Takahashi River Shijuku is a school that aims to achieve the SDGs in the Takahashi River Basin and develop people who can play a central role in community activities.
Takahashi River Shijuku, 2nd term ran from June to September 2021, with around 30 lectures planned by instructors active in the Takahashi River Basin.
On Sunday, July 11, 2021, lectures combining fieldwork and classroom study were held in Fukiya Furusato Village in Takahashi City.
Here is a report on the lectures.
The information presented here was current when this article was published in August 2021. Please note that it may differ from current information.
Overview of Takahashi River Shijuku
Takahashi River Shijuku is run by the Takahashi River Basin School, a general incorporated association, as a project commissioned by Kurashiki City. Through the history, culture, industries, and fieldwork of the Takahashi River Basin, it aims to foster community development, train people to support sustainable communities, and inspire action.
There are two course options:
- “SDGs Exploration Course,” which includes practical work and presentations
- “Auditor Course,” which involves attending selected lectures as classroom study
The first term of Takahashi River Shijuku was held from November 2020 to February 2021, and the second term began in June 2021.
The opening ceremony was held on Sunday, June 27, 2021, and around 30 lectures were planned before the closing ceremony on Sunday, September 26, 2021.
The lectures fall into the following five categories:
| Category | Content |
|---|---|
| SDGs Vision | Lectures where participants can hear from active practitioners about the Takahashi River Basin’s 2030 vision and current initiatives |
| General Knowledge | Lectures to learn about the history, culture, industries, and other aspects of the Takahashi River Basin |
| Skills | Lectures to acquire the skills and know-how needed to carry out community activities, including presentations, using IT tools, and making use of blogs and social media |
| Local SDGs Mission | A workshop to reconsider the 17 SDGs as goals for the Takahashi River Basin and set targets |
| Fieldwork | Experiential learning in community revitalization in the Takahashi River Basin |
The first term had three categories: SDGs Vision, General Knowledge, and Skills. Starting with the second term, Local SDGs Mission and Fieldwork were added.
For more details, visit the special page for “Takahashi River Shijuku.”
Takahashi City Fieldwork
About Fukiya Furusato Village
Fukiya Furusato Village was designated a Japan Heritage site on June 19, 2020 as “The Birthplace of ‘Japan Red’—Bengara and Copper Town Bitchu Fukiya.”
Bengara, also called “Japan’s oldest red,” is a pigment used as paint on shrines and temples, historic buildings, and crafts.
Most buildings in Fukiya’s streetscape have bengara-colored exteriors and reddish copper-colored Sekishu roof tiles.
This was my second visit to Fukiya, and I was once again struck by how vivid the red is throughout the town.
Walking through Fukiya
During the fieldwork, we began by walking through Fukiya and listening to explanations about its history and buildings.
The roof tiles on Fukiya’s buildings are slightly different colors on the left and right, apparently because some have been repaired and others have not.
Bengara is not used on the tiles; their red color comes from the red clay used as a raw material and the liquid used to process the tiles.
Some participants were surprised to hear about the tiles, as they had assumed that all the red in Fukiya came from bengara.
A staff member at a shop offering bengara-dyeing experiences also explained how the dyeing is done.
Because bengara’s red is called “Japan Red,” I had thought bengara only came in red, but iron ore, the raw material for bengara, can also yield pigments in colors other than red.
Since bengara is a color derived from ore, it withstands natural conditions such as ultraviolet rays and hardly fades in the sun. That is why people say, “Even when things decay, the color remains.”
Because only Fukiya bengara could produce a vivid red for items such as Imari ware, its brand value and trading price rose, and Fukiya prospered as a town of bengara.
Fukiya is a town that made its fortune from bengara and was built by bengara merchants.
That history can be seen throughout the town.
The buildings have narrow frontages and extend deep into the lot, following the design of merchants’ houses known as “eel beds.” Some also have rings for tethering horses and cattle when rice and iron wholesalers came to town.
Former Fukiya Elementary School Building
The east and west single-story school buildings of the former Fukiya Elementary School were built in 1900, and its two-story main building was constructed in 1909.
The building was designed by Egawa Saburohachi.
Fukiya Elementary School remained in use as Japan’s oldest active wooden school building until it closed in March 2012. As of 2021, preservation and repair work was underway.
Our guide on the town walk had apparently attended Fukiya Elementary School and shared memories from their school days along with photographs.
Motoyama Yama Shrine
“There’s a familiar mark on the torii gate and stone fence of this shrine. See if you can find it.”
Hearing this, each participant carefully examined the torii gate, and one after another exclaimed, “There it is!”
I looked for it too and spotted the Mitsubishi logo on the torii gate.
The torii gate and stone fence at Motoyama Yama Shrine were donated by Mitsubishi during the Meiji era.
We were told that in the Meiji era, Mitsubishi founder Iwasaki Yataro was the first to step forward to take on the management of Fukiya, and that Fukiya and the Takashima Coal Mine helped make Mitsubishi a major company.
Climbing the steps gives you a view overlooking Fukiya’s streetscape.
Traditional House Renovation Workshop
After the town walk, we took part in a traditional house renovation workshop.
The house being renovated was a traditional home called “Fukiya Bokkee-ya.”
At the workshop, we tried renovating the traditional house by doing two main types of work.
- Paint the wood running beneath the eaves and secure the boards laid over it
- Lay new boards over the secured boards
To paint the wood beneath the eaves, we used a paint made by mixing bengara and persimmon tannin.
Bengara not only produces a beautiful red color, but also protects painted wood against rot and insects, making it ideal for the wood beneath the eaves, where moisture tends to collect and insects are attracted.
We worked diligently in the cramped space beneath the eaves despite the heat.
One participant said, “Different types of wood are easier or harder to paint. The rougher wood is probably older, and the paint is harder to apply to it.”
Because bengara is a pigment made from minerals, it tends to settle to the bottom even when mixed with persimmon tannin. It is necessary to stir it well and keep adding liquid persimmon tannin as you paint.
The participants worked together on the renovation, checking how much paint remained and how far the work had progressed.
During the break, I was struck by how participants showed one another the paint that had gotten on their clothes.
Once they had finished painting, they used nails to secure the boards they had removed earlier.
When securing the boards, they had to restore them as closely as possible to their original condition, so they worked carefully, looking at both the building and the boards.
They then attached new boards over them.
The boards had to fit the size of the room, so they needed to be cut to the required dimensions.
Even a difference of just a few millimeters would keep a board from fitting properly, so care was needed when cutting them, too.
Classroom Session: “Fukiya Furusato Village: The Reiwa Industrial Revolution”
After the town walk and the traditional house renovation workshop, the group attended a classroom lecture by Takuya Sato, a former Community Revitalization Cooperator in Takahashi City and now owner of Sato Beni Shoten.
Looking at Fukiya from the perspectives of the past, present, and future, he clearly explained what is happening there.
Fukiya flourished as a major bengara-producing area during the Edo period, but with the advent of industrial bengara, the last bengara factory closed at the end of the Showa era.
It was transformed into a tourist town as a furusato village.
At its peak, Fukiya had about as many residents as Kurashiki did at the time. Today, however, more than 50 percent of the population is elderly, the population is around 130, and one in every two buildings is reportedly vacant.
When Sato was a Community Revitalization Cooperator, he organized events such as making Fukiya’s specialty, Beni Daruma, dancing together in Fukiya’s streets, and hosting a tavern-style gathering.
Sato said that during his time as a Community Revitalization Cooperator, he worked to create things that Fukiya did not have.
Creating something that does not exist is not something one person can do alone.
He said this was possible thanks to the support of key people and organizations in Fukiya.
People in Fukiya are good at distinguishing between what they can do themselves and what is difficult for them to accomplish alone. This makes it easier for them to create new things with people who have recently moved to Fukiya.
Next, he spoke about Fukiya’s present and future under the title “Fukiya Furusato Village: The Reiwa Industrial Revolution.”
Over the nine years from when Sato began working as a Community Revitalization Cooperator to the present, ten new businesses have reportedly opened in Fukiya.
Fukiya is deep in the mountains, and it is not the kind of place that draws crowds like other tourist destinations. But Sato said, “It’s interesting to see examples of shops opening and everyone enjoying them as they continue at a relaxed pace.”
Using examples from five distinctive businesses currently operating in Fukiya, he discussed the present-day Fukiya Furusato Village. He then spoke about shaping Fukiya’s future, including the reopening of the former Fukiya Elementary School building in April 2022 and plans for using Fukiya Bokkee-ya, which was renovated during the workshop.
From the Writer
The Takahashi River Shijuku usually holds its lectures mainly in Kurashiki City. By actually visiting Fukiya and doing fieldwork for this session, I think participants were able to feel closer to the Takahashi River Basin.
I am a graduate of the first cohort of the Takahashi River Shijuku. The experience of actually visiting Takahashi City, in addition to attending the lectures, helped me appreciate anew the vastness of the Takahashi River Basin and how its upper and lower reaches are connected.
It was a fieldwork experience that offered a rewarding time for learning amid blue skies and Fukiya’s red streetscape.
Takahashi River Shijuku, Second Cohort: Information
| Name | Takahashi River Shijuku, Second Cohort |
|---|---|
| Dates | Period of the second cohort of the Takahashi River Shijuku: June 27, 2021–September 26, 2021 |
| Location | Within Takahashi City |
| Participation fee (tax included) | For details, see the Takahashi River Shijuku website. 1. SDGs Exploration Course participants General: 12,000 yen; students: 8,000 yen (participation in person on the day of all programs and access to archived recordings available) ※ The fee is the same for in-person and online participation. 2. Auditors (classroom sessions only) In-person: 1,500 yen per session (limited capacity); online or archived sessions: 500 yen per session ※ A page accessible only to participants will be provided at a later date. ※ Some courses may require an additional fee to cover actual costs. ※ Some courses may be open to the public free of charge. |
| Website | Takahashi River Shijuku | Takahashi River Basin School |
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