Abstract
In 2008, the “Act on Maintenance and Improvement of Traditional Scenery in Certain Districts” became operative. In this act, the new concept of “Japanese historical scenic”, which is composed of intangible activities, tangible buildings, and the surrounding landscape, was defined for maintenance and improvement. By January 2020, seventy-eight municipalities were certified into this act, and some municipalities had moved from the first term plan to the second term plan. In other words, this act and the new concept of “Japanese historical scenic” spread throughout Japan. However, scholars have not grasped the characteristics and details of this concept because of insufficient previous cases. This paper explores the characteristics and components of “Japanese historical scenic” of seventy-eight cases of historic scenery maintenance and improvement plans through a questionnaire survey. As results of the questionnaire survey, which includes six hundred and forty-five cases of “Japanese historical scenic” in the seventy-eight municipality’s plans, this paper concludes the following two points. Firstly, the typical case of “Japanese historical scenic” consists of activity about faith as intangible activities, shrines as tangible buildings, and the activity route to them as a surrounding landscape. Secondly, depending on the origin of the city area, the characteristics and components of “Japanese historical scenic” show different tendencies; in particular, the type of a “castle town” is the majority and show more diverse activities and surrounding landscapes than other types.
