Kurashiki City retains many historic landscapes.
In the Bikan Historical Area, merchant houses symbolizing the prosperity of the textile industry that dates back to the Edo period line the streets, allowing visitors to see what the area looked like at the time even today.
The landscapes of Tamashima and Shimotsui, which face the Seto Inland Sea, are townscapes that flourished as ports of call for the Kitamaebune trading ships during the Edo period.
In Sho and Mabi in northern Kurashiki City, sites associated with the Legend of Momotaro remain, including the Tatetsuki Site, Koikui Shrine, and Yata Otsuka Burial Mound.
Each archaeological site and cultural property has a story that stretches from its creation to the present day, and three stories in Kurashiki City have been recognized as Japan Heritage.
Japan Heritage is a certification program established by the Agency for Cultural Affairs to systematically organize historically and culturally valuable assets by connecting them through stories and make use of them to revitalize local communities.
We spoke with Ueda Tetsuzo and Ikeda Yasuyuki of the Kurashiki City Japan Heritage Promotion Office about how Kurashiki City makes use of its many cultural properties.
The information presented was current when this article was published in May 2021. Please note that it may differ from current information.
Japan Heritage in Kurashiki City
What is Japan Heritage?
Japan Heritage is a system in which the Agency for Cultural Affairs recognizes stories that systematically bring together historic buildings, townscapes, and other assets in a region as assets unique to that region, with the aim of widely promoting the region's appeal.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs began recognizing Japan Heritage sites in 2015.
While World Heritage registration and designation as a cultural property aim to assign value and protect, Japan Heritage focuses on promoting heritage sites scattered throughout a region by linking them together in a story.
The purpose of Japan Heritage is described in detail on the Agency for Cultural Affairs website, so take a look if you would like to learn more.
The three Japan Heritage stories in Kurashiki City
The following three Japan Heritage stories have been recognized in Kurashiki City.
- A Kurashiki story beginning with a single cotton flower: A textile town woven from Japanese and Western influences
- A different world entwined with the dreams of men who overcame the stormy seas: Kitamaebune ports of call and shipowner settlements
- Okayama, Birthplace of the Legend of Momotaro: A tale of demon-slaying inspired by the heritage of ancient Kibi
Details about each Japan Heritage story are available on the Kurashiki City Japan Heritage Promotion Office website. Here, we will briefly introduce the Japan Heritage stories in Kurashiki City.
A Kurashiki story beginning with a single cotton flower: A textile town woven from Japanese and Western influences
Most of the land area of present-day Kurashiki City was once under the sea.
During the Edo period, salt-resistant cotton and rushes began to be cultivated on land reclaimed from the sea.
The townscape of the Bikan Historical Area was built with the wealth generated by the cotton industry, which developed during the Edo period.
During the Meiji period, industrialization advanced and the establishment of the Kurashiki Spinning Mill led to the development of the textile industry.
The Kurashiki area grew significantly and eventually became known as a textile town with Japan's highest value of product shipments.
A different world entwined with the dreams of men who overcame the stormy seas: Kitamaebune ports of call and shipowner settlements
Tamashima and Shimotsui were ports of call for the Kitamaebune, trading ships during the Edo period.
A variety of goods were brought in from all over Japan, and the towns developed as trading hubs.
Many buildings from that time remain in Tamashima and Shimotsui, allowing visitors to experience the atmosphere of towns that prospered as trading hubs.
Okayama, Birthplace of the Legend of Momotaro: A tale of demon-slaying inspired by the heritage of ancient Kibi
The northern part of present-day Kurashiki City was once part of a country known in ancient times as Kibi.
Ancient Kibi is said to have wielded great power because of its mild climate and its location on the Seto Inland Sea, which made it suitable for trade.
In Sho and Mabi in Kurashiki City, heritage sites associated with the Legend of Momotaro remain, including the Tatetsuki Site, Koikui Shrine, and Yata Otsuka Burial Mound.
What is the Kurashiki City Japan Heritage Promotion Office?
Kurashiki City has a department dedicated to promoting the appeal of Japan Heritage: the Japan Heritage Promotion Office.
It is natural to wonder what activities Kurashiki City, home to many cultural properties that make up Japan Heritage, is engaged in.
We interviewed Ueda Tetsuzo and Ikeda Yasuyuki of the Japan Heritage Promotion Office about their past initiatives and day-to-day work.
How the Japan Heritage Promotion Office was established
The Japan Heritage Promotion Office was established in June 2017, when Kurashiki City's first Japan Heritage story, “A Kurashiki story beginning with a single cotton flower: A textile town woven from Japanese and Western influences,” was registered.
It is a specialized department for making use of Japan Heritage, tasked with considering how to make use of Kurashiki City's Japan Heritage and implementing measures.
Many of its members also hold positions in other departments, with the aim of strengthening coordination between departments.
In other municipalities, departments related to tourism or education often handle Japan Heritage projects, but a department dedicated to Japan Heritage is apparently rare nationwide.
Initiatives of the Japan Heritage Promotion Office
Recognition as Japan Heritage required not only organizing information about cultural properties and history, but also preparing a six-year project plan for regional revitalization.
In addition to carrying out initiatives in line with the project plan, the office must review the plan at the beginning of each fiscal year in light of the circumstances and incorporate new measures.
The project plan is organized around the following five areas:
- Information dissemination projects
- Human resource development projects
- Public awareness projects
- Research projects
- Projects related to improvements for public access and use
Information dissemination projects
Information dissemination projects include producing booklets and posters and sharing information on websites.
In addition to guidebooks introducing Japan Heritage component cultural properties and stories, the office also created a guidebook for exploring cultural properties scattered throughout Kurashiki City by bicycle.
The Kurashiki Japan Heritage Trip introduces Japan Heritage sites in Kurashiki City using videos and VR (virtual reality).
Human resource development projects
To make use of Japan Heritage, it is also important to nurture people rooted in the local community.
The office created a manga that explains Japan Heritage stories in an easy-to-understand way, to spark elementary school students' interest in Japan Heritage.
It also holds presentations where high school students report on the results of their Japan Heritage-related initiatives.
Public awareness projects
The office also works to create opportunities for people who know nothing about Japan Heritage to learn about it.
For example, it sets up booths at outdoor community events and introduces Japan Heritage to visitors.
It also wraps official vehicles with logos and illustrations promoting Kurashiki City's Japan Heritage, helping raise awareness among people on the streets.
The office also created masking tape featuring motifs from Kurashiki's Japan Heritage.
Research projects
When making use of Japan Heritage, it is important to make it easy to understand, but the substance is important too.
With the help of university professors and others, we continue to research history and culture.
They say that history and culture can reveal interesting stories when explored in depth, and they put these to use in their promotional activities.
Projects related to improvements for public use
Japan Heritage exhibition spaces have been established in three locations: Kurashiki, Kojima, and Tamashima.
As information hubs, they screen videos and hold panel exhibitions about the cultural properties that make up Japan Heritage.
The following facilities host Japan Heritage exhibitions.
| Location | Facility |
|---|---|
| Kurashiki Riverbank Traditional Buildings Preservation District | Kurashiki City Kurashiki Monogatari-kan |
| Tamashima Townscape Preservation District | Old Yunoki House (Saiso-tei) |
| Shimotsui Townscape Preservation District | Shimotsui Shipping Agent Museum |
Introducing the Japan Heritage Promotion Office
Purpose of the Japan Heritage Promotion Office
Could you tell us the purpose of Japan Heritage?
Ikeda (surname only)
Our purpose is to help people living in Kurashiki realize that the city has a wonderful history and culture, and feel pride in their community.
For local people, historic buildings, culture, and industry are part of their everyday lives, so they need an opportunity to recognize their great value.
To that end, we aimed to have them systematically organized into a story so that local governments and residents could understand the rarity and historical significance of the history and cultural properties, and to have the story recognized as Japan Heritage.
We want people to recognize the value of Kurashiki’s history and cultural properties and rediscover their appeal.
Efforts to revitalize a community can only move forward when people feel attached to it.
We hope that historic landscapes and cultural properties will become a catalyst for community revitalization.
Could you explain how Japan Heritage differs from the conventional use of cultural properties?
Ueda (surname only)
The difference is that the aim is to use cultural properties to revitalize the community, rather than simply protect them.
From the perspective of preserving cultural properties, the best thing would be not to open them to the public.
However, simply preserving valuable cultural properties does not lead to community revitalization.
Of course, opening cultural properties to the public also allows them to be used for tourism, but simply bringing people in from outside temporarily would not constitute community revitalization.
What matters is that local people realize their community has treasures and feel attached to it and proud of it.
Rather than having the local government unilaterally promote the town, we are working to create a foundation for residents to take the initiative in revitalizing it.
The Japan Heritage Promotion Office’s work is not limited to protecting cultural properties or promoting tourism; it also involves helping residents recognize Kurashiki’s appeal.
What makes the Japan Heritage Promotion Office distinctive
How do you organize your work?
Ueda
I think it is unusual for a local government to have a department dedicated to promoting the use of Japan Heritage.
In other local governments, Japan Heritage-related work is often handled by the tourism department or by the cultural properties division of the board of education.
A cultural properties division alone may lack the knowledge and connections needed, making it difficult to carry out its work in collaboration with the community.
That is why Kurashiki City established a department specializing in Japan Heritage and assigned staff who also work in other departments, creating a system in which each department can contribute its areas of expertise.
Ikeda
Local governments are not the only ones making use of Japan Heritage in Kurashiki City.
We believe it is important for community revitalization that individuals and businesses active in various fields participate and promote Japan Heritage through a shared commitment.
For that reason, we created a system that crosses departmental boundaries, making use of each department’s connections with individuals and businesses.
Is there anything you are particularly focused on?
Ikeda
Starting in fiscal 2022, high schools will introduce a new class called “Period for Integrated Inquiry-Based Study.”
To make it easier for high schools to incorporate Japan Heritage into their inquiry-based activities, the Japan Heritage Promotion Office has begun providing financial support to schools that take up Japan Heritage-related themes.
Four schools carried out Japan Heritage-related activities in fiscal 2019, and six did so in fiscal 2020.
So far, students have taken part in initiatives such as growing cotton, a local specialty, and creating promotional videos for tourism.
Japan Heritage is an ideal subject for inquiry-based activities.
We hope to teach students about Japan Heritage in the field of education as well, working in collaboration with schools.
Recommended Japan Heritage stories
Could you tell us which Japan Heritage stories you recommend?
Ikeda
【A Kurashiki story beginning with a single cotton flower: A textile town woven from Japanese and Western influences】
Kurashiki’s atmospheric streetscapes, which remain today, grew out of cotton cultivation that began 400 years ago.
I hope people will pick up and buy denim products, which symbolize the origins of Kurashiki’s culture.
【A different world entwined with the dreams of men who overcame the stormy seas: Ports of call and shipowner settlements of the Kitamaebune】
I highly recommend visiting Old Yunoki House (Saiso-tei) in Tamashima.
It is a large residence that was once home to someone who served as a village headman for the Bitchu-Matsuyama Domain.
Inside this stately building, you’ll find spaces steeped in history.
【Okayama, Birthplace of the Legend of Momotaro: A tale of demon-slaying inspired by the heritage of ancient Kibi】
Tatetsuki Site, which dates back to the ancient Kibi period, is a place I highly recommend visiting.
The sight of five megaliths lined up atop a hill about 50 meters in diameter and 5 meters high is unique.
Reflections on the Japan Heritage Promotion Office’s work
Perhaps because the town where I grew up had no scenic spots or historic buildings, I never felt a sense of local pride.
I don’t think I had any interest in the town at all.
However, when I first started living in Kurashiki, I felt proud that the town I lived in was home to a tourist destination that attracted so many visitors, and I came to understand what it means to feel attached to a town.
I think historic buildings and archaeological sites have a special appeal that draws people in precisely because each has a story spanning many years.
Learning the stories behind the city’s captivating scenery made me hope that even more people will come to love Kurashiki.
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