Study on Public Water-tap Heritage in Japan

－Existing conditions and their significance of Pillar Fountains－

Abstract

This study focuses on the public water-tap heritage, and aims to clarify the existing status of these in Japan, as well as the history and significance of their preservation. The information was collected and organized through field surveys and interviews with related organizations, and the potential of these heritages as regional assets in the future was demonstrated. The author have clarified the existing status and value of the public water-tap heritage in various parts of Japan, based on the history of their relocation and restoration. All of them are important civil engineering heritages that clearly show the modernization of waterworks in Japan and the process of its spread to various regions. The author have presented the necessity of discussing the possibility of valuing them as cultural assets, or as tourism resources.