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Disaster Prevention and Japanese Culture

Anti-seismic and fireproof wood-used architecture is the best

To preserve cultural heritages, Environmental Water Supply System (EWSS) is effective to cope with fire. The system need no electric power and less people to operate compared to other methods. In disaster such as earthquake, because fire engines tend to be scarce and human lives have a priority over cultural heritages, it is difficult to care for them sufficiently. So, EWSS is a better way of dealing with fire.

EWSS is surely useful method, and to think about disaster prevention of wooden cultural heritages and cities is important, but considering of rebuilding them is also necessary. There are 3 reasons for this.
First, it is impossible to protect cultural heritages and cities permanently. Especially wooden architectures is not strong enough to disaster. So they need constant repair and at worst, rebuilding.
Second, considering Japanese "renewal" culture, rebuilding suits with its characteristics. As the word "Shogyoumujyou" shows, the Japanese assume that things will change constantly. Japanese wooden architectures and cities are built on the promise of collapse and rebuilding. For example, in Edo era, people prevented fire spreading by tearing down houses.
Third, it is ture that people are attracted by "oldness" of cultural heritages, but they also fascinated by structural beauty of them. Many tourists visit Kinkakuji temple which burnt away in 1950 and was rebuilt in 1955. This means that the attraction of cultural heritages is not only its "oldness".
Rebuilding wooden cultural heritages is important, but now it has problem. The problem is decreasing and aging of "Miyadaiku". "Miyadaiku" is carpenter who is specialized in shrines and temples. They have great skills of wooden architectures such as building a house without using nail. However the number of "Miyadaiku" was decreased from hundreds to now about 50 and most of them are　advanced age.
To preserve wooden cultural heritages, handing skills of "Miyadaiku" on to the next generation is important.

EWSS is surely useful method, however to protect wooden cultural
heritages and cities from disasters is not easy. And considering Japanese culture, it is not always necessary to protect them. Because Japanese culture is "renewal" culture. As the word "Shogyoumujyou" shows, the Japanese assume that things will change constantly. Japanese wooden architectures and cities are also built on the promise of collapse and rebuilding. For example, in Edo era, people prevented fire spreading by tearing down houses.

To think about prevention of cultural heritages from disaster is surely important but considering of rebuilding cultural heritages is also necessary. Rebuilding Japanese wooden cultural heritage needs carpenters who is specialized in shrines and temples. They are often called "Miyadaiku", and they have great skills of wooden architectures. They build a house without using nail. However the number of "Miyadaiku" is decreasing from hundreds to now about 50, and their graying is also serious problem.

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