Industrial Heritage and Museums in Sado

- In Comparison with Iwami-Ginzan Silver Mine -

Abstract

Sado Mine was one of the biggest gold and silver mining sites in Japan. Since the late 16th century when deposits were first discovered, mining in Sado continued for about 400 years. Especially during the Meiji Period western technology was introduced there before the rest of the country. This played an important role in the modernization of Japan's mining technology. Today Sado Mine preserves a lot of facilities and remains of structures which help us understand the history of mining technology and can be regarded as a treasure house of industrial heritage. But strangely, Sado Mine does not attract so much attention as Iwami Silver Mine, which was registered as a World Heritage Site (UNESCO) in 2007, and visitors are not so many. Why has this happened? To answer this question, we researched the actual conditions of industrial heritage and museums in Sado and Iwami. In this paper, based on the results of research, we clarify the problems of Sado Mine for visitors by comparison with Iwami Silver Mine and propose the plans to develop industrial tourism in Sado.