential types are taken into account.
The first international act to preserve a historical building was the establishment of “The Athens Charter for the Restoration of Historic Monuments” in 1931 Athens Charter (1931), which created the rules and basic principles for the preservation and restoration of historical buildings. In this charter, the respect for historical and artistic work has priority over using modern techniques and materials, which is the first time for world experts to write down this important rule as a common basis for procedures of preservation.
In 1964, the Venice Charter was established ICOMOS(International Council on Monuments and Sites) (1964). This document reviews problems that surfaced after the establishment of the Athens Charter, encouraging the international community to reexamine the Athens Charter to cope with the newly arisen problems. Among the essential changes made in the Venice Charter, there were some significant changes such as that non-speculative original materials and plans must be used in the preservation, the restored part and the original part must be distinguishable, and detailed reports on restoration must be open to the public. While the Athens Charter allowed modern materials to be used, the Venice Charter urged to give more attention and consideration to undertake the restoration work based on the results of academic analysis.
In 1965, one year after the Venice Charter was established, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) was founded. As an advisory body for UNESCO, ICOMOS reviews and monitors World Heritage sites. The Venice Charter was followed by the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (World Heritage Convention) in 1972. Twenty years later, in 1992, Japan ratified the World Heritage Convention.
Tanaka (2012) states that the World Heritage Convention “1) promotes the registration by providing incentives rather than regulations, 2) uses soft methods such as resolutions and recommendations in protection management, 3) has in case of emergencies, public opinions and resource allocation and social network as a safety net for cultural and natural heritage sites”. Muneta (2006) states that since the World Heritage Convention, discussions of domestic and international cultural assets have indicated problems related to very different types of cultural heritage and administrative issues across the world.
At the World Heritage Nara Conference in 1994, the Nara Document on Authenticity was drafted. The Venice Charter encouraged actors to maintain the authenticity of buildings by maintaining their original state, however, this could not be done for most of Japan’s historical buildings because many were built of wooden materials. Therefore, the Nara Document on Authenticity indicates that cultural value and authenticity evaluations cannot be done without respectfully taking the diversity of culture and heritage into account (Nara Conference on Authenticity in Relation to the World Heritage Convention, 1994).
Jokilehto (1998), provides a summary of international trends in historical preservation from the 1960s to 1990s, in which he also mentions the profession of cultural heritage conservation and training provided for it. Education programs in that field began to be established after WW2, reaching several hundred by the 1990s. Of these, 57% were housed in Europe, and 25% were in North America. There were very few in Latin America (9%) or Asia (8%), and Africa (2%) had the fewest. Jokilehto (1998) voices his concern that most training programs teach little on the theory or principles of conservation.
In 2011, ICOMOS published the Madrid Document, a preservation guideline for twentieth-century architecture. It indicates how heritage buildings that were built in the twentieth-century and are still in use (which it terms living heritage) should be preserved with authenticity and integrity (ICOMOS(International Council on Monuments and Sites), 2011).
In this paper, we focus on factors that are impeditive to the preservation and utilization of historical buildings in Kanazawa, Japan. There are some obstacles such as the difficult application for exemptions from the Building Standards Law, high costs of restorations, and shortages of relevant experts. In order to overcome these issues, local governments need to integrate planning measures that our research explores and discusses as follows.
Firstly, we review the international Charters and relevant research reports of historical buildings worldwide, and clarify the characteristics of historical building codes, support systems for historical buildings and professional experts working on historical buildings in Japan. In the international context, a more flexible system related to the first Athens Charter is expected that will be more suitable to building types in Japan.
Secondly, it is important to discuss how to provide exemptions from the Building Standards Law. In Japan, most historical buildings are not designated as cultural property or protected, but their preservation in downtown areas is important to maintain a historical townscape. The Building Standards Law is not suited for historical preservation districts because it requests to remodel historical buildings and destroy the historical appearance.
Thirdly, it is necessary to improve the local government’s support system. The local subsidy system for historical buildings is insufficient for the improvement of the living environment (interior). Moreover, the number of professional experts involved in historical building preservation is declining nationwide. Therefore, the cooperation between local governments, owners of historical buildings, specialized craftsmen and architects is necessary in order to overcome the many factors impending the preservation and utilization of historical buildings in Japan.
There are no statistics on the number of historical buildings in Japan, so estimates are done based on the number of residential households (Housing Bureau，Ministry of Land，Infrastructure，Transport and Tourism, 2013). According to the Housing and Land Statistics Survey of 2013, approximately 52 million households live in existing housing, and 3.3% or 1.7 million households live in houses built before 1950. Further, about 5% of dwellings, about 2.6 million homes have an unknown construction date and may be historical buildings. Thus, historical buildings are between 3.3% and 8.3% of the lived-in residential buildings, or 1.7 million to 4.3 million. No statistics were found on the number and construction date of non-residential buildings, but the ratio between residential and non-residential floor areas over the entirety of Japan is provided in the Building Stock Statistics of 2013 (Policy Bureau，Ministry of Land，Infrastructure，Transport and Tourism, 2013). In all, 74.8% of buildings in Japan are residential, and 25.2% are non-residential. Assuming that the proportion of historical buildings to non-historical buildings of non-residential buildings is the same as in residential buildings, the number of historical non-residential buildings is supposed to be 0.6 to 1.4 million.
Historical buildings in Japan are grouped under the following categories: in National Treasure and Important Cultural Property, Prefecture-Designated Cultural Property, Municipality-Designated Cultural Property and Registered Tangible Cultural Property. A system was introduced to preserving a wider area than a building as part of a revision to the cultural asset protection law. Furthermore, particularly valuable areas were given protection as Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings. Figure 2 shows the categories of cultural properties and the amount of buildings protected under each category.
As shown in Figure 2, on April 1, 2019, there were 2,497 Important Cultural Properties (5,033 buildings), of which 226 (289 buildings) were National Treasures (Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs, 2020b). In addition, there were 12,121 Registered Tangible Cultural Properties, on May 1, 2018, as well as 2,513 Prefecture-Designated Cultural Properties and 9,577 Municipality-Designated Cultural Properties (Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs, 2020a). On August 17, 2018, there were 118 Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings in 98 municipalities, covering a total area of about 3,924.9 ha, and about 28,000 traditional buildings and environmental properties were registered and protected (Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs, 2020c). Additionally, about 27,000 buildings that are cultural assets, and 28,000 traditional buildings and environmental properties were found in the Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings, making up approximately 55,000 properties related to historical buildings. This number is about 1% to 2% of the total number of historical buildings in Japan, such that most of these buildings are not considered to be a cultural treasure. To support recognition of local history and culture, it is necessary to incorporate this overwhelming majority.
The implementation of the 1950 Building Standards Law became an obstacle to preserving and utilizing historical buildings in Japan. In case of remodeling or changing the usage of a historical building, it is required to conform to the Building Standards Law, which may lead to the loss of the historical appearance of the building or to high construction costs because of planning regulations within the Law that regulate the shape of buildings. To address these issues, following measures are currently being taken.
Article 3.1, Clause 3 of the Building Standards Law states that historical buildings for which preservation measures are taken by local governments can be excluded from building regulations. Only a few local governments are operating with the revised version of the regulations, and few applications are received for an exclusion. To support local governments, in March 2018, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure Transport, and Tourism published Guidelines Concerning the Regulations Maintenance of Historical Buildings, presented to promote the establishment and utilization of its regulations. These guidelines indicate that the contents of the regulations, if drawn from scratch, can be defined setting aside existing regulations, leaving enough space to fit each situation. On the other hand, if it is necessary to revise existing regulations, the guidelines indicate that these regulations may be altered to meet their local demands (Ministry of Land，Infrastructure，Transport and Tourism, 2018).
| Municipality | Enactment | Enforcement | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kobe | 2010.12 | 2011.1 | Amendment of Landscape Ordinance |
| Kyoto | 2012.3 | 2012.4 | Establishment of new regulations |
| Hyogo Prefecture | 2013.3 | 2013.10 | Amendment of Landscape Ordinance |
| Yokohama | 2013.12 | 2014.7 | Amendment of Landscape Ordinance |
| Fukuoka | 2015.3 | 2015.4 | Establishment of new regulations |
| Kawagoe | 2016.3 | 2016.10 | Establishment of new regulations |
| Kamakura | 2016.10 | 2016.10 | Establishment of new regulations |
| Tomioka | 2017.4 | 2017.4 | Establishment of new regulations |
| Toyooka | 2017.4 | 2017.4 | Establishment of new regulations |
| Tsuyama | 2017.6 | 2017.10 | Establishment of new regulations |
| Fujisawa | 2018.6 | 2019.4 | Establishment of new regulations |
| Sakura | 2019.3 | 2019.4 | Establishment of new regulations |
| Kanazawa | 2019.3 | - | Establishment of new regulations |
| Kitakata | 2019.3 | - | Establishment of new regulations |
Regarding the use of historical buildings, some difficulties still remained because of the Building Standards Law. For example, Yagi, Sakai et al. (2016), reporting on the preservation and utilization program of the Yokohama branch of the Bank of Russia, states that “setback of the building from the boundaries, structural regulations, fire prevention, smoke prevention, size regulations of stairs, emergency exits, furthermore regarding Yokohama City’s Building Standard Ordinance, open space of the building front, entrance and stairs structure”, are regulations that historical buildings are difficult to conform with. “While fire safety measures, smoke prevention and restructuring of stairs might be corrected without damaging the design of the building, acting to conform the Building Standards Law with the building boundaries and open front space regulation would mean significant modification to the entire building. To prevent this, he concludes that it is necessary to apply Article 3.1, Paragraph 3 (Yagi, Sakai et al., 2016). There may be cases of buildings with insufficient safety measures, or which it is possible to make them conform with safety regulations and where there are additional safety measures that can add to the total amount of safety to conform with the standard regulations without physically damaging the building. If there are no ways to abide by the law, it will be necessary to change the appearance of the building, and its historical value will be lost.
Shirakabe and Uekita (2016) examine granted exemptions from the Building Standards Law. Their study takes Kyoto as an example, where the exemption system is advanced. In regular operations, the cost from the owner, necessity for experienced architects and permissions from several different offices that are not coordinated well, are challenges that must be faced (Shirakabe and Uekita, 2016). While the study of exemptions from regular operations has been made, there is no study that compares localities and their separate systems for historical buildings.
Otani (2016) discusses the legal liability incurred by an exemption from the Building Standards Law and mentions that the owner/lessee of the building bears this responsibility, referring to a case before the Osaka High Court in 2014. He also cites a case from 1990, where the construction liability of a tunnel was questioned. The court held that the presence or absence of safety is judged not only in terms of hardware but also software (Otani, 2016). The term legal responsibility, as used herein, refers to liability for damages caused by the collapsing of a building or roof tiles falling from the roof (hardware) and damages caused by the way of utilization, such as the management of a building (software). Owners of historical buildings must be cautious in their utilization, as they are legally responsible for their safety, both in hardware and software, bringing a heavy psychological burden with it. Safety measures are difficult to evaluate in a numeric way, but it is highly necessary.
Summarizing this section, we can look at the application situation of exclusion regulations among local governments as shown in Table 1 next to the Cultural Property Protection Regulation of the Building Standards Law, Article 3.1, Clause 3. Accordingly, it is obvious that many local governments established their own regulations to provide exemptions from the Building Standards Law.
As mentioned, there are many difficulties in preserving and utilizing historical buildings. To create an easier system of preservation and utilization, a few established support systems exist. There are three main entities in Japan: restoration support, distribution support and information support. These systems are discussed in the case of Kanazawa, which has a well-developed support system compared to other cities in Japan. Historical buildings are mostly located in the central area of Kanazawa, and the area marked blue in Figure 3, the Machinaka Area, has a particularly high density of those. Kanazawa actively supports the conservation and utilization of historical buildings in this area.
Historical buildings require regular maintenance and restoration, but in most cases, using traditional construction methods are relatively expensive in Japan. Furthermore, as mentioned, the owner is responsible for the safety of the building, which adds to the cost of structural works that withstand earthquakes. This has led to the establishment of support systems in national and local governments that assist with repairs of historical buildings.
Kumon, Kawahigashi et al. (2002), who studies support systems among buildings, argues that in the case of the Sanmachi Building Preservation Area in Takayama, the support system successfully enabled the restoration of this area and maintained its historical value, increasing tourist value, but it failed to improve the residents’ living environment (Kumon, Kawahigashi et al., 2002). As tax money is used in the subsidy, only the repair of the exterior was supported. In Kanazawa, a local version of Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings is used, which originally only supported exterior work on buildings but was changed to support parts of the interior as well. To continue the utilization of historical buildings, enabling the maintenance of the living environment, interior work was required.
Hayashi, Asano et al. (2015), who analyzed the support projects for architectural landscapes of historical urban areas in four prefectures in Tokai, state that support is generally granted for “tall buildings, roof and exterior”. When the results of the examination of historical buildings are compared to modern buildings, the former appear to need higher subsidies for repairs (Hayashi, Asano et al., 2015). If the amount of subsidies for historical buildings and modern buildings was the same, that would mean the acceleration of the decline of historical buildings. Distinguishing these and granting more subsidies to the former is important for the preservation of historical buildings. Moreover, defining historical buildings as such can raise people’s awareness of the historical buildings that are in their area.
Another issue regarding the support system is time constraints. When support for the restoration of a historical building in Kanazawa is sought, the complete planning of the project has to be finished before the end of September, and the construction can only start in May the following year. If the timing is not well, even more unnecessary time goes by, making it an even bigger burden for business owners who can not operate their business during that time.
Distribution support of historical buildingsDespite the growing demand expressed by users for historical buildings in Kanazawa, the real estate market of such buildings is stagnating. According to reference (Ministry of Land，Infrastructure，Transport and Tourism, 2018), as of May 2014, regarding the application exclusion of historical buildings from the Building Standards Law, 1,686 local governments were operating under the cultural property protection regulation. As of September 2017, seven local governments were operating under original regulations, and four local governments were operating original regulations with revisions such as scenery regulations. For distribution support, two support systems in Kanazawa are relevant: Kanazawa Machiya Information Bank and Support Project for Market Distribution of Kanazawa. Kanazawa Machiya Information Bank is a website that promotes the circulation of historical buildings. It is distinct from the Akiya (Empty house in Japanese) Bank website. It provides information on available properties, and since 2005, it has been managed by the local Government of Kanazawa. When a property is announced on the website, an architect conducts an examination of it, produces a room layout plan and evaluates the appearance, equipment, structure, site and more general matters.
Since the launch of the website in 2005, it has had a high rate of success, with many signed contracts. This proves the efficiency of this support system and indicates the consistent demand for historical buildings in the city. The information provided by the Kanazawa Machiya Bank is publicly available, and it is accessible for free without user registration.
The Supporting Project for Market Distribution of Kanazawa matches owners of historical buildings with applicants seeking to rent or buy such buildings. The non-profit organization Citizens’ Society for Preserving Kanazawa Machiya has been managing this support system since 2011. Coordinators are appointed from the board of the NPO, to match owners with users based on examinations that the coordinator participates in. As of the end of August 2018, eight coordinators, six universities and national colleges of technology teachers and two architects are involved in the matchmaking. In addition to the actual matching, the service provides information on historical buildings, supports property surveys by architects, the exploration of the owner’s properties, the consultation on renovations and collects user information. This support system is based on non-public information, and it provides a range of diverse information to respond to the very specific needs of historical buildings. For owners who care about their neighbors, it is in their best interest to keep information out of the public eye when marketing their property.
Buildings that are left vacant are a problem. Property owners who are actively marketing their properties do benefit from these distribution support systems, but passive owners who do not actively apply for support will be left aside, leading to these vacant buildings to decay. It will be necessary to revise this system.
Information support for historical buildingsThe Kanazawa Machiya Information Centre, maintained by the city of Kanazawa, opened in November 2016. There, interested people can receive information on historical buildings, consultation on preservation work and utilization and experience a historical building in person. One staff member from the city government and one from the NPO Citizens’ Society for Preserving Kanazawa Machiya are stationed in that building, alongside three full-time staff members of the Kanazawa Machiya Information Centre. Display houses are common in other areas of Japan, but the Kanazawa Machiya Information Centre is characterized by the coexistence of city and NPO staff to provide direct consultations to interested people.
Since the establishment of the Kanazawa Machiya Information Centre, owner registration and user registration at the Supporting Project for Market Distribution of Kanazawa increased, and the number of consultations on building repairs has also risen. It seems clear that the Kanazawa Machiya Information Centre plays a large role as an information provider on historical buildings.
It is important to maintain constant communication regarding the value of historical buildings.
Hashimoto, Tohiguchi et al. (2002), who studied the trend of carpenters involved in the wood construction of historical buildings in Kyoto, finds that the maintenance system that manages traditional carpentering work is in decline, and restructuring and modernization are important tasks to fulfil. Mizuno (2015) who analyses households residing in wooden historical buildings in Kanazawa finds that for the continuation of a household, factors such as the age of the owner, the family structure, the relationship with the house and having a carpenter familiar with the house are the most important criteria. In these studies, it is found that the involvement of carpenters who are construction specialists is essential for properly preserving and utilizing a historical building.
According to a survey and forecast by Nomura Research Institute (2018), the number of general carpenters was 350,000 in 2015, and by 2030, it is predicted that this number will fall to 210,000 due to the aging workforce and the intensified competition with other industries for acquiring human resources. The decrease in generalist carpenters implies that those carpenters with the specialized skill to do traditional woodwork will fall even further. As the number of human resources decreases, the production system will shrink, and it will become harder to respond to customer demand, which will lead to a growth in costs. This will end in a vicious circle and a further decline in demand.
Training specialists in KanazawaBecause of a lack of leading figures with traditional skills, Kanazawa initiated the establishment of the Kanazawa Artisan College in 1996. The basic course taught is divided into nine classes: masonry, roof tile, plasterwork, landscaping, carpentry, tatami, fittings, sheet metal and wall mountings. The schooling period stretches over 3 years, and tuition is free. Local veteran craftsmen are chosen as instructors. The main course will teach production skills. Successful completion of the main course will result in a certificate awarded from the Kanazawa City, the Kanazawa Master of Skills. There have been 288 graduates as of April 2017.
In 1999, the Restoration Master Course was introduced. It has a total capacity of 40 students. Three types of qualification are accepted for admission: graduates of the main course who want to continue training independently; architects, Kanazawa City staff members and teachers who want to receive training; and people recommended by an industry group. As with the main course, the period of the Restoration Master Course lasts for 3 years, and tuition is free. For craftsmen, it is a step to take beyond the basic course. Those who have completed the Restoration Master Course receive a Historical Building Restoration Certificate from the Kanazawa Government. As of April 2017, 195 people have completed this course.
In Kanazawa, Kanazawa Takumi Technicians, who have completed the main course, and Historical Building Restoration Specialists, who have completed the Restoration Master Course, are certified as specialists by the city. Furthermore, the city is working to establish work categories that only these specialists can work on, giving the graduates a place to shine. Moreover, the LLP Kanazawa Machiya which has its roots in the NPO Citizens’ Society for Preserving Kanazawa Machiya, is a group of architects who specialize in the restoration of historical buildings. This organization carries out practical work as a union. The training staff at the Kanazawa Artisan College also focuses on the education of future teachers, selecting the best of their students.
A few points are summarized below reflecting things that Kanazawa is strongly supporting and inspiring other regions of Japan to develop a social orientation in the preservation of historical buildings. The curriculum of the Kanazawa Artisan College is focused on practical training, not theoretical lectures, because of the awareness of restoration practices that follow after graduation. By attending a few classes in a job category, students can concentrate on the necessary traditional skills and build a network within their profession. In the Restoration Master Course, more than just artisans, but teachers, architects and city staff can form teams, allowing them to build wider networks to support their futures. Graduates will enter a good working environment due to acclaimed and accredited specialist status in the city. Using local historical buildings as training objects, students can learn restoration practices from actual buildings.
Figure 4 shows the training at the Kanazawa Artisan College. The preservation of historical buildings in Japan follows these basic principles: sketch, measure and observe and investigate techniques and damages. After writing a report on their investigation, repair guidelines are formulated before the actual repair work is carried out. In modern Japanese buildings, hardware parts are being used to connect wooden members, but in historical buildings, instead of hardware parts, wood joints called Tsugite and Shiguchi are used to connect them. Specifically, Tsugite is used to extend a member in the same direction, while Shiguchi are techniques to assemble members in a right angle such as a cross.
The Kanazawa Artisan College has pioneered an advanced approach, but it faces some challenges. A survey of alumni shows that few become involved in the restoration of historical buildings. Such work requires a great deal of experience, so it is natural that it would be limited to a few people. However, some property owners do not know who to ask for necessary repairs and thus neglect their buildings. A system is necessary in which property owners can find restoration specialists or be matched by a third party. Additionally, there is a need for a system that actively engages with and finds work for alumni, which will help them improve their skills.
Development initiatives for Heritage ManagerOne of the specialized professions for historical buildings is the Heritage Manager. Much effort is expended on their education. The Heritage Manager is responsible for the preservation and utilizations of historical buildings and has its roots in Hyogo Prefecture in 2001, following the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995. The training is generally conducted by the architects’ association in each prefecture.
Goto (2009) lists four duties of the Heritage Manager: analysis and restoration, town development planning, disaster prevention and town doctor. Furthermore, his research team plays an important role in the development of historical towns connecting experts involved in restoration, experts in town development, regional development and property owners (Goto, 2009).
In 2012, the Japan Federation of Architects & Building Engineers Associations founded the National Heritage Manager Network Council. This council supports the education of experts in the preservation and utilization of historical buildings (Heritage Managers) throughout the country and creates guidelines as part of its activities.
According to data from October 2017, Heritage Managers are being trained in 45 prefectures, excluding only Yamagata and Yamanashi, and there are already 3,895 experts who have graduated from this program. Moreover, the activity networks of alumni are gradually expanding, and as of October 2017, networks have been established in 29 prefectures. The number of registered tangible cultural properties where a Heritage Manager is involved has reached 568, and the numbers are growing.
Investigation on the actual conditions and problems relating to other experts in the field is not generally available. Other specialists involved in work on historical buildings, are residential land traders, judicial scriveners and lawyers. However, only a few of these have expertise in historical buildings.
A survey among residential land traders conducted by the Citizens’ Society for Preserving Kanazawa Machiya in 2019 investigated the conditions and problems in the distribution of historical buildings in Kanazawa. The results show that few traders recognized the value of historical buildings, and the majority proposed to potential customers that the buildings be demolished in favor of new houses. The time and effort a historical building takes to trade makes it less profitable and therefore not good for business (Citizens’ Society for Preserving Kanazawa Machiya, 2019).
In this paper, the international charters of historical buildings, the number of historical buildings in Japan, the cultural asset system, historical building codes, support system for historical buildings and experts working on historical buildings have been discussed. In the international context, the assessment of authenticity has recently become more flexible relative to the first Athens Charter, and it is therefore now more suited to building types in Japan.
Most historical buildings in Japan are not designated as cultural properties or protected, manifesting the importance of their preservation and utilization. Remodeling a historical building to conform to the Building Standards Law will destroy the historical appearance and can lead to a loss of historical value. Therefore, it is necessary to provide exemptions from the Building Standards Law. Previously, only cultural properties were subject to such exemptions, but in recent years it has become easier for regular historical buildings to obtain these benefits.
Regarding the support system for historical buildings, insufficient assistance for the improvement of the living environment (interior) and time restrictions in the restoration planning and work are major issues. Furthermore, in the distribution of historical buildings, the support of the owners of vacant historical buildings is needed.
The professionals who are involved in work on historical buildings are working against a nationwide decline of their kind. Rather than relying on a few types of experts, such as craftsmen and architects, the cooperation of more residential land traders, judicial scriveners and lawyers is necessary in this special field. Moreover, involvement with other citizens, who are not related to historical buildings, is important in preserving and utilizing historical buildings.
As results, factors impeding the preservation and utilization of historical buildings have been clarified in this work. Particularly large obstacles here include the Building Standards Law, lack of records of exemptions, the insufficient support system to ameliorate the high costs of restorations and shortages of relevant experts involved. Taking measures to overcome these issues and educating experts in this field are urgently needed. Although much work has been done by local governments to create support systems, it seems necessary to integrate them to a greater degree and support them further.
Conceptualization, Y.T. and M.K.; methodology, Y.T., M.K. and Z.S.; investigation, Y.T.; resources, Y.T., M.K. and Z.S.; data curation, Y.T.; writing—original draft preparation, Y.T.; writing—review and editing, Y.T., M.K. and Z.S.; supervision, M.K. and Z.S. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of the paper.
The authors express their gratitude to the anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback on an early version of this article.
