ARCHAEOLOGIA JAPONICA

The Committee for the Protection of Buried
Cultural Properties
OGASAWARA Nagataka1
Fiscal 2013 saw excavation research related to reconstruction projects being conductedin full force after the Great East Japan Earthquake. However, personnel shortage dueto the enormous amount of projects is still serious, and even with help from othermunicipalities and organizations it is inadequate. The burden on staff engaged inexcavation is rather heavy, and it is needless to say that further support is required.
The Japanese Archaeological Association is also working on gathering information andsupportive measures, mainly by the Special Committee for Great East Japan Earthquake.
This article summarized activities of the Committee for the Protection of Buried
Cultural Properties in ﬁscal 2013: the national committee meeting (May 24, KomazawaUniversity), secretariat meetings (regularly held once a month), an information exchange
session (Oct. 20, Nagano-ken Shakai Fukushi Sogo Senta), and discussion with theAgency of Cultural Affairs (March 14, the Agency of Cultural Affairs), and so on. Also,a preservation request was submitted for remains of Kitsuki Castle in Kitsuki City, Oita
Prefecture. Although ﬁscal 2013 saw an increase in the number of specialized staff forburied cultural properties, most of the increase was for reconstructive projects in thethree prefectures in Tohoku region hit hard by the earthquake. The decreasing tendency
is still continuing on the whole, excluding these areas. While many baby boomers
are retiring they are not being replaced enough by new hires. It became clear from aquestionnaire conducted by the Committee that replacement by regular personnel is very
rare, and the number of part-timers is increasing. Also there were examples that due tostaff shortages, it is becoming a regular practice that administrative excavation researchis conducted by temporary workers from private organizations, causing a new problem
for the future. While utilization of private excavation institutes is not wrong in itself, it isimportant for municipalities that manage them to construct management and supervisionsystems. In the future it would be ideal if private companies are utilized based on thevalue of their specialties.
Also some important sites were decided to be preserved in ﬁscal 2013. While it is
1 Committee

Member, The Japanese Archaeological Association, 4th Floor, 5–15–5 Hirai, Edogawa
Ward, Tokyo 132–0035, Japan(jjarch@archaeology.jp)
JAPANESE JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY 3 (2015): 48–49© Japanese Archaeological Association48

JAPANESE JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY 3 (2015): 48–49

TRENDS IN ARCHAEOLOGY
Title
IN JAPAN

quite fortunate that local assets will be passed down to future generations without
destruction, it is a heavy responsibility for local governments who manage them not only
to maintain but to utilize the assets. What should be most avoided is to use them for easy
attraction of tourists by advertising only outstanding parts. A plan for management andutilization should be constructed carefully based on long-term viewpoints. It is required
for the Japanese Archaeological Association to organize a system to give support forfuture management and utilization.

© Japanese Archaeological Association49