“International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage
in Central Europe: The Past and the Future”

Report on the 32nd Seminar “International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage in Central Europe: The Past and the Future”

Report on the 32nd Seminar

Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage

Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage

Report on the 32nd Seminar“International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage
in Central Europe: The Past and the Future”

Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage

Introduction
This report describes the proceedings of the 32nd Seminar (webinar), “International
Cooperation on Cultural Heritage in Central Europe: The Past and the Future,” held by theJapan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage (JCIC-Heritage) on
January 28, 2023.
The manuscript was transcribed from audio recordings, with additions and corrections by theeditors to improve the presentation of the report. All photographs used in this report without
mention of their sources are those provided by the presenters.

Organized by: JCIC-Heritage, Agency for Cultural Affairs
Editorial Board: JCIC-Heritage Secretariat
TOMODA Masahiko (Secretary General)
KANAI Ken (Assistant Director)
FUJII Ikuno (Editor)
MAEDA Koki (Planning, editing, PR design)
HIRONO Satomi (Proofreading)Table of Contents
Opening Remarks……………………………………………………………………………………………………

6

OKADA Yasuyoshi (Vice President, JCIC-Heritage)
Keynote Speech: “The Historical World of Central Europe” ………………………………………………………

8

SHINOHARA Taku (Professor, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies)
Lecture 1 : “International Assistance to Central Europe and Japan’s International Cooperation” …………… 20
MAEDA Koki (Associate Fellow, JCIC-Heritage)
Lecture 2 : “Cultural Heritage Protection and International Cooperation in Serbia” …………………………… 28
SHIMADA Sachi (Guest Professor, Jissen Women’s University)
Lecture 3 : “Historical and Cultural Heritage in Romania and its Protection” ………………………………… 36
MIYAKE Riichi (Visiting Professor, Tokyo University of Science)
Panel Discussion……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 46
Moderator: KINBARA Yasuo (Professor Emeritus, Tokai University)
Panelists: Speakers above
Closing Remarks……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 54
TOMODA Masahiko (Secretary General, JCIC-Heritage)

Program
Purpose of the seminar
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the damage to the country’s cultural heritage has been widelyreported in the media and interest has been growing. However, the regions we usually refer to as Central andEastern Europe have not received as much attention as other regions, and the results of Japan’s cooperative
activities in the field of cultural heritage in these regions are not well shared. In considering future cultural
heritage cooperation with Ukraine and neighboring countries, it is necessary to understand the geographicaland cultural characteristics of the region and give due consideration to its historical background.
In this seminar, we would like to review the history and culture of Central and Eastern Europe in a broad
sense, summarize Japan’s past international cultural heritage cooperation activities in the region, andconsider future cooperation.
Program⃝14:00–14:05

Opening Remarks

OKADA Yasuyoshi (Vice President, JCIC-Heritage)⃝14:05–14:35

Keynote Speech: “The Historical World of Central Europe”

SHINOHARA Taku (Professor, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies)⃝14:35–14:55

Lecture 1 : “International Assistance to Central Europe and Japan’s International Cooperation”⃝14:55–15:25

Lecture 2 : “Cultural Heritage Protection and International Cooperation in Serbia”

MAEDA Koki,（Associate Fellow, JCIC-Heritage）

SHIMADA Sachi (Guest Professor, Jissen Women’s University)⃝15:25–15:55

Lecture 3 : “Historical and Cultural Heritage in Romania and its Protection”

MIYAKE Riichi (Visiting Professor, Tokyo University of Science)⃝15:55–16:05

Break⃝16:05–16:55

Panel Discussion

Moderator: KINBARA Yasuo (Professor Emeritus, Tokai University)
Panelists: Speakers above⃝16:55–17:00

Closing Remarks

TOMODA Masahiko (Secretary General, JCIC-Heritage)

Opening Remarks
Thank you very much for joining us today at the“International Cooperation on Cultural Heritage in

32nd Study Group of the JCIC-Heritage. On behalf

Central Europe: Past and Future” and will includeof the organizers, I would like to welcome you toreports on several specific cases, followed by athe opening of this seminar. JCIC-Heritage is anpanel discussion.

organization of experts in various fields and research
institutes

involvedininternational

In looking back on last year, the most shocking

cooperation

news was Russian attack to Ukraine. It will soon

through the medium of cultural heritage. The purposebe a full year since the start of Russia’s war, andof our activities is to provide cooperation and support

unfortunately, there are still no promising signs of

to our target countries, promote cooperation andan end to the conflict. In addition to the tremendous

ties among people working in those countries, andloss of human life, there have also been reports

collect and share various types of information relatedof damage to cultural heritage, such as historicalto those countries.

monuments and buildings, one after another.

This year marks the 17th year since the Consor-

Japanese people may also be unfamiliar withtium’s establishment in 2006. Through these semi-

Ukraine’s geographical location. The term “Easternnars, we have been raising awareness among theEurope” is sometimes used to refer to the eastern

general public and specialists about the internationalpart of Europe, but since the end of the Cold War,cultural heritage preservation activities that Japan isnumerous countries that were previously part ofleading. At the same time, we are also working to

the eastern former Soviet sphere of influence have

improve our own capabilities and capacities.

joined the EU one after another.

Today’s seminar, the second of the year, is titled

OKADA Yasuyoshi(Vice President, JCIC-Heritage)

It would appear that the term “Eastern Europe”

is now very ambiguous, and there are cases wherecountries.

the region including Ukraine is lumped together withAs the last item on the program, we have prepared

Poland and Hungary under the term “Central anda panel discussion. We would like to provide a

Eastern Europe.” Compared to Western Europeansummary of the international cooperation activities

countries, it is also a region that has not garneredconducted in the region to date, as well as amuch media coverage. This is the reason for the

discussion of the perspectives necessary for future

use of the term “Central Europe” in the title of thiscooperation projects.

seminar.

We hope that today’s seminar will provide an

The same is true in the field of cultural heritage,opportunity to renew our thinking on the nature ofwhere Japan’s cooperation to date has beeninternational cooperation in the region, including

limited, and at the same time, there has been little

Ukraine. I would like to conclude opening remarks.

complementary

sharingofinformation. Today,

we will start with a broad overview of the history,
culture, and ethnic characteristics of the central andeastern regions of Europe, followed by a review ofJapan’s past international cooperation activities insoutheastern Europe, including the countries of theformer Yugoslavia. More specifically, we will review
Japan’s international cooperation activities to date in
Romania, Serbia, and other southeastern European

Thank you very much for your kind attention.

Keynote
Speech“The Historical World ofCentral Europe”

Thank you very much for the introduction. My
name is SHINOHARA. My specialty is history, particularly the history of the Austro-Hungarian Empire
during the 19th and 20th centuries. Specifically, I am
interested in Galizia, a region located in what today
includes parts of the Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, and Ukraine. I have always been interested in
the issue of cultural property preservation, and I am
deeply honored to be invited to today’s seminar. I
hope that you will find today’s content edifying andthought-provoking. (Fig. 1)
First, I would like to share my thoughts on the concept of “Central Europe.” Traditionally, the area between Russia and Germany and the countries that
adopted socialist governance after World War II havebeen grouped together as Eastern Europe.
So, why do we refer to “Eastern Europe” here as“Central Europe”? Western Europe began with theestablishment of the Frankish Empire, which inherited the traditions and legitimacy of the Western Roman Empire, while the Czech Republic, Poland,
Hungary, and Croatia in the northern part of the Bal-

8
“International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage in Central Europe: The Past and the Future”

kans, which were considered “Eastern Europe” in thelatter half of the 20th century, could be consideredregions that were culturally a part of Western Europe
by the 10th century. In the eastern part of Europe,
states were established in the Balkans in direct suc-

SHINOHARA Taku

cession to the Eastern Roman Empire and Byzan-(Professor, Graduate School of Global Studies, Tokyo
University of Foreign Studies)tine traditions, and the Ruthenian sphere was established in the regions of present-day Ukraine andBelarus. Here is where the problem begins: From the13th century onward, the Western European world
expanded eastward with the development of trade
based on the German colonization movement andProfessor SHINOHARA specializes in the modern and contemporary
history of Central Europe, especially the 19th and 20th-century
history of the Habsburg Empire and its successor states, andthe memory of World War II and the Holocaust. Since 2008, Dr.
SHINOHARA has continued his “Research on Shared Heritage in
Borderlands” with Międzynarodowe Centrum Kultury/International
Cultural Center, Cracow, Poland. He is co-editor of History of the
Politics and Culture of the Habsburg Empire: Inherited Legitimacy(Showado), co-author of World History Vol. 21: Two World Warsand Imperialism II (Iwanami Koza), and other works.

Figure 1

Keynote
Speechthe Hanseatic League. The spread of Catholic

We are accustomed to think of Ukraine and Belar-

churches and monasteries is also important. Many

us in relation to the Grand Duchy of Moscow and thecities were built in the East according to a common

Russian Empire that succeeded it. However, thecode, the German City Law. We can think of “Central

Grand Duchy of Moscow was long a historical out-

Europe” as the region where this expanded Western

growth of the Ulus of Jochi, or the Golden Horde

European world comes into contact with the Ruthe-(also known as the Kipchak Khanate.) It was not un-nian sphere and later with the Ottoman Empire, atil the Northern War in the early 18th century andregion that continues the traditions of the Easternespecially after the Napoleonic Wars that the Rus-

Roman Empire, or as a region where these two re-sian Empire began to establish itself as a major pow-

gions intermingle. It was a region that shared theer in Europe. Poland was split up between Russia,

model of states, social norms, and forms of beliefs

Prussia, and Austria at the end of the 18th century,

established in Western Europe, but intersecting withand with this division of Poland, the region that had

the norms of other civilizations. Like the brackish wa-

inherited the traditions of the former Ruthenian na-

ters of a unique ecosystem, Central Europe has ation was finally merged into the Russian empire.

distinct character as a border region within the European continent.

In this figure (Fig. 2), the Ottoman Empire cannot
be successfully joined to Central Europe. However, if
we place, for example, the area of the Ottoman Em-

mia, Hungary, and the United Kingdom of Po-

pire’s dominion in the lower right area where “King-

land-Lithuania could be called “Central Europe.” In

dom of Hungary” is written, it would be easier to un-

the 15th century these regions were ruled under thederstand that Central Europe includes not only thePolish-Lithuanian Jageło dynasty. What is important

Ruthenian sphere but also the area of contact andto bear in mind about Ukraine today is the Ruthenian

intermingling with the Ottoman Empire. It is important

tradition. A large part of the Ruthenian world, includ-

to note here that the Balkans were the core part ofing the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Kiev

the Ottoman Empire. In the 19th century, the Balkan(Kyiv), was ruled by the Grand Dukes of Lithuania,
who succeeded to the East Roman mantle, and overa long period, until the 18th century, eventually led toa historical development within the United Kingdomof Poland-Lithuania. From the 16th century onward,
the southern tip of Central Europe came into contact
with the Ottoman Empire and the Islamic world, andthen intermingled with them to form a world of its
own that we can think of Serbia, Romania, and Moldova, which I will discuss later.

Figure 3

Figure 2

Figure 4

9“The Historical World of Central Europe”

The historical territories of the Kingdom of Bohe-Keynote
Speechnation-states were established here, and until a cer-painting. It is the largest mosaic north of the Alpstain point in the 19th and 20th centuries, the Ottoman(Figs. 3 and 4).

heritage was treated negatively, both in terms of his-

Next is the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Lublin,torical consciousness and in terms of cultural heri-

Poland, built in the 14th century. The Polish king whotage policy. However, with the recognition that thebuilt this structure, Kazimierz the Great, dared to in-

Balkans were the core of the Ottoman Empire, one’svite craftsmen and artists who inherited the traditions

historical image may change dramatically (Fig. 2).

and techniques of Orthodox icons to build a Catholic

So, the monarchs of central Europe were aware ofcathedral, but he was very conscious of the fact thatsuch a civilizational mixture. This is the Cathedral ofboth the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic

St. Vitus in Prague, a magnificent Gothic building

churches lived in his domain. Both Karl and Kaz-

constructed in the 14th century. Karl IV, the Holy Ro-

imierz, as monarchs of the border region of Central

man Emperor and King of Bohemia, invited artisans

Europe, seem to have dreamt of a kind of grand ecu-

and artists with knowledge of Eastern Roman art

menism, a unification of the Eastern and Western

styles to create mosaics to decorate the main en-

Churches (Fig. 5).

trance of the cathedral with the “Last Judgment”

This is an older version of the current St. Sophia

10“International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage in Central Europe: The Past and the Future”

Figure 5

Figure 8

Figure 6

Figure 9

Figure 7

Figure 10

Keynote
SpeechTemple in Kiev, a very important Orthodox church

rule of a monolithic Tsar. It is Central Europe that isfounded in the 11th century, and remodeled or en-

the “tragedy,” because it is Europe (the West) thatlarged in the 18th century in the so-called Ukrainianhas been politically kidnapped by an alien civilization

Baroque style, as it was under the control of the Unit-(the East). If this is the case, then there are not threeed Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania until the 18th

regions in Europe, “West, Central, and East,” butcentury. The spire of the church is in the Baroquerather “West” and “Central” are almost Europe itself,style (Figs. 6, 7, 8, and 9).

and “East” is a civilization and region alien to it (Fig.

There was a Ukrainian sculptor named Georg Jo-

11). This is an argument of protest against the East-

han Pinsel, and there is now a museum in Lviv dedi-West division of Europe, characteristic of the dissi-

cated to his work. Although his origins are unknown,

dent and exiled intellectuals of the Cold War socialist

his style is said to have been derived from German

bloc, but it has taken on an unfortunate acutenessand Czech baroque art. The fact that such art flour-with the beginning of the war in Ukraine. In fact, theished in Ukraine cannot be overlooked without refer-argument that Ukraine is part of “Central Europe” orence to the history of the United Kingdom of Poland

the European world is gaining strength. However, weand Lithuania. However, neither in the Russian Em-

cannot just accept this Central European view as is.

pire nor during the Soviet era was there any signifi-

What is more important for the concept of “Central

cant neglect of the spread of European art, which

Europe” in the context of what I am about to discuss

remained strong in the strata of history and culture. It

is that the historical premise for the formation of

was not until 1980 that Pinsel was finally discovered“Eastern Europe” and thus the disappearance of(Fig. 10).

“Central Europe” was the experience of destructionin the 20th century, especially the two world wars

War, that the term “Central Europe” came into com-and the historical rupture between them, and thatmon usage. In particular, the essay “The Kidnappedsuch a perception remains at the core of Central Eu-

West, or the Tragedy of Central Europe,” published inropean theory.

1983 by Milan Kundera, an exiled writer from Czecho-

Prior to the establishment of the socialist bloc andslovakia to France, caused a great sensation. Kunde-

Soviet rule, the region experienced enormous de-

ra defines Central Europe as a Europe that is “cultur-

struction, including its own violence, a rupture in his-ally western, geographically central, and politicallytory. I would add that the destruction was most dra-eastern,” but according to him, Europe is character-matic in the region that is now Ukraine. For reasons I

ized by “maximum diversity in minimum space,” andwill return to in a moment, the concept of “Central

in that sense, Central Europe is “the most typical Eu-

Europe” seems to have acquired meaning less as arope.” He also sees Russia as the exact opposite, aregional concept than as an effort to culturally recov-

civilization that is alien to Europe in that “there is theer what was destroyed and lost, or to overcome theminimum diversity in the maximum space” under theviolence that led to its destruction. In other words,
the question of whether to call the region “Central” or“Eastern” was not a matter of geographical or civilizational definition, but rather the main issue of whywhat we call “Central Europe” has disappeared andhow to recover it. The term “Central Europe” plays amajor role in this process, and the concept of “Central Europe” in particular has played a major role in
the preservation, restoration, and historical memoryof cultural properties, and in connection with this dis-Figure 11

cussion, we may consider the changing approaches

11“The Historical World of Central Europe”

It was not until the 1980s, at the end of the ColdKeynote
Speechto cultural properties in this region.

Velka Trna, Slovakia. The fresco was completely

The destruction of Central Europe in the 20th cen-plastered over when the building was converted to atury was caused first by Nazi Germany and then by

Calvinist church, but it was discovered at the end of

the Soviet “experiment” of violent social transforma-the 19th century and carefully stripped of its plastertion. However, it is not only violence from the outside(Fig. 14). At the time, a movement of “explorers” wasthat has done so, but also the expulsion of residents

underway to “discover” such heritage sites. Thisand the deliberate destruction or neglect of culturalhas, of course, been repeated throughout history,

heritage after expulsion, leaving it to collapse, wheth-but in the 20th century in Central Europe, genocide

er in Poland or Czechoslovakia, in the pursuit of cul-

and mass expulsions have resulted in the loss ortural homogenization by the respective nation-states.

change of ownership of numerous cultural heritage

This has been completely revised since the 1980s,

sites in a short period of time, many of which haveespecially after the end of the Cold War (Fig. 12).

been destroyed or lost. It is a phenomenon unparal-

Naturally, history has seen both cultural heritageleled in history in its scale and radicality. Central Eu-

and architecture change owners, and as an exam-rope is not characterized by “diversity,” but stands

ple, this is a fresco found in a Calvinist church inout in world history for its extreme destruction of “di-Figure 12

Figure 15

Figure 13

Figure 16

Figure 14

Figure 1712“International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage in Central Europe: The Past and the Future”

Keynote
Speechversity” (Figs. 13 and 14).

landscape will not be restored to its original state.

This is a quote from Edvard Beneš, the postwar

The streets of Jáchymov have changed little sincepresident of Czechoslovakia. Before the war, Czecho-

before the war, but the rich farmland around it has

slovakia had a population of about 15 million people,

been deforested due to the lack of people. Both ara-of whom about 3 million were of German descent.

ble land and settlements have disappeared. The fol-

Most of these 3 million were forcibly expelled fromlowing are pictures of the same town taken from dif-

victorious Czechoslovakia after the war.

ferent directions (Figs. 16, 17, and 18).

Beneš describes the situation in this way.

This is the Catholic monastery in the town of Kar-

“Nemesis (the god of history) rightly did not havetushka Beloza, or Byaloza, now in Belarus. The west-

any hatred or hostility toward the vermin (referring toern part of present-day Belarus was Polish territory

the Germans) who nestled in this republic, but only

before World War II, but after World War II it was in-carried out what was right, without pity or sympathy.

corporated into Soviet Belarus, and many Polish res-

With this conviction, we watched the expulsion of theidents and Catholics were expelled. The photo looks

Germans. From today on, not only legally (and by “le-like an ancient Roman ruin, but the monastery was

gally,” I mean when Czechoslovakia was created af-

abandoned only two generations ago, when the peo-ter World War I), but also in reality, our country has

ple who used it were expelled (Fig. 19).

become a nation-state, a state of only Czechs andSlovaks” (Fig. 15).

This again is the site of a church in a town known
as Slaný (Czech) or Žamberk (German) in the Czech
border region. After the expulsion of the Germans,

and around the town of Jáchymov in the Czech bor-

the churches decayed without being replaced, andder region. The demographic composition of the area

today only traces of these monumental churches re-

was almost completely changed by the expulsion of

main. Similarly, many churches collapsed, but many

the Germans. Colonization activities followed the ex-

left no trace at all (Fig. 20).

pulsion of 3 million people, but of course the original

Next is a map of Poland. The yellow area is the

Figure 18

Figure 20

Figure 19

Figure 21

13“The Historical World of Central Europe”

These photos were taken in the 1930s and 2003 inKeynote
SpeechPoland that was created after World War I. The pres-14

masses (Fig. 22).

ent Poland is within the red border line. The stripe

On the right side of Figure 21, we can see thepattern on the left (west side) is the area that Poland

town of Lviv. Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine,

acquired from Germany after World War II, from

Lviv has often appeared in the Japanese media. The

which about 9 million people were expelled. Con-

university in Lviv was established in the 17th century

versely, many Polish residents were expelled fromas a Jesuit college, the third oldest Polish language

the area on the right (east side), which became So-

university, and the town was one of the cultural cen-viet territory (Fig. 21).

ters of Poland. Lviv became Soviet Ukraine after theThis is currently a World Heritage site, and I am

war, and many institutions of Polish culture were

sure many of you are more familiar with it than I am.

transplanted to Wroclaw (Polish)/Breslau (German)

It is the Paraskeva Church, originally a Greek Catho-in the former German territories that Poland acquired

lic church, located in a town called Kfiaton.

after the war.

“International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage in Central Europe: The Past and the Future”

While Poles were expelled from the former Polish

The statue of Aleksandr Fredro seen here wasterritories that became Soviet territory, the remaining

moved directly from Lviv (Ukrainian)/Lubów (Polish)

Orthodox and Greek Catholics in Poland were con-to Wroclaw. The postwar Polish government calledsidered Ukrainians and some were expelled to thethe territories acquired from Germany “recovered ter-

Soviet Union, while others were newly acquired fromritories,” and the transplantation of cultural institu-

Germany and expelled to areas after the Germans

tions from the East was a major project to restore thehad been expelled (known as Operation Wisła).

essence of Polish culture lost in the East in the “re-There was a concentration of Greek Catholic congre-

covered territories.” In Lviv, a library called the Osso-

gations in the southeastern part of what is now Po-

lineum was established in 1817, which housed many

land, but that community was destroyed in Operation

rare books and old documents in Polish. The photo

Wisła. This church became a Roman Catholic church

above left shows the current building of the Ossoline-

after the war, and now also hosts Greek Catholic

um in Lviv. After World War II, however, much of the

Figure 22

Figure 24

Figure 23

Figure 25

Keynote
Speechcollection was moved to a new library in Wroclaw

leader Adolf Hitler’s genocidal “Final Solution” policy(Figs. 23 and 24).

of extermination. It is a heavily fraught topic, but the

It is not uncommon in Central Europe for cities toquestion of how the local people in Poland, Ukraine,

have had most of their town populations replaced

Lithuania, and Belarus were involved in the extermi-

during and immediately after World War II due to de-nation policy has been heavily debated in the 21st

struction and displacement of residents. In the mostcentury, and historical research has revealed many

extreme form of this phenomenon, the policy of ex-

new facts. A film titled “Babi Yar,” directed by Sergei

termination of Jews (the “Holocaust”) took place

Loznitsa, about the massacre of Jews in Kiev, wasduring the years of the Nazi regime’s rule over Ger-

released last year in Japan. The film sparked a greatmany.

deal of debate by suggesting the involvement ofThis green map color-codes the areas with the

Ukrainian society in the massacre.
In Japan, the word “Holocaust” first brings Germa-

areas are those where more than 15 percent of the

ny to mind. There is no doubt that it was Nazi Germa-

population is Jewish. As Jewish populations are con-ny that planned and executed it. However, the focus

centrated in towns, even though they represent onlyof the Holocaust, the place where so many victims

about 10 percent of the population of an area, or the

lived and where the massacres took place, is in Cen-

entire territory, when viewed as a point, or a town,

tral Europe. The map shows the number of victims;

they represent a much larger percentage of theGerman victims numbered about 160,000, a hugegreater population. The prewar population of War-

number, of course. In contrast, the number of victims

saw, the capital of Poland, was about 1.1 million, but

in Poland or in the western part of the Soviet Union

one-third of that population was Jewish, and in(Ukraine, Belarus, etc.) amounted to 3 million and 1

Minsk, the current capital of Belarus, more than half

million, respectively (Fig. 27). In a sense, it is natural

the population was Jewish(Fig. 26).

that the absolute number of victims is higher in this

The Jewish community was destroyed by Nazi

region because of the large number of Jews there.

Figure 26

Figure 28

Figure 27

Figure 29

15“The Historical World of Central Europe”

highest concentrations of Jews. The darkest green

Keynote
SpeechHowever, let us look at the number of survivors (Fig.

ny and German-occupied Western Europe. It can be28). The number of survivors in Germany is 330,000.

said that the focus of the extermination policy was on

In Poland, the number is 225,000. Compared to theCentral Europe. Incidentally, the five “extermination

number of victims, the policy of extermination in Cen-

camps” whose sole purpose was to kill Jews were alltral Europe was much more thorough than in Germa-

built on Polish territory before the war. Jews from all

Figure 30

Figure 34

Figure 31

Figure 35

Figure 32

Figure 36

Figure 33

Figure 37

16“International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage in Central Europe: The Past and the Future”

Keynote
Speechover Europe were taken there to be slaughtered.

the 17th century in Zhovkva/Żółkiew, Western

Now, because of the large Jewish presence andUkraine. It is an outstanding architectural heritage

the short time it took to destroy them, many towns inthat preserves the late Renaissance and early Ba-

Central Europe have Jewish artifacts in their urban

roque styles, but to this day it remains in ruins (Figs.

landscapes. This is a synagogue built at the end of29, 30, and 31).

Figure 38

Figure 42

17

Figure 43

Figure 40

Figure 44

Figure 41

Figure 45“The Historical World of Central Europe”

Figure 39

Keynote
SpeechNext is the Slonim (Słonim) Synagogue in Belarus,“Central Europe” as a challenge, with the task of “res-a baroque structure built in the mid-17th century,

urrecting” from the destruction and restoring the lostwhich also remains in ruins. Next is the synagogue in

multilayered cultural landscape at its core, it is only

Lutsk (Łuck), Western Ukraine, which is strongly

natural that there would be interest in the Jewish her-reminiscent of the form of a fortress. It is not in ruins,itage. The Old Jewish Quarter and St. Procopius Ca-

but is now used as a sports center (Figs. 32 and 33).

thedral in Třebíč, Czech Republic, was inscribed on

We can also see the synagogue in Brest/Brześć,UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2003 for its value

near the western border of Belarus. Originally a hex-

in demonstrating “the long history of coexistence be-agonal synagogue, it was converted into a movie

tween Jews and Christians.” For this reason, the syn-theater after the war, and today one can hardly imag-

agogues and streets in the former Jewish neighbor-ine its original form from the outside (Figs. 35 andhood were beautifully restored, and a bridge

36).

symbolizing coexistence was built over the river sep-

As mentioned at the outset, if one looks at the de-arating it from the Christian neighborhood (Figs. 38,

struction of the 20th century and sees the concept of39, 40, 41, and 42). Of course, no Jewish community

Figure 46

Figure 49

Figure 47

Figure 50

Figure 48

Figure 51

18“International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage in Central Europe: The Past and the Future”

Keynote
SpeechFigure 52

Figure 53

still exists here today. In fact, even before World War

Purchla was for a long time the director of the CenterII, there were already only a very few Jews in theand also chaired UNESCO’s World Heritage Confer-town, and the “Jewish quarter” was a thing of theence in Krakow (Fig. 50). This is the Center’s mission

past, but that is another topic.

(Fig. 51). TUFS has been collaborating with the Center since 2008, beginning with a study of Galizia (thenear the Lithuanian-Polish border. It is now being re-historical region from southeastern Poland to west-

stored as a monument to “the intersection andern Ukraine, the Kingdom of Galizia and Lodomeria

boundary of all things heterogeneous,” an initiative ofunder the rule of the Habsburg Empire) and continu-

the Borderland foundation in the town, and has be-

ing for about two weeks every two years thereafter.

come a place of exchange. It is important to note that

Initially, the trip was to Galizia, followed by Lithuania,

the Jewish heritage is seen as the most marginal site

Belarus, and other lost Polish border regions (Kresy),of the revival of a diverse and multicultural Central

but we have been considering challenging the con-Europe (Figs. 43, 44, 45, and 46).

cept of “Central Europe” with the theme of “the shared

It is not only the Jews. The last place we will look

heritage of border regions,” including the boundary ofat is the Armenian Cathedral in Lviv. The Armenian

the Bohemian-Hungarian kingdom, the “western bor-

Apostolic Church, of course, has been undergoing

der region” of Silesien/Silonsk/Slesko, and the Car-

restoration since 2003 with the cooperation of thepathian foothills region. We have continued to con-Polish government (Figs. 47 and 48).

sider not only the historical richness of the shared

Finally, I would like to thank the International Cul-

heritage of the border region, but also why it has

tural Center/Międzynarodowe Centrum Kultury in

been lost, how what has been lost or is being lost

Krakow, Poland, for the opportunity to study withshould be repaired or “restored,” who it belongs to,them. The Center is a national institution establishedwhat meaning it can and should have, and so on. I

in 1991 under the leadership of Dr. Jacek Purchla,have been thinking about this for a long time.

which supports the restoration of Central Europe’s

While the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted ourshared heritage, promotes research activities, devel-“Shared Heritage Studies” journey, this summer we

ops educational and awareness activities to convey

will be exploring Old Prussia, Pomoge, and Mazouri.

the significance of shared heritage, and serves as a

If any of you are interested, please let me know

hub for the exchange of researchers, intellectuals,(Figs. 52 and 53).

and artists throughout Central Europe (Fig. 49). Dr.

Thank you very much.

19“The Historical World of Central Europe”

Next shown is a synagogue in the town of Sejny,

Lecture 1“International Assistanceto Central Europe andJapan’s International
Cooperation”

My name is MAEDA Koki of the JCIC-Heritage. Although my specialty is architecture and historicalbuildings, and also a member of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo, I amreporting this meeting from the standpoint of theconsortium’s secretariat (Fig. 1).
The contents of the report are as follows (Fig. 2).
First, I would like to briefly review the international
cooperation that Japan has been providing for cultural heritage in Central Europe. Next, I would like tointroduce what kind of international assistance has
been provided in the region and what kind of assistance is being provided after the Russian invasion of
Ukraine, based on the survey conducted by the Consortium in November.
It is difficult to introduce everything in detail in thetime available, so please bear in mind that this is aoverview.
First, before we get into specifics, I would like togive an overview of aid provided by the Japanese
government (Fig. 3). Japan’s assistance to the Central European region began around 1990, when the20“International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage in Central Europe: The Past and the Future”

Cold War ended and the former Soviet Union andneighboring socialist countries began to transformtheir systems into democracies. In particular, Japan
has been providing assistance in the areas of economic infrastructure development and environmental
issues, mainly through yen loans, and technical co-

MAEDA Koki

（Associate Fellow, Secretariat of JCIC-Heritage/ National
Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo）

operation, and has been particularly generous to Romania, Bulgaria, and Ukraine Meanwhile, in theWestern Balkan region, including Serbia, Croatia,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo, which areconstituent states of the former Yugoslavia, recon-

Master of Architectural Conservation. After graduating fromthe Department of Architecture, School of Creative Scienceand Engineering, Waseda University, He completed his MSc in
Architectural Conservation at the University of Edinburgh. After
working for a private think tank, he has been in charge of theSecretariat of the JCIC-Heritage at the National Research Institutefor Cultural Properties, Tokyo, since 2021.

Figure 1was also incorporated into the regional development

curred from 1991 to 2001 has also been provided,plan, particularly in the Kazanlak Regional Develop-

including humanitarian assistance to refugees andment Plan Project (2004–2007) in Bulgaria, where

economic and social infrastructure development forevents were held on the theme of nearby Thracianrecovery and reconstruction.

sites. As a result, there have been cases that have

The turning point in this process came in 2007,

contributed to the excavation, restoration, and exhibi-

when aid to both Bulgaria and Romania ended intion of Thracian tombs by the city of Kazanlak. I think

2010 following their accession to the EU. As a result,

there is a possibility that cultural heritage will be in-in the last decade, the Western Balkans, Ukraine,

volved in JICA projects in the Western Balkans in this

Belarus, and Moldova have been treated as priority

way in the future.

areas for ODA. In particular, cultural cooperation is

In addition, JICA’s volunteer program, known asoften the subject of grant aid and technical coopera-

the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV),

tion. The table below shows that the amount of aid tohas sent a total of 620 volunteers to Central andBulgaria, Romania, the Western Balkans, Ukraine,

Eastern Europe since the first JOCV member wasand Moldova is higher than that of other countries in

dispatched to Hungary in 1992, and in the same re-the region.

gion, the organization has had experience in Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Hungary, and Poland. Among

implementing organization of government aid, arethese volunteers, many have been dispatched tobeing implemented particularly in the field of tour-

Bulgaria, especially in the fields of archaeology andism(Fig. 4) . For example, regional development proj-

cultural heritage conservation, and in some cases,

ects centering on eco-tourism, dispatch of experts

they have provided guidance on the restoration of ex-

and training on tourism promotion, etc. are being

hibits in local museums, conducted excavation sur-conducted in various countries. Cultural heritage

veys, and dispatched dyeing technicians to Bulgaria

Figure 2

Figure 4

Figure 3

Figure 521“International Assistance to Central Europe and Japan’s International Cooperation”

Among these target regions, activities by JICA, an

Lecture 1

struction assistance for the Yugoslav conflict that oc-

Lecture 1

22

for the purpose of providing technical guidance.

where there were many cases in Serbia and Bosnia.

There have been few dispatches of cooperative

By country, Bulgaria had the largest number ofteams in recent years in the field of cultural heritage.

equipment grants, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Romania

With this background, I looked at the results of in-

had the largest number of technical cooperation proj-

ternational cooperation in the field of cultural heri-ects, and Romania and Poland had multiple person-

tage, and found approximately 40 cases in Central

nel exchanges.

“International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage in Central Europe: The Past and the Future”

Europe (Fig. 5). Although the content varies from

I would now like to review the types of projects

project to project, I would like to classify international(Fig. 6). First, equipment and facilities related to cul-cooperation related to cultural heritage into three cat-tural heritage protection are provided through theegories: First, provision of equipment to museums

Cultural Grant Assistance and the Grassroots Cultur-

and other facilities handling cultural properties; sec-

al Grant Assistance. These grants support govern-

ond, technical cooperation for the conservation andment agencies, local governments, and NGOs in

restoration of cultural heritage; third, exchange of hu-

developing countries to purchase equipment and im-

man resources related to cultural heritage. This clas-

prove facilities used for cultural and educational pro-sification is the same as the classification of the

motion. Bulgaria accounts for nearly 60% of the totalsource of funding for the project, but in terms of the

grant amount by country. Although it is difficult tototal number of projects, the number of projects formake a general statement because the currency

equipment provision is the largest as a whole, fol-

rates of different years are not taken into account, it

lowed by technical cooperation and human resourceis clear that Bulgaria received a great deal of govern-

exchange. By region, the Central and Eastern Euro-

ment aid before it joined the EU. In many cases, co-pean region accounted for nearly 60% of the total,

operation has been provided to museum facilities.

with the largest number of cases in Bulgaria and Ro-

For example, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, aid wasmania, followed by the Western Balkans region,

provided to a local archive and museum for the pro-

Figure 6

Figure 8

Figure 7

Figure 9implementing the conservation and restoration of lo-

art and historical documents damaged by the Yugo-

cal historical buildings and sites, but there are otherslav conflict. In addition, as in the case of Serbia inways to get involved in the field of cooperation, such

2010, there have been cases related to intangible

as cooperating with local organizations to coordinate

cultural heritage, such as the provision of equipment

and manage project implementation, and document-

to a folk museum for filming and documenting local

ing the state of cultural heritage through surveys

folk dances and traditional performing arts. Althoughfrom a basic research standpoint, and because all of

there have been almost no cases since 2012, thethem require specialized knowledge, they are classi-

History Museum of Albania received assistance in

fied here as technical cooperation. This shows thatthe form of equipment for conservation, restoration,

the type of cooperation is characteristic of each

as well as for the exhibition environment in 2021.

country, In Bulgaria, there are many cases of excavations of archaeological sites and surveys of buildings

and restoration of cultural heritage (Fig. 7). The

and cityscapes, while in Romania and Serbia there

chronological order of the projects is as follows: firstare many cases of restoration of monastery murals.

in Bulgaria and Romania in the 1990s, and then in

The first example that comes to mind is the project

Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 2000s. Of

for the conservation and restoration of the Provota

a total of 15 projects, there were 4 in Bulgaria andMonastery in Romania, in which Dr. MIYAKE, who

Serbia, 3 in Romania, 2 in Ukraine, and 1 in Greece

will be speaking today, participated and which was

and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Direct cooperation for

carried out from 1996 to 2001 (Fig. 9) . This was acultural heritage, with the exception of the UNES-

pioneering project for international cooperation in

CO-Japan Funds-in-Trust, which is a contribution

cultural heritage in Europe, in which Japan cooperat-

from the Japanese government to UNESCO, comes

ed in the preliminary survey for the restoration of afrom private foundations, research funds from scien-dilapidated monastery and in the guidance and proj-tific research institutes, and university research

ect management for the conservation and restoration

funds. Although researchers affiliated with universi-

of frescoes, which was implemented with the UNES-

ties and other organizations are the main implement-

CO-Japan Funds-in-Trust. Dr. MIYAKE has also

ers, there have been cases, such as the Bosnian

made a significant contribution to international coop-

case, in which restorers from Japanese restoration

eration in cultural heritage in the Moldova region

workshops have directly cooperated in the resto-

through the conservation and restoration of the Ba-

ration of local mural paintings.

silica of St. Nikolae of Barineszti from 2002 to 2006.

The table here categorizes the types of coopera-

He will be presenting on this topic later.

tive projects by country (Fig. 8). International cooper-

During the same period, in Bulgaria, the Tokai Uni-

ation for cultural heritage gives the image of directly

versity Thracian Research Group, led by Dr. KINBA-

Figure 10

Figure 1123“International Assistance to Central Europe and Japan’s International Cooperation”

Next is technical assistance for the conservation

Lecture 1

vision of equipment to be used for the restoration ofLecture 1

RA, the moderator of this study group, conducted 25

cension has been restored multiple times in 2009

years of excavations at the site of the ancient Thra-and 2021 (Fig. 11), and I am sure that Dr. SHIMADA

cian civilization in collaboration with local institutions

will be able to explain the background of these resto-(Fig. 10) .

rations as well.

In addition, Dr. MASUDA of Waseda University

In Ukraine, I am not aware of many cases that

conducted a project for the conservation and resto-

have led to specific conservation and restoration. On

ration of Byzantine manuscripts with the support ofthe other hand, as mentioned here, there is a study

the Sumitomo Foundation, and the UNESCO-Japanby Prof. UEKITA of Tsukuba University on preserva-

Funds-in-Trust conducted a research and restoration

tion methods for wooden schoolhouse churches inproject in the historical center of Plovdiv. The project

Eastern Europe, which contributes to the study of

was conducted by members of the Japanese and

how Japanese technology can be used and how re-

Bulgarian National Committees of ICOMOS, who arecords can be kept for reference in future preservation

responsible for surveying the historic town, identify-

and restoration.

ing restoration sites, selecting conservation and res-

Finally, the third category is personnel exchange

toration contractors, project management, and hu-(Fig. 12). This category includes cultural exchange

man resource development through local study tours.

programs, training programs and workshops for the

In Serbia, as in Romania, many wall paintings of

purpose of developing human resources in specificmonasteries and churches have been restored and a

24

fields.

“International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage in Central Europe: The Past and the Future”

restoration project by Prof. SUZUKI of Okayama Uni-

Many of these projects are supported by the Japan

versity was carried out from 2004 to 2007, and coop-

Foundation. The 2009 Moldova Study Tour in Roma-eration by Prof. SHIMADA, who will make a presen-

nia included workshops by Japanese and local ex-tation today, has been conducted since 2021. In

perts on cultural heritage protection, including World

particular, the Veliki Kurchimyr Cathedral of the As-

Heritage sites, and methods of regional revitalization.

Figure 12

Figure 14

Figure 13

Figure 15

had been increasing until around 2010, but sinceversity of the Arts has organized workshops on rais-2010 it has been decreasing, and cooperation

ing awareness of cultural heritage protection. This isthrough university budgets, private grants, andan example of sharing Japanese knowledge on cul-

Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research has been in-tural heritage disaster prevention, noting that earth-creasing.

quakes are also common in Romania.

So far, we have looked at Japan’s international co-

To summarize briefly what has been said so far, it

operation activities related to cultural heritage. How-was understood that international cooperation onever, there is also a great deal of support from thecultural heritage in Central Europe takes various

EU, especially for Central European countries, and I

forms, including guidance on conservation and res-would like to present some examples of what kind of

toration techniques, project management and coor-

international assistance is being provided. In Novem-

dination, facility development, and training and work-

ber last year, JCIC-Heritage made an appointment atshops (Fig. 13). For tangible cultural heritage, thethe EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, and con-restoration of wall paintings in church buildings,

ducted interviews with the European External Action

which are widely distributed in the region, is a typical

Service, and the Directorate General for Education,

example of technical cooperation. Regarding intangi-

Youth, Sport and Culture of the European Commis-

ble cultural heritage, the program has contributed bysion. During the survey, we also confirmed trends

providing equipment for documentation, and has

related to support for Ukraine, which I would like toalso conducted exchanges in the field of culture andshare (Fig. 14).
The EU’s cultural heritage protection frameworktural heritage institutes, museums, art galleries, andfor Central European countries can be divided into

universities, as well as the governments of otherthree categories: financial assistance to EU member

countries. In recent years, government assistancestates, policy programs dealing with cultural heritage, and assistance to non-EU member states.
The second of these is the policy program dealing
with cultural heritage. The EU has been engaging
with cultural heritage in recent years not only in cultural policy, but also in various ministries, including
those in the digital and environmental fields. As a result, while the EU has a very broad range of policies
related to cultural heritage, the 7 Most Endangered
Programme is an interesting initiative in terms of

Figure 16

Figure 18

25“International Assistance to Central Europe and Japan’s International Cooperation”

art. Counterpart institutions also include national cul-

Figure 17

Lecture 1

In addition, in the 2011 and 2012 projects, Tokyo Uni-

Lecture 1

26

multi-country involvement. The 7 Most Endangered

ments Fund in the United States since 1996. Follow-

Programme identifies seven sites and historic build-

ing its selection in 2014, the Serbian National Com-

ings in Europe that are at risk and provides advocacy

mittee of Europa Nostra, with the support of thefor their protection through public-private partner-

Headley Trust, a British charitable foundation, has

ships. It is conducted by Europa Nostra, the largest

been working with local and national cultural heri-cultural heritage network in Europe. The sites aretage stakeholders and national and international ex-

nominated by Europa Nostra’s national committees

perts to develop an assessment and a master planand cooperating organizations and selected by thefor the restoration of the dome roof and management

international advisory committee, and for those se-of the facility. In addition, due to the history of its de-lected for the final list, rescue missions are organizedsign features, which are ornaments derived fromto prepare action plans and recommendations

Hungarian folk art, the restoration of the facade andthrough on-site assessment surveys (Fig. 15) .

the complete restoration of the interior were carried

Since its inception in 2013, 42 sites have been se-out between 2015 and 2017 with the support of thelected to date, 17 of which are in Central Europe,

Hungarian government. During the project period,

which means that more than 40% of the European

the building also served as a training ground for

cultural heritage overall is from the region.

young professionals and students from the South-

One case study, on the 2014 list, was the preser-

eastern Europe region in the evaluation and planningvation and restoration of an Art Nouveau synagogueof restoration sites. The building is regarded as a res-in Subotica, Serbia, built in 1902. The synagogue istoration of historical value as well as of significancea Jewish house of worship, but it is a historic struc-to the Jewish community at home and abroad (Fig.

ture that had been neglected and allowed to deterio-16) .

“International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage in Central Europe: The Past and the Future”

rate due to the decline of the Jewish community in

Next, the EU provides assistance to non-EU coun-the 20th century and the Yugoslav conflict, and hadtries in Central Europe, with Ukraine, Moldova, andbeen the subject of support from the World Monu-

Belarus as Eastern Partners and the Western Balkans as Southern Partners. One of the features ofthis framework is the involvement of UN organizations in many of the projects. In Moldova, for example, UNDP is restoring cultural heritage and providing training for young local professionals andstudents as part of peacebuilding on both sides of
the Nistria (Dniester) River (Fig. 17) .
In addition, in Albania in the Western Balkans, UNOPS, a UN agency specializing in infrastructure de-Figure 19

velopment and implementation of material assis-

Figure 20

Figure 21

rums. However, it also actively cooperates with inter-

restoration of cultural heritage sites and artifacts

national organizations, such as holding workshops

damaged by the 2019 earthquake. This is being donewith UNESCO and ICCROM on the Warsaw Recom-with the intention of contributing to socioeconomic

mendations, a comprehensive document on the res-recovery measures, including tourism development

toration and rehabilitation of cultural heritage, andand support for local industries and artisans, which

conducting research with UNESCO on intangible

are being carried out in conjunction with the project

cultural heritage, such as traditions and customs(Fig. 18) .

passed down among displaced Ukrainian refugees

In addition, the Western Balkan region as a whole,in Poland.

in collaboration with UNESCO, is also involved in ef-

I would like to close by introducing our counterpart

forts related to the illegal import and export of cultur-on the Ukrainian side. The Heritage Emergency Re-

al property, and the survey showed that UNESCO insponse Initiative (HERI) was established last Febru-

particular is showing great initiative inworking withary by the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture and Informa-

many countries in this area.

tion Policy to coordinate with local and foreign

Lastly, I would like to provide a brief overview of theagencies and foreign organizations, and to create

aid activities in support of Ukraine. In Ukraine, Rus-

and update a list of needed relief supplies. Activities

sian military attacks have also caused major damage

are coordinated by the Ministry of Culture and Infor-

to various cultural heritage materials, with the number

mation Policy of Ukraine, UNESCO, ICOM, IC-of instances of damage exceeded 450 as of last Au-

CROM, etc. For example, various coordination ef-

gust, according to Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture andforts were made when ICOMOS and ICCROM con-Information Policy. Against this backdrop, the EU

ducted field visits and damage assessments inmember states continue to provide material support,

Ukraine last year (Fig. 21) .
Various organizations, such as the Center for Ur-

humidifiers, boxes, sandbags, packaging materials,

ban History of East Central Europe (Lviv), the Na-

and other items for the protection of cultural proper-

tional Art Museum of Kyiv, and the Delegation of theties, as well as support to digitize 3D models of cultur-

European Union to Kyiv, are active at the internation-

al properties using laser scanners, etc., and store

al and grassroots levels, and it will be important forthem on servers located in the EU (Fig. 19) .

Japan to keep its antennae extended to gather infor-

Outside of the EU, Poland, which is geographicallymation regarding these organizations when consid-

and culturally close to Ukraine, bordering it on theering support for Ukraine in the future. Although thewest, is playing a central role in providing support

presentation was rushed due to time constraints, the(Fig. 20) .

Consortium plans to publish a report on last year’s

Poland was a very early supporter of Ukraine after

mission in March 2023. The report will include infor-

the start of Russia’s invasion, and last February the Pol-mation on initiatives in Europe and trends in support

ish Support Center for Culture in Ukraine was estab-for Ukraine. As such, please refer to the report when

lished by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.

it is released.

stitute of Cultural Heritage to support the protectionof Ukrainian culture, art, and tangible and intangible
cultural heritage. The center coordinates the effortsof national and international organizations, as wellas material support to Ukraine. Activities include
monitoring damage to cultural heritage, organizing
training for specialists, and holding international fo-

27“International Assistance to Central Europe and Japan’s International Cooperation”

including fire security systems, fire extinguishers, de-This center was established within the National In-

Lecture 1

tance, is working with the EU to support theLecture 2“Cultural Heritage Protection
and International Cooperationin Serbia”

Thank you very much for inviting me to speak today. I am SHIMADA Sachi, a Guest Professor at Jissen Women’s University. My specialty is the medieval
Serbian art history (Fig. 1).
In recent years, I have coordinated two [mural restoration projects]. The first is the chapel of King Dragutin in the monastery Djurdjevi Stupovi in southwestern Serbia in 2021, and the second is the churchof the Ascension in Veliki Krčimir in eastern Serbia in
2022. I did this through the friendships I establishedwhen I was studying in Belgrade and through thepersonal connections of my former mentor, Prof.
SUZUKI Michitaka (Fig. 2).
The contents of my presentation will be in the following order: the efforts for cultural heritage in Serbia, examples in Serbia, specific cooperation details,
cooperation with local officials, my role, the results ofthe project, challenges, and the significance of cooperation by Japan through the project/potential applications in other countries in the region (Fig. 3).

28

Before I begin my presentation of Serbia’s cultural“International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage in Central Europe: The Past and the Future”

SHIMADA Sachi(Guest Professor, Faculty of Letters, Jissen Women’s
University)

heritage initiatives, I would like to talk about the
pre-history of the country. The medieval Kingdom of
Serbia prospered from the late 12th to the mid-15th
centuries, and built many Serbian Orthodox churchs
and monasteries, mainly in Kosovo and Metohija. In
the 14th century, Serbia’s capital was located in Prizren, in Kosovo, and the Patriarchate in Peć.
See the map (Fig. 4). The dark orange area is thearea under Serbian rule in the late 12th century,
which later expanded to the light orange area in theStudied at the Department of Art History, Faculty of Philosophy,
University of Belgrade for 3 years from 2002 while a graduate
student at Okayama University. Withdrew from the doctoral programof Okayama University Graduate School. Ms. SHIMADA worked asa curator at the Museum of Modern Art, Gunma, and the Setagaya
Art Museum, among others. She is currently a Guest Professor
at Jissen Women’s University and a foreign co-researcher at the
Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. She specializes in Eastern
European art history, especially Serbian medieval art history,
and resumed research of frescoes in churchs and monasteries
in Serbia and neighboring countries in 2018. She coordinated the
projects for the preservation of cultural heritage in Serbia (theconservation and restoration of the wall paintings of the chapelof King Dragutin in the monastery Djurdjevi Stupovi, one of theWorld Heritages in 2021, and the church of the Ascension in Veliki
Krčimir, one of serbian important cultural heritages in 2022). Coauthor of Encyclopedia of Central and Eastern European Culture(Maruzen Publishing, 2021).

14th century during the reign of King Dušan, who
was defeated by the Ottoman Empire in the Battle of

Figure 1

Kosovo in 1389. This was a symbolic incident in

The popularization of folktales led the painter Uroš

which Christian nations lost in a battle between

Predić to leave numerous historical paintings, mostChristianity and Islam.

notably “Kosovo Maiden” which is based on the 14th

Serbia was then reduced in size and became aand cultural heritage was also rediscovered.

pletely took over the region, but the Serbian Ortho-

In 1881, archaeologist Mihailo Valtorović becamedox faith was maintained. At the end of the 17th cen-

director of the National Museum in Belgrade, wheretury, when the pressure from the Ottoman Empire

he conducted research of the decaying historical andbecame stronger, Serbs living in the south fled to thecultural heritage. He then began documenting themnorth. This is called the “Great Migrations of thewith photographs. The following year, Valtorović pro-Serbs” and is considered one of the most important

posed a legal framework for the protection of cultural

incidents in Serbian history. After this, the churchs

heritages and submitted the bill to the Minister of Ed-

and monasteries buildings were partially demol-

ucation. At the same time, it stipulates that the “Na-ished, torched, and devastated, and there were manytional Museum in Belgrade” will be responsible for its

instances of “forgotten cultural heritage.”management, which was adopted in 1899. The sur-In the early 19th century, under Ottoman rule, Ser-vey of the churches, built in the Middle Ages, wasbia became independent following the First Serbianundertaken by art historian Vladimir Petković fromrevolution, an independence movement of the Serbi-

1905 onward. The following year, Gabriel Millet, aan people. This had a major impact on the Balkan

French Byzantine scholar, was invited to conduct a

countries. This growing national consciousness led

three-month survey. It was then continued for about

not only to national independence, but also to the

30 years (Fig. 5).
As a result of the survey, the building was rein-tion of Serbian folktales by Vuk Karadžić. This wasforced from the 1920s onward. First, the dome andalso translated into German.

roof of the monastery Sopoćani, now one of the

Figure 2

Figure 4

Figure 3

Figure 529“Cultural Heritage Protection and International Cooperation in Serbia”

establishment of Serbian grammar and the compila-

Lecture 2

duchy. In 1459, the Ottoman Empire (Islamic) com-

century Battle of Kosovo. Therefore, the historicalLecture 2

30

World Heritages and one of the masterpieces of Ser-

After the end of the conflicts, the cultural heritage

bian medieval art, were restored. Since there is nopreservation activities have been promoted since thephoto from the same angle, this photo from 1980 is

beginning of the 21st century.

shown on the right. In the 1930s the architectural

This is due to the fact that Serbia became a social-

structure was reconstructed except for the bell tower

ist country after World War II, and state support for(Fig. 6).

the Orthodox Church was suspended. The protection

The cultural heritage protection project was trans-of historical cultural heritages and the study of medi-

ferred from the “National Museum” to the “The Insti-

eval art history was promoted as natural history, andtute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Ser-

with the death of Marshal Tito in 1980, the pursuit ofbia” in 1947. The conservation and restoration work,

independence and identity for each ethnic group will

which had been stalled due to World War II, wasresurface. The first time was during the “First Serbian

gradually resumed after 1960. Currently, in addition

revolution” at the beginning of the 19th century. Serbs

to the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural

became more interested in medieval Orthodox cul-

Monuments, there are the provincial institutes (since

ture. In 1981, the economic slump led to protests by1960) in 10 major cities. Republic institute manages

Albanian students in Kosovo, which later led to dis-

mainly those that fall under the category of “World

crimination against Serbs living in Kosovo. In 1989,

Heritage,” while the provincial institutes manage

President Milosević’s speech on the Kosovo Plain in“Serbian Important Cultural Heritages.”

defense of Serbs led to deterioration of the situation.

Republic institute carries out about 10 projects ev-

Then came the declaration of independence of Slo-ery year. Half concern archaeological excavations

venia and Croatia in 1991, followed by civil wars andfrom the Roman period, and half involve churchs andthe breakup of Yugoslavia. The conflicts then endedmonasteries from the medieval period. The provinc-

in 1999.

“International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage in Central Europe: The Past and the Future”

es do this when funds are available, so there does

In the chaos that followed, the “Unrest in Kosovo”

not seem to be a prescribed number every year. For

took place in March 2004, and churchs and monas-

this reason, Prof. Gojko Subotić, a member of the
Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts and one of
the greatest scholars of Byzantine studies, soughtfrom the outset, the cooperation of Japanese researchers on the Important Cultural Heritages. In addition, the training of domestic restorers began in the
1970s during the Yugoslav period, and they worked
in other countries during the conflicts. Currently, conservation and restoration efforts are led by Serbs(Fig. 7).

Figure 7

Figure 6

Figure 8

restored. At the time, I was studying in Belgrade andwards, the UNESCO Program (or UNESCO Mission)accompanied the visit. When I was conducting mybegan to restore some of the churchs and monaster-

research in 2018 my mentor introduced me to a local

ies in Kosovo. For example, the church of Bogorodica

conservator who could help me get permissions to

Leviška was reconstructed in 2005–2008 and thephotograph the monasteries, then he asked me towall paintings were cleaned and restored in 2011–

help restore the frescoes. After consulting with Prof.

2013. From 2004 onward, conservation and resto-

Subotić, I searched for donors to realize the project

ration projects gradually moved forward in Serbia. It(Fig. 9).

was around this time that Prof. Michitaka Suzuki co-

The donors were the Sumitomo Foundation andoperated in the conservation and restoration of thethe Honorary Consulate-General of the Republic ofmural paintings, as explained in Mr. MAEDA’s pre-Serbia in Osaka (in Dainippon Jochugiku Co., Ltd.).

sentation (Fig. 8).

The cooperating institutions are the Serbian Acade-Lecture 2

teries around Prizren were set on fire. From 2005 on-

my of Sciences and Arts, the University of Belgrade,
Next, I will report the case studies in Serbia. As for

the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments

the background of my two [mural painting restoration(2021: Republic, 2022: Niš), and the Ministry of Cul-

projects], my former mentor, Prof. Michitaka Suzuki

ture of the Republic of Serbia. The implementing

and Prof. Masako Kido, cooperated in the conserva-

contractor is the conservation and restoration com-tion and restoration of frescoes from the medieval

pany Rescon (Fig. 10).
The chapel of King Dragutin, which we visited inan Academy of Sciences and Arts. In 2004–2007 the2021, was built by King Dragutin, great-grandson ofmonastery Jašunja (funded by Japanese scientific

Stefan Nemanja, founder of the Nemanjic dynasty of

research) and in 2008–2009 the church of the As-

the medieval Kingdom of Serbia. It is said that thecension in Veliki Krčimir (supported by the Founda-king was buried there after his death. Although thetion for Cultural Heritage and Art Research) werechapel of King Dragutin is small in size, most of the

Figure 9

Figure 11

Figure 10

Figure 12

31“Cultural Heritage Protection and International Cooperation in Serbia”

period at the request of Prof. Subotić from the Serbi-

frescoes remain (Fig. 11).

much as possible the condition in which the wall was

The square building in the lower right corner ofpainted in the medieval period, without excessive ad-

Figure 12 is the chapel. The monastery is located onditions and without further removal of heavily dam-a hill overlooking Novi Pazar. As a result, it was in-aged areas (Fig. 15).

Lecture 2

volved in many battles and the church’s architecture

Here you can see the state of the painting after

was destroyed following World War I. In the 1960s

restoration (Fig. 16). The flaked-off area at the bot-and 70s, the dome of the church was rebuilt (Fig. 13).

tom is left intact. However, the fresco layer has been

Although the church was destroyed, the chapel

treated so that it will be resistant to further peeling.

has managed to maintain its 13th century state. The

The eyes and mouths are not added. The same ap-

roof has been blown off, but it does not look muchplies to the vault as shown in Figure 17. The paintdifferent to what it does today (Fig. 14).

applied to the ceiling peels easily due to gravity. The

The restoration project took about two months,

salt in the mortar was most visible on the surface of

September–October 2021, and was carried out by

the vault. The frescoes, which were white and hazyfour to six restorers. The mural was cleaned, salt dis-due to the salt, were cleaned and clarified.

charged from the sand in the mortar was removed

32“International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage in Central Europe: The Past and the Future”

from the surface, small areas of flaking were filled in,

As specific cooperation details, we were present-

the nearly peeling walls were reinforced, mortar thated with six proposals for “finding a financial support-

had been replaced during previous conservation res-er,” “selecting cultural heritage sites for conservation

torations was itself replaced, graffiti was removed,

and restoration,” and “those for which field surveys

and minimal coloring was applied. The goal of the

had already been conducted,” and we discussed

project was to ensure that the building would bewhether we could cooperate with foreign capital inpassed on to future generations in better condition.

these areas. There are a number of cultural heritage

As such, much time was devoted to the preservationsites, even Serbian Orthodox churchs and monaster-of the supporting walls. The aim was to recreate asies, whose ownership is in dispute. For example, theFigure 13

Figure 15

Figure 14

Figure 16

one of world heritages, it was the Republic institute,

North Macedonia. Even Serbian cultural heritage isand in 2022, because it is one of serbian important

not necessarily located in the country today. In addi-

cultural heritages, we asked the provincial institutetion, regarding the size of the budget, I chose thefor support. In 2021, we also obtained the permis-

smallest possible size for my conservation projectsion from the Ministry of Culture of the Republic Ser-because I'm too young to run such a project. And I

bia for conservation and restoration because of thechose my specialty, frescoes of the 13th and 14th

World Heritage. The abbot allowed us to stay there

centuries. The churchs and monasteries built in thisand rent equipment and tents. He also provided us

period are registered as World Heritage and many ofwith tea and snacks during breaks every day. Thethem are representative examples of Serbia because

conservation and restoration company in Belgrade

enough time and money were spent building anddid the works. The master of the company convened

painting them. In addition, we were engaged in activ-

freelance restorers to work on one project for several

ities such as “funding,” “preparation of materials,” “in-months. Serbia only allows restoration projects inspections,” “media coverage,” and “presentations inmonasteries from April to October, so they receive aJapan” (Fig. 18).

year’s income in six months. The reason why they do

Lecture 2

Monastery Prohor Pčinjski in the east is claimed by

not do so in winter is because of the cold weather,
I have already talked about the Serbian Academy

but also because there are many religious events,of Sciences and Arts (Prof. Subotić’s institution of af-

and they do not want to have scaffolding during thesefiliation; I'm a foreign co-researcher for the projects),

events (Fig. 19).

the University of Belgrade (where I studied andMy role was all task except “funding”: Finding do-

explanation to the Institute for the Protection of Cul-

nors of the projects. Choosing the cultural heritages.

tural Monuments), and the Institute for the Protection

Preparing documentation. Of course, this is an over-of Cultural Monuments, but in 2021, because it isview and translation of the work process. The appli-

Figure 17

Figure 19

Figure 18

Figure 20

33“Cultural Heritage Protection and International Cooperation in Serbia”

where my mentor, Prof. Marković, gave an additional

Lecture 2

cation forms prepared by Serbs are written on the

Belgrade, to do so. And we needed to budget for theassumption that Japanese people know about Ser-possibility of pandemics and price increases. In thisbia, so I had to explain it to them including serbian

year’s project, the cost of materials was higher thanhistorical background. The rest of the work involved

planned due to the sudden spike in prices, and we

inspection tours and on-site supervision, nominallywere short on labor costs, so we had to carry out the

speaking. In 2021, I was present during the entire

second half of the project with a small number ofprocess, so I photographed and documented theworkers (Fig. 21).

work every day. The other two tasks would be themedia relations and presentations of the results inJapan (Fig. 20).

Finally, I will be discussing the significance of cooperation by Japan through the project/potential applications in other countries in the region. In Serbia,

34

The results and challenges of the project made itcooperation by other countries for cultural heritage ispossible to maintain the frescoes in better condition

limited to UNESCO (post-conflict conservation andfor decades to come, and many Serbs were thrilled

restoration projects) and Italy, although China, Arabto know the Japanese assistance due to the exten-

countries, and Japan’s JICA grassroots grant aid aresive media coverage. It was reported in about 30 me-

providing assistance with regard to economy anddia outlets. I still receive thank you messages. On a

public works.

personal note, I recognized that my greatest achieve-

Serbs began to recognize Japan as a country thatment was to be able to give back to Serbia. I havevalues their history and tradition, so we feel that they

been indebted to many Serbs for 20 years. As eachhighly appreciate japanese support for their culturalof these individuals are getting on in age, I wanted toheritages.

return the favor while they are still in good health.

Regarding the possibility of application in other“International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage in Central Europe: The Past and the Future”

As for challenges, they were not able to keep ourcountries, the cultural heritage is their symbol of theinitial promises. This refers to work schedules, reportcountry’s identity, so they are wary of aid from otherdeadlines, donation panels, etc. We also did not havecountries. Slavs in particular tend to be proud and domuch opportunity to talk about building a relationshipnot like to be told what to do. That is why it is neces-with the person in charge of the Institute for the Pro-sary to “build a relationship of trust” with local re-tection of Cultural Monuments, as they visited us

searchers and restorers. I personally believe that this

only once a week. We had to go through the local

was made possible because it was requested byresearchers to facilitate other things. Because ofProf. Subotić, a great scholar of Byzantine studies

Prof. Subotić’s advanced age, We had to communi-

who has been in contact with Japanese researcherscate directly with restorers. Therefore, we needed tofor more than 60 years. We wanted the project to beprovide additional explanations to the Institute andlocally driven, and they wanted more financial sup-asked my mentor, Prof. Marković in the University ofport than technical or human cooperation. Of course,

Figure 21

Figure 22

familiarity with the local mindset, customs and lan-

to express my sincere appreciation to the Sumitomo

guage (especially the local language in rural areas)

Foundation and the Honorary Consulate-General ofis essential. (Fig. 22).

the Republic of Serbia in Osaka (in Dainippon Jo-

With that, I conclude my presentation. I would likechugiku Co., Ltd.) for their support.
23).

Lecture 2

Thank you very much for your kind attention (Fig.

[Photograph sources]
Figs. 1 and 12: Photographs by Slobodan Palma
BotoskiFigure 23

35“Cultural Heritage Protection and International Cooperation in Serbia”

“Historical and Cultural
Heritage in Romania and
its Protection”

Hello, I am MIYAKE. Thank you for the introduction. It has been more than 20 years since we conducted our project, so it is turning into quite a historical event. Back then, I was involved in a project forthe conservation and restoration of monasteries inRomania. This took place within a much larger context. At the time, after the collapse of the socialist re-

Lecture 3

gimes of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, avacuum was left, and Japan was grappling with thequestion of how to be involved in filling this vacuum.
I have been researching Orthodox monasteries
and religious institutions in Eastern Europe including
Russia, Egypt, Iran (Christian areas), and Ethiopia,
and because of this background, this project with the
Romanian Orthodox Church began. (Figure 1)
Here, I would like to take a brief look at the historyof Romania. After World War II, a socialist government
was established under the influence of the Soviet
Union and two leaders emerged. First Desi, thenCeaușescu. Desi died around 1965, after whichCeaușescu took over. At the time, Romania managed
its “cultural properties” through trial and error following

36“International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage in Central Europe: The Past and the Future”

pre-World War II traditions. Ceaușescu implemented arather strict cultural and heritage policy during his regime; however, all this changed after the revolution.
At the root of this is the problem of religious policy,

MIYAKE Riichi(Visiting Professor, Tokyo University of Science)or in other words, religious values. In Romania, thereis the Romanian Orthodox Church. Unlike Catholicism, the Orthodox Church has an independent patriarchate for each country or cultural region, and the
Orthodox Church is under it. However, each Orthodox
Church is interchangeable and shares the same doc-

He specializes in the history of architecture, heritage studies, andregional planning. After serving as a professor at the Shibaura
Institute of Technology, the University of Liège, Keio University,and the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers in Paris, and asvice president at Fuji Women’s University, he is currently a visiting
professor at Tokyo University of Science.
His major publications include “World Heritage Sites in Moldova
and Their Restoration” (co-supervising editor, Nishimura Shoten,2009), “The Grand Design of Paris: The World City Created by
Louis XIV” (Chūō Kōron Shinsha, 2010), and “City and Architecture
Considered from the Borders” (supervising editor, Kajima
Shuppankai, 2017).

Figure 1trine. Romania has a patriarchate in Bucharest. Eighty

was no severe repression like in Russia. (Figure 2)

six percent of the population belong to the RomanianDomestically, it is metropolitan. “Metropolitan” is a

Orthodox Church. This is a statistic from just after theterm that is not familiar to people in Japan. It refers towar, but I don’t think it has changed that much.

the Christian organizational concept of a Metropole.
In Christian terminology, originally there used to be aant. In addition to receiving protection from the state,very large unit called a “Metropolis,” and the word

the priests also receive a salary from the state. The

comes from this. Each jurisdiction is placed in such a

relationship with the government is, in a sense, very

way that the patriarchs are above the metropolitans,delicate. It can be said that the patriarch, who is thewho are above the archbishops, who are in turnhead of the church, is generally pro-government.

above the bishops. In particular, in the Romaniannortheast, in Rădăuți, Suceava, which is an area

While one could say that it is an orthodox faith, it has

called Moldova or in the old language, Bukovina, there

been converted to Catholicism. It is a special religious

are splendid monasteries and cathedrals. (Figure 3)

denomination that is recognized by the Catholic

In terms of the cultural policy of the socialist govern-

Church while maintaining the Greek Orthodox liturgy,

ment, the cultural heritage policy of the prewar 1920s

but this was banned after the war and it was later ab-and 30s was maintained under the Desi administration.

sorbed by the Romanian Orthodox Church. However,

Romania is a place that produces very talented artists,many people opposed this and it was strong repressed.

and it has amazing cultural heritage sites. Under thisRoman Catholicism is firmly established under theadministration, there was a monument bureau called

Pope, so it is not something that a socialist govern-

the DMI that was in control. This was a completely differ-ment can easily get involved in. Poland is also nearby.

ent direction from that taken by the Soviets, who de-Romania is also home to Protestants and an Arme-stroyed churches and monasteries and imprisoned

nian community. In terms of religious policy, only 14

monks and priests, in some cases even executing them.

religious denominations are recognized. Here, theIn the 1960s, there were several pilot projects. Verytenor of a very categoric socialist regime can be seen.

famous monasteries such as Stzevica Monastery,In the Romanian Orthodox Church, three patri-

Putna Monastery, and Voroneț Monastery becamearchs are elected. It is said that the election of thetargets for conservation and restoration. However,patriarchs is quite arbitrary. The patriarchs have ainterestingly, there were only four monasteries in thevery close relationship with the government. This was

Moldova region that functioned as monasteries.

true for Justinian Marina (Desi’s friend), who is known

There are many of them now, but at that time thisas the Red Patriarch, and those who came after him,

was not something the socialist regime pursued.

such as Iustin and Teoctist. This is probably why there

Rather, at the end of the 18th century, under the Aus-

Figure 2

Figure 337“Historical and Cultural Heritage in Romania and its Protection”

Greek Catholicism is not very well known in Japan.

Lecture 3

Having the status of a state church is very import-tro-Hungarian Empire, the number of monasteries

ban planning. It was a word frequently used in Roma-

was limited to three in order to inhibit Orthodoxy. One

nia in the context of efforts to systematize cities; thatwas revived in the 20th century, but the number ofis, urban planning. This entailed the socialist regime

monasteries remained limited.

constructing a national land and an urban plan that

Lecture 3

In 1967, there was an international tourism cam-was suitable under socialism. The term was used topaign. The main feature of the tourism policy was ad-refer to the relocation of the population of Romania as

vertising religious facilities to the world. Moldovan

a whole, the relocation of industry, and the remodelingmonastic buildings, Maramureş wooden churches,of cities, and in a sense, extreme reshaping was per-and Transylvanian Lutheran churches became theformed; cultural properties were not exempt from this.

targets of restoration. (Figure 4) There are various

What made things even worse was the Vrancea

restoration architects in Europe, and Romania is noearthquake that occurred in March 1977, which

exception; for example, the architect Iona Grigorescu

caused great damage in Bucharest. In the recon-

was a very talented architect who restored various

struction plan, the Bucharest Systematization Planmonasteries in the 60s. She was very accomplished

was formulated, and the main feature of the plan wasand even held an exhibition at the Architectural Insti-

the construction of the Palace of the Parliament,tute of Japan. (Figure 5)

known as the “People’s House.”

However, the policy called Sistematizarea that

A competition was held for its design, and the pro-Ceaușescu put forward was problematic. It entailed

posal of a young graduate student named Anca Pe-

the systematization of things, and the term had been

trescu was selected. The churches that stood in theused since the 1920s and 30s originally to refer to ur-vast area that would become the palace’s grounds,
including the buffer zone, were demolished or relocated. This was seen as a very violent measure38“International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage in Central Europe: The Past and the Future”

against the churches. This led to Ceaușescu beinglabeled a destroyer of culture by people around theworld, especially in Western Europe. (Figure 6)
It all started with Enei Church, whose destruction
was sensationally reported in the news at the time.
According to recent investigations, only a few months
after the earthquake, the building next to the church
was catastrophically damaged, and it appears thatthe heavy machinery used to destroy this building hit
Figure 4

the church, which was greatly damaged.

Figure 5

Figure 6

Various missions came to Romania, and the lobby

was destroyed during the chaos after the earthquake.

supported them in various ways, such as providing

This provoked people in a very visual way. The cul-various funds. The Romanian side also gave people

tural destruction led to a very difficult discussion inentry to the monasteries in Moldova, fortified church-

Romania. Naturally, there were opponents in thees in Transylvania, and the Monastery of Horezu tochurch, and it became a serious problem, butregister them as World Heritage Sites, and most ofCeaușescu enforced it and steadily demolished thethem became World Heritage Sites within three years.

buildings standing on the grounds to make way for

At the same time, actual conservation and resto-

the Palace of the Parliament. (Figure 7)

ration work was being done, but at first it was not Ja-

It was the Romanian Revolution that stopped thispan. This was something that was first discussed withtrajectory. In December 1989, a series of socialist

UNESCO. While Paris and Bucharest were communi-

governments in Eastern Europe fell. Finally, Ceaușes-cating back and forth, the Japanese government

cu was executed in Romania, and through this violent

caught wind of this information and brought it to Japan

revolution a new Romanian Republic was established.

for consideration, involving the Ministry of Foreign Af-

Soon, the bureau of historical heritage was re-fairs. At that time, socialist regimes were collapsing

vived. At the time of the Vrancea earthquake in 1977,

like dominoes in Eastern Europe, and France andwhile it seems strange, during the chaos the bureau

Germany had to help clean up in the aftermath. Theyof cultural heritage was abolished since it was

had to do various things, including providing assis-

deemed unnecessary. Experts who had gone under-tance for cultural activities, so I think the reality was

ground (####@01:51:04) gathered again and beganthat they were tied up and couldn’t help Romania.

working on historical heritage sites.

Then, the Japanese government reached out andasked me if I would be interested, and I formed a

Heritage Site. The fact that the recognition as a World

mission with an Austrian muralist named Leitner, andHeritage Site was achieved in just about three years

Ricci, an architect. The three of us, plus a represen-since 89 or 90 means that the work toward this kindtative from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, went to Ro-

of World Heritage did not start then, but had begun inmania to see the architecture of the monasteries in

the first half of the 1970s, and after the revolution, theMoldova and wrote an evaluation report. From mycountry steered in that direction.

point of view, I think I wrote a pretty good opinion

are people from Romania in UNESCO as well, andabout the buildings. It can be said that this became
the basis for later developments.

there is what is called the Romanian Lobby. They

The actual project began when the Japanese gov-

were very active and supported Romania thoroughly.

ernment used the UNESCO Fund-in-Trust. The mon-Figure 7

Figure 839“Historical and Cultural Heritage in Romania and its Protection”

In 1993, the churches of Moldova became a World

Also, there are many Romanians in Paris. There

Lecture 3

However, it seems that the reality is that the church

ey first went to UNESCO and then to Romania. It

However, though this was a project between coun-

took two years to write up the contract papers andtries, it is undeniable that the Romanian government

related documents. Until then, we conducted various

took much of the credit for it in the end, but this arch-basic research in Romania. (Figure 8)

bishop and various people from the area, where reli-

The center of our research was a town called Suce-

gious beliefs are very strong, helped us and suppliedava. It is the central city of the Moldova region and was

us with materials and labor, and the project went wellalso the capital of the former Principality of Moldova.

thanks to them. (Figure 9)

Lecture 3

Due to urban remodeling, there are new concrete hous-

In terms of the buildings, an example is Voroneț,es built in the central area. There is an archdiocese

which is one of the monasteries in Moldova. It is very

church in the middle of it, and it is a very venerable

famous, but it was not being used as a monastery atbuilding. It was built at the beginning of the 16th century

that time. It resumed operations as a monastery after

and also became a World Heritage Site in 1993; it is

the revolution, and the Japanese Emperor and hishere that our team gathered and then spread out.

wife visited during Ceaușescu’s administration. There

There was an archbishop in this area named Bish-are very beautiful murals and high-profile foreign

op Pimen, who put in a great deal of effort. The Ro-

guests are often taken there when they visit Romania.

manian government said the right things but at theAlso, although it is located deep in the mountains,time it had no money, and it could not handle the lo-

Sucevita Monastery is in a very scenic place. It is said

gistics of the project. Then, this archbishop arranged

that its scenery resembles Switzerland, but some saythings for when we actually visited to collect informa-that it is more beautiful than Switzerland. (Figure 10)tion for our various projects after that.

Voroneț Monastery has very well-preserved murals,

40“International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage in Central Europe: The Past and the Future”

Figure 9

Figure 11

Figure 10

Figure 12

including one known as “the Voroneț blue.” (Figure 11)

best to live a monastic life in the cold. (Figure 13)
We conducted preliminary research for two years;

bota. The Romanian side specifically chose this mon-for example, when we went there in 93, we saw cattle

astery and proposed it to UNESCO Japan. Although it

grazing. This is because during the day, the cows wereis relatively close to Suceava, it is not well known be-taken outside, but at night they were hidden to prevent

cause it is outside of the popular tourist routes. How-theft, and so the cows grazed inside. The chapel was

ever, it is home to the tomb of Petru Rareş, a voivode

being used, but it was treated like a parish church. The

of Moldova, and it is a monumental building. The con-main goal was to turn this into a monastery.

dition of the frescos on the outside is poor, but those

Structural experts from Japan and architectural ex-

inside are in very good condition, which became aperts from Turkey, well they were all Japanese, camefactor in it becoming registered as a UNESCO World

together and conducted various research. (Figure 14)

Heritage Site in 1993. So, after actually looking at thisWhen the restoration began, architectural investi-

carefully, we started with the idea that this restoration

gations, archaeological studies, and restoration ofand conservation project would bring about great re-

frescoes were all happening concurrently. A large

sults. The project started at the end of 95, but it was

number of people had to be involved in the resto-

winter, so we started the actual work in 96. It went on

ration of the frescoes. Then, the question was “where

for five years, ending in 2001. (Figure 12)

will all these people stay?” We needed to build a dor-At first, it was cold over there. It is such a cold

mitory. At that time, Maiko Tatezaki, a graduate stu-

place, but after the revolution, the monastery re-dent who stayed on site, designed it, and we decided

opened, and it was managed by nuns. They did their

to use the so-called folk house-style building for the

Lecture 3

The target of our project was the Monastery of Pro-

41

Figure 15

Figure 14

Figure 16“Historical and Cultural Heritage in Romania and its Protection”

Figure 13

dormitory. We operated the dormitory and had peo-

py in the middle, there are angels in the so-called ce-

ple stay there. It is really cold in winter, so it’s hard tolestial hierarchy, and this is a symbolic painting thatwork without a place like that. (Figure 15)

represents the heavens. Once such figures started

Lecture 3

I mentioned earlier that work is not done during win-

coming out, various other symbolic figures begin to ap-

ter, and it was the same in Romania. However, a con-pear, such as cherubim, the evangelists of the gospels.

dition from the Japanese government was that it

It is quite a powerful picture that emerged. (Figure 18)

would look at the results of the first year before decid-

As another example, this is the Last Supper. Thereing whether to give more funding. To deal with this, weis only one person without a halo, and that is Judas.

had to work in the winter to produce some initial re-This is Mary; then the scene of the crucifixion. This issults, so we rushed to install a heating system from Ita-also the crucifixion, here is the cross of Christ. (Fig-ly so that we could work in the winter. Many things wentures 19 and 20)

into preparing for the initial construction. (Figure 16)
The main thing was the restoration of the mural,This is interesting; it is called a bema, and this kindofpictureisalways

found

in

such

placesand first, we did a cleaning test. We washed a dirty(####@02:04:02). This kind of painting represents

section to see what was underneath. We gradually

the consecration of the church by a saint. In thisincreased the scale and restoration technicians got

case, it is Petru Rareş and the intercession by an

involved. Since this was all handiwork, it took a lot ofangel. Here is a consecration scene in which a sainttime. About two-thirds of the budget was spent on

named Nicolas intercedes and dedicates this chapel

restoring the frescoes. (Figure 17)

to Christ. It is customary to always write a kind of

As for the outcomes, for example, here by this cano-certificate that the family will rise to the occasion and

42“International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage in Central Europe: The Past and the Future”

Figure 17

Figure 19

Figure 18

Figure 20

build and consecrate the chapel.

being beheaded and crucified. Each saint has a date,Here, the images of the sons Stefan and Iliash ap-

so X of month X is that saint’s day. This is all arranged

pear. This is a church that actually exists, so thein a calendar in this very interesting room. (Figure 23)

paintings almost correspond to the church’s real

The inside is very clean, but the outside has deteri-form. Often times, if it is different, you can look at thisorated considerably compared to Voroneț mentioned

and see what is different.

earlier. However, the current philosophy in restoration
is not to cover up the original with a new, clean paint-

voivode of Moldova. When Moldova became a pro-ing, but rather to properly preserve it in its current

tectorate of Turkey, he went to Istanbul and ended up

state, so I decided to do so. (Figures 24, 25, 26)

becoming a Muslim. There is an anecdote that, later

This is a comparison of the Last Judgment, but inon, people painted his face black because they dis-the case of Voroneț, this part is exposed to the out-

approved of him. (Figure 21)side and there are many roofs covering it. It is very

There are also various paintings around the en-interesting just to compare it with a very clean picture

trance. It is customary to have the Last Judgmentof the Last Judgment that has not deteriorated much,

painted at the entrance. This is a very beautiful fres-as is the case in Probota. As I showed briefly earlier,co; it is similar to what is seen in Serbia. (Figure 22)a very beautiful painting of the Last Judgment has

Also, there is what it is called the menologion, which

Lecture 3

Iliash’s face is black, because he later became thebeen preserved. (Figure 27)

is the calendar room. As for its function, it is a place thatIn this way, I was involved for five years in Probota

serves as the tomb of Petru Rareş, and various yearly

and two years of preparation before that. I am indebt-

events are depicted here. There is a painting of saints

ed to various people. The initial plan was for people
43

Figure 23

Figure 22

Figure 24“Historical and Cultural Heritage in Romania and its Protection”

Figure 21

from various countries to come and work together. In

What is interesting is that Sinigalia is a Catholic,the end, there are different ways of thinking about

Boldura is an Orthodox Christian, and Puscasu isvarious restoration methods, and Romania has a Ro-

Jewish. The religious backgrounds of the people in-manian way, and also has very talented restorers,

volved were completely different, but the archbishop

and the power of those restorers is the most import-

did not care, and he was extremely tolerant. He recog-

ant. So, in the end, they became the main force.

nized that excellent people are excellent, and he set

Lecture 3

Once these were done, we began the restoration

up this project with that in mind. At the same time, heof the Bălinești monastery. It is very close to the bor-

also organized workshops and project review meet-

der of Ukraine. Originally, it was not a monastery but

ings, etc., to support the project. (Figures 29 and 30)

a mansion and tomb. It is a chapel containing a tomb,

Another monastery in the mountains is Sucevita,

and the frescoes inside were of very high quality, sowhich was finally added to the World Heritage List in

we decided to take on this task, which took us about

2010. It is a very fine monastery that was not sus-

three and a half years. (Figure 28)

pended and has been a monastery all along. ThereIn a similar way to last time, emerging Romanian

was a movement to build a conservation center next

student restorers joined in. It was a lot of work, andto this location, and in 1999, Tadao Ando drew up the

people like Sinigalia, Boldura, and Puscasu were theblueprints and the work began. However, it did not goleaders. We, and Keio University, took the lead, butwell and was thus discontinued. (Figure 31)

this was for the architectural part. We are not experts

In conclusion, a comprehensive conservation proj-

in frescoes, which naturally meant that the Roma-ect was possible in the case of the Probota project.

nians took on this task.

This was the first example in Romania. It made a

Figure 25

Figure 27

Figure 26

Figure 28

44“International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage in Central Europe: The Past and the Future”

very important contribution to the history of art, archi-a place where young people could interact.

tecture, and archaeology in Romania. In particular,

I thought it would be a model case as we moved

there were many new discoveries, such as frescoes

into a post-socialism era, but there were no majorthat were covered up. When you peel the top layers

follow-up projects. If we did it by ourselves, it would

off, new things emerge, and there were many new

be limited to a certain extent. In Bălinești, there wasdiscoveries in art history. It is also very interesting ina follow-up project, and it gave us the opportunity toterms of architectural history.

enter into a very deep part of Romania, and sincethen academic exchanges have continued. However,in Romania in the genre of fresco restoration. Throughthe big issue is where to nurture the people who will

this, a network of people within Europe was created,become the foundation for future projects, and there

from Austria, Italy, Serbia, Greece, and Russia. I

is still a lot of work to be done.

thought that this would become a model case for a

Furthermore, in 2007, Romania joined the EU andnew form of international cooperation after the col-the people embraced that union, so Japan has been

lapse of socialism in Eastern Europe.

less involved since then. On the one hand, it can be

Through the workshops, we also put a lot of effort

said that it is becoming very closed off. However, on

into education. Since there was a project work site,

the other hand, it is also true that information disclo-

we asked everyone to come, so Serbian students

sure and education in Romania are evolving at a verycame even though it was right when the war was

rapid pace. I believe it is necessary to think about

happening in Serbia. They were very comfortable

things as being in a new phase from now on. That isthere, and Japanese students also visited. It becameall. Thank you. (Figure 32)

Lecture 3

Therefore, this was a very groundbreaking project45

Figure 31

Figure 30

Figure 32“Historical and Cultural Heritage in Romania and its Protection”

Figure 29Panel Discussion
Moderator: KINBARA Yasuo (Professor Emeritus, Tokai University)

Panel
Discussion

KINBARA Yasuo was born in 1952 in Shizuoka, Japan. Withdrawal from the Doctoral Program with theCompletion of Course Requirements of Graduate School of Letters, Tokai University. He studied at theFaculty of History and the Graduate School of Sofia University “Kliment Ohridski” in Bulgaria. He also stayedat the Faculty of History, Moscow State University as a visiting researcher. He specializes in history andarchaeology of Southeastern Europe, especially Bulgaria.
From 1984 to 2005, as a member of Tokai University Thracian Expedition, he was engaged in archaeologicalexcavations at the Dyadovo site in Bulgaria. He received the Bulgarian Minister of Culture Award. He is aformer director of the Society for Near Eastern Studies in Japan. He is currently a professor emeritus at
Tokai University. Major publications and translations: "Archaeology of Thrace", Doseisha, 2021; "History of
the Balkans" (co-authored), Yamakawa Shuppansha, 1998; "Byzantium and Bulgaria" by R. Browning, trans,
Tokai University Press, 1995, etc.

KINBARA

46

framework and concept of “Central Europe,” as well as“International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage in Central Europe: The Past and the Future”

Hello, I am KINBARA. As the Chair of the Subcom-

the historical and cultural characteristics of this region.

mittee for Europe of JCIC-Heritage, I will be in charge

Next, Mr. MAEDA, Associate Fellow of the Consor-

of moderating the present panel discussion. Throughtium Secretariat, provided an overview of Japanese

the reports so far, I would like to proceed with this pan-international cooperation and assistance in this re-el discussion oriented based on the purpose of thisgion. He also reported that the EU is developing aseminar. The discussion will include four panelists

very active assistance policy for cultural heritage sites

who have presented, as well as two observers: Prof.

in the region. At the same time, he explained about

UEKITA of the University of Tsukuba, and Prof.

assistance from international organizations such as

TATEZAKI of the ICOMOS Secretariat.

UNESCO, as well as governments and private organi-(Start new line)The eastern part of Europe, which

zations from various countries.

came under socialist regimes during the Cold War,

Following this lecture, as concrete examples of inter-used to be called “Eastern Europe.” However, the con-national cooperation conducted by Japan, Prof. SHI-

cept of Eastern Europe changed significantly during

MADA reported on the restoration of church murals in

the post-Cold War period. Taking this into consider-

Serbia and Prof. MIYAKE reported on the conservation

ation, I would like to take this opportunity to think about

and restoration of monasteries in Romania.

a new framework for “Eastern Europe.” I hope that by

Based on these lectures, I would like to divide thereflecting on the international cooperation that Japandiscussion into three themes. First, what characterizes

has provided to this region, summarizing it, and dis-the framework of Central Europe? After understanding

cussing the prospects for future international coopera-

the characteristics of the cultural pluralism and diversity

tion in this region, we can build the necessary knowl-in the region, I would like to discuss the theme of resto-edge to provide assistance to this region in the future.

ration and restoration activities at cultural heritage sites.

In light of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, I would

Second is the international cooperation activities

also like to explore perspectives that can be used as athat Japan has conducted so far. I would like to review

reference in providing assistance to Ukraine. There

the characteristics of Japan’s international coopera-

were four lectures during the seminar. First, in the formtion activities by evaluating their strengths and the re-of a keynote speech, Prof. SHINOHARA explained thelated challenges.

new position of Eastern Europe, especially the new

Finally, we will deepen our discussion on the title ofthis seminar, “The Future of International Cooperation
for Cultural Heritage in Central Europe.”

tage itself will become a big issue.
How can we continue the practices that have been

In Ukraine, I believe that concrete assistance mea-in place since 1990? Currently, the rivalry betweensures will become an issue in the process of reconstruc-

Europe and Russia is becoming more severe, so thetion. At present, it is difficult to formulate specific assis-

challenge is determining how to continue the practic-

tance activities, so I hope to obtain some hints that willes that have been put in place in Central Europe overserve as a foundation for future assistance to Ukraine.

the past 30 years.

First, I would like to ask a question of Prof. SHINOHARA, who gave the keynote speech about the char-

KINBARACentral Europe has been regarded as “Eastern Eu-

ed on the concept, framework, scope, and culturalrope,” but this was only a political framework duringand historical characteristics of Central Europe. Whatthe half a century from the post-WWII period until theshould we keep in mind when engaging with the cul-collapse of the Cold War structure in 91. To continue totural heritage sites and cultures of the region? Thankrefer to this region as Eastern Europe in present times

you, Prof. SHINOHARA.

does not match the real-world situation. However, thisPanel
Discussion

acteristics of the Central European region. He report-

region is also a place where various forces have his-

SHINOHARA

torically intertwined. When looking at the past 200
years, in the early 19th century the only nations thattral Europe, but various cultural

existed in the region were the Habsburg Empire (thatlayers overlap, such as various

is, the Austro-Hungarian Empire) and the Ottoman

religious denominations and theEmpire. However, after that, ethnic movements andchanges in each nation-state. I

independence movements developed, and many na-

think that even at a single heri-tion-states were formed. When people fueled by na-

tage site, several layers overlap.

tionalism competed for territory, destruction was the

However, when the preservation and research ofresult. As a consequence of Christianity’s rise to thecultural heritage sites began to be institutionalized

center and the marginalization of Islam, there werefrom the end of the 19th century, I think there was amany cases in which mosques built during the Otto-

problem with certain political ideologies and contexts

man Empire were destroyed, reused, or converted forbecoming strongly reflected in such activities.

other purposes.

Especially after World War I and World War II, someI have been conducting research in Bulgaria for aof the layers became emphasized in a privileged way,long time, and the Christian church in Sofia, the capitalwhile others were intentionally forgotten, or neglected.

of Bulgaria, which was built in the 4th century during

If we regard the socialist era as the result of World War

the ancient Roman era, was converted into a mosque

II, I think this situation continued for a long time.

in the Ottoman era and restored to a church after inde-

Since the 1990s, a great and ongoing challenge inpendence. The building that is now the National Ar-

Central Europe has been how to value all these layers

chaeological Museum was also originally a mosque.

as their own heritage, and how to dig up forgotten ones.

In the vicinity, there is a building that is used as

Ukraine is a region where various elements havemosque. You can also see other religious facilities

intermingled until now, so I think there has always

such as Jewish Synagogue and the Bulgarian Ortho-been some pressure to separate Ukraine and Russia;

dox Church that belongs to the Eastern Orthodox

for example, through war. When we look at the post-

Church. So, many religious facilities can be found on

war period, I think that the question will be how to

the same plane. It is called the “crossroads of civiliza-

make sense of the mixedness and what criteria to em-tions” because cultures have historically overlapped. I

ploy. The matter of how to preserve and restore heri-feel that it is necessary to keep in mind that the per-

47
“International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage in Central Europe: The Past and the Future”

I don’t think it is limited to Cen-

spective will change completely depending on whichsocialistically visible, which was called the “indigeniza-time period of the region is being discussed.

tion policy,” flourished in the USSR. I think it is reason-

Prof. SHINOHARA, you have conducted research inable to say that the outlines of Belarusian culture andGalicia, spanning Poland and Ukraine, and I would

Ukrainian culture, for example, were established during

like to ask you about your knowledge of the cultural

this time. On the other hand, repercussions occurred

heritage sites in this region.

from the 1930s onwards. As for Galicia, after World War
II, all of Galicia’s eastern half was annexed by the Soviet

SHINOHARA
Old Galicia is a region that developed at the end of
Panel
Discussion

48

Union. There, the preservation and destruction of historical heritage were conducted quite selectively.

the 18th century during the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

In particular, the religious practices of those who

Today, the western half is Poland and the eastern halfremained members of Roman Catholicism while

is Ukraine. As a result of the Nazi extermination policy

maintaining the liturgy of the Eastern Orthodox

for Jews and the displacement of the population, Lviv

Church, which is known as Greek Catholicism, wereand other places in present-day western Ukraine ex-severely suppressed and banned. Repression of theperienced some of the most horrific destruction of the

Orthodox Church was relatively lax, but the newly an-

20th century. It can be said that it was in the late 1980s

nexed territories were still tightly controlled. As forthat the very concept of Galicia came back into theJewish heritage sites, especially in the Soviet West,

spotlight of cultural history.

Belarus, and Ukraine, a policy of oblivion was adopted“International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage in Central Europe: The Past and the Future”

Even now, especially western Ukraine is a very poor

rather than an active policy of conservation. In otherarea, and the towns’ former population compositions

words, the Jewish people have been generalized andhave completely changed over the years. Making theanonymized as victims of fascist violence. Therefore,

culture and life that once existed there visible again has

such selective oblivion and neglect could be consid-

been a growing concern for the local community.

ered a type of destruction.

Clearly, in the last 20‒30 years, this has started to

Especially in the case of Greek Orthodox churches,

become a local initiative with the involvement of ex-they were sometimes preserved as museums of athe-

perts in history, art history, cultural heritage, etc. We

ism. But it seems that there were also situations where

are not sure what will happen, but we are keeping athey were turned into warehouses; they were not pre-watchful eye on the situation.

served and ended up being destroyed.

KINBARAKINBARA

Based on an understanding of these characteristics

Certainly, the Galician region has such a complex his-of Central Europe, we had Mr. MAEDA report on thetorical past. Therefore, various problems have emergedinternational cooperation projects that Japan has

such as the conflict in the former Yugoslavia and now

been conducting in the region to date in order to con-the invasion of Ukraine, but I feel that it is also importantsider the matter of international cooperation in cultural

to look at this region from a historical perspective.

heritage. Next, I would like to focus on the strengths

Here is a question from the audience: What was theand challenges of the international cooperation pro-basis of the Soviet-led cultural policy before the col-vided by Japan as seen from the international cooper-

lapse of the USSR? In the case of Romania, a move-ation activities implemented to date.

ment to completely destroy churches did not occur.

Mr. MAEDA, what are your thoughts on this point?

What are your thoughts, Prof. SHINOHARA?

MAEDA
SHINOHARA

I was not actually engaged in cultural heritage con-

In the early 1920s, after the Russian Revolution, there

servation activities, so I can only offer my own impres-was a period when efforts to make each ethnic culturesions from the information I researched for my presen-tation. My impression is that, in

SHIMADAthe 30 years of assistance, there

Thank you for your question.

have been far more cooperation

As I mentioned in my presenta-

projects in the Central Europeantion, I think the issue of owner-

region than I expected.

ship is quite large. When I went
to North Macedonia in 2019 forassistance from various directions in the form of grant

research, I was planning to visit

aid provided by the government, assistance provided

a monastery called Matejče, but the Serbian research-by universities and research institutes, and aid fromer who accompanied me told me that the area is occu-

private foundations. In terms of significance, coopera-

pied by Muslims and is now like a garbage dump, andtion with Central Europe is also a very new frontier inthat it would not be possible to guide me there be-

Japanese cooperation with Europe, and my impres-cause it’s dangerous.

sion is that it has become an important region when

I myself specialize in Serbian medieval art, so I re-considering cooperation with European organizations.

search churches and monasteries built in the medieval

Panel
Discussion

Since the 90s, there has been

era in a much wider area than present-day Serbia, so

KINBARAas Prof. SHINOHARA mentioned earlier, it is difficult topreserve cultural heritage sites such as churches andafter 2004, I think the nature of Japanese assistancemonasteries in villages and towns where the followers

has changed considerably. Until then, there had beenof a certain religion have disappeared. It may be spe-

about 46 international collaborations around the worldcific to the area around Serbia, but for example, Bosnia

using UNESCO Japan Fund-in-Trust. It started withalso has the Republika Srpska, where Serbs live, and

the Angkor ruins in Cambodia, but the number of proj-

many are Orthodox Christians. The institute for culturalects in the European region was very small. There

heritage conservation there is managed by the insti-

were the ones in Romania that Prof. MIYAKE reported

tute of Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, the church-on; the restoration of old houses in Plovdiv, Bulgaria;

es are managed by the Serbian Orthodox Church, andand some restoration in Albania. The old houses in

Bosnian restorers are in charge of restoring the church-

Plovdiv are wooden buildings, a topic in which Japanes. While the ownership of cultural heritage is in the

excels, so I think the achievements here are import-

hands of the institute for cultural heritage conservation

ant. Prof. ISHII Akira, the chairman of the ICOMOS

and local research centers, they are actually operated

Committee in Japan, formed a subcommittee withinby the Serbian Orthodox Church, and the only restor-

ICOMOS, but the one who actually went to work on

ers who can do restoration work are ones from the lo-

the project was Prof. FUMOTO of the Nagoya Institutecal community. It is possible for interns and studentsof Technology. I think that such know-how will be quite

from different countries to visit and help out, but the

helpful in restoring wooden buildings in Ukraine in themembers of the restoration workshop that leads the

future. In addition, a private sector project that went on

project must be from that country. In that sense, I am

for more than 20 years since the socialist era was thesure that Ukraine is also in a situation where multiple

archaeological excavations of the Deyadovo ruins byreligious denominations have combined, so I have theTokai University.

impression that when Japan reaches out to preserve

I would also like to ask Prof. SHIMADA and Prof.
MIYAKE, who reported on actual cases, what are thecultural heritage sites, it will be necessary to properly
investigate who has the rights to what.

difficulties in international cooperation regarding cultural heritage in this region, and what are the points tokeep in mind when Japan engages in such projects?

KINBARAThank you very much. Prof. MIYAKE, what do you
think? It seems that the archbishop of this church or-

49“International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage in Central Europe: The Past and the Future”

Since the countries of Central Europe joined the EUganization played a fairly large role in the restoration

the religious community is important, but I think volun-

work of this monastery. Considering this, could youteer activities are also very important.

comment again on the points to keep in mind when

KINBARAJapan provides aid?

Thank you very much. Ms. TATEZAKI Maiko, who

MIYAKE

worked together on the projects related to Romania, is
It is a very difficult issue, but inalso here. Ms. TATEZAKI, could you tell us a little bita broad sense, it is about how

about what we should keep in mind in this regard?

you administer and manage yourstorers of various nationalities,

TATEZAKI Maiko (Japan Cultural Heritage
Consultancy)

the way of thinking and method-

Related to the issue of ownership that Prof. SHIMA-

ology will naturally be different. When we did the pro-DA mentioned, I think that emotions and interests thatgram, initially, the view held by Western Europeansarise when people worry about outsiders coming in

was that their way was superior.

and taking away the cultural property that locals haveorganization. When there are rePanel
Discussion

50

However, if you actually look at it, Romania has its

constructed over time, as well as the history behind it

own methodology, and even the costs are completely

and the social aspects of such properties, are also

different from Western Europe in a practical sense.

deeply related.

Moreover, the Romanian people work hard with all

Therefore, I think it is important to consider how wetheir hearts because these are their own churches, so

can work in a win-win relationship while respecting thein the end it was better for the locals to do it.

participation of local people from an international“International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage in Central Europe: The Past and the Future”

In addition, murals have iconography, and whether

standpoint. This is not limited to cultural heritage, but I

one can understand the religious meaning or not is

think it can be true in many cases. Even if it is done

something to consider. Since it is different from Ca-with the assistance of a company, I feel that it would

tholicism, I thought that it was necessary for the local

be quite difficult if there were no benefits to each party.

people to do the work one by one with an understand-In terms of the achievements of international coop-ing of people’s appreciation for the saints.

eration, for example, how many churches were

In the restorers’ dormitory that Mr. Tatezaki de-cleaned up and how many people learned about thesesigned, there is not only a day part but also a night

things, those are the questions that tend to be high-part. You can talk to others while drinking wine andlighted. However, I believe that an aspect that does notcooking together, and you can create a community. Af-

emerge as an evaluation point is the achievements ofter the project team dissolved, I think that this commu-

Japan’s continuous international cooperation, such asnity expanded into a network, and the team has stayed

the stories of the difficulties they faced and how they

connected to this day. I think that’s a valuable legacy.

sought to build an understanding with the partnering

To give another example, after doing the work on

country when establishing the management of thethe Bălinești cathedral, I also worked on the resto-

challenges. I feel that if there was an opportunity toration of a monastery in Ethiopia for a little while. Therediscuss and add such perspectives, it would be evenare many murals in Ethiopia, but there are no more

more useful for assistance to Ukraine in the future.

restorers. The nuns were working hard to restore themonastery, so we selected two of them to be trained

KINBARAin Romania. When I asked an acquaintance in Roma-Thank you. It is true that in international assistancenia to train them for one year, he gladly accepted. In

there are many cases of providing materials for thesecases like this, international cooperation has a slightly

kinds of activities, but it is often said that connections

different reach. Especially for those related to religion,

between people, such as personnel exchanges, arevery important. JICA’s activities are highly regarded for

er efforts to address issues related to restoration by

providing a space for such personnel exchanges, so I

young researchers and the conservation of cultural

think it is a very important perspective.

heritage sites in general.
As mentioned a little earlier, restoring and preserv-

state of international cooperation activities, including

ing the cultural heritage of a town where a certain

the situation in Ukraine. Regarding the future state ofgroup of people, such as Jews and Muslims, disap-

international cooperation in the Central European re-peared is not always welcomed by the locals because

gion, there are various local organizations, and it

it gives new meaning to the space. In order to tackle

seems that quite a variety of support systems havesuch problems, interdisciplinary cooperation is neces-been created in Europe. However, when thinking

sary among specialists in history, cultural property

about Japanese institutions and experts providing as-conservation, art history, etc., and the International

sistance and cooperation in the future, it is necessary

Culture Center organizes such projects. It has been

to consider what kind of ties with local organizations

conducting such activities for 30 years.

are needed to facilitate the development of such activ-

The current Polish government is very nationalistic,

ities while also reflecting on the achievements and is-but this organization stays relatively independent,sues of Japan’s activities to date.

even under such a government, so I think that the role

I would like to ask Prof. SHINOHARA about the International Cultural Center in Krakow, Poland, which

Panel
Discussion

Next, I would like to give some thought to the future

it has played in the network connecting various stakeholders could be useful for Japanese experts.

provides international cooperation assistance. I believe this is extremely relevant to Ukraine in particular.

KINBARAThank you very much. Mr. MAEDA, I believe that you

tion between the International Cultural Center and Ja-

were able to explore the framework of multilateral coop-pan? Could you speak about that?

eration with such European organizations during yourrecent international cooperative research activities, but

SHINOHARA
Since the work site of cultural heritage conservation

do you think there is a path to develop new international cooperation from Japan within the international aid

is not my specialty, I would like to say what I know

activities of EU organizations and those of Poland?

about the International Cultural Center. The institution

MAEDA

itself was originally created after the regime change inThank you. The purpose of the study I conducted

May 1991, with an awareness of the common culture

last year was to gather information on what kind of per-of the Central European region, and the shared cultur-

spective is necessary for Japan to promote multilateral

al issues. Especially in the case of cultural heritage

cooperation in cultural heritage protection in the future.

sites, I believe that even national institutions, affiliatedAmong the organizations I studied, there were several

organizations, and private organizations have beenorganizations that serve as hubs like the International

working hard to build cooperative relationships that

Cultural Center in Krakow, as Prof. SHINOHARA men-transcend national boundaries. One issue here is howtioned earlier. I feel that it is very important for Japan toto bridge the divides formed along the lines of nation-

collaborate with such organizations.

ality and ethnicity.

In addition to the International Cultural Center, forIn particular, Poland itself originally extended toexample, there is the Baltic Region Heritage Commit-

present-day Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania, so thetee in the coastal area of the Baltic Sea. This is an or-

first question was how to preserve the Polish heritage

ganization where officials from the cultural heritageleft abroad, but now I am looking beyond Poland anddepartments of the Baltic states, Germany, Poland,

am studying the shared issues of Central Europe. In

and Nordic countries facing the Baltic Sea gather tothis context, I organize the Heritage Academy and oth-share information in the form of a consortium. Here,

51“International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage in Central Europe: The Past and the Future”

Is there anything that can be done through collabora-

the members share information about how to protect

bilities, I believe that we will be thinking about what we

commonly shared cultural heritage, or how conserva-

can do to assist Ukraine. With regard to Ukraine, Prof.

tion is done in each country.

UEKITA Yasufumi of the University of Tsukuba is con-The Support Center for Culture in Ukraine, which I

ducting research on wooden buildings and has a track

mentioned in my presentation, is located in Poland. It

record of involvement in Ukraine. So, there is a veryis an organization within the National Institute of Cul-difficult situation where destruction is ongoing, but

tural Heritage, and its staff are also members of the

could you please tell us a little about your thoughts on

Support Center and the Baltic Region Heritage Com-the situation in Ukraine and about a possible foothold

mittee, so they have connections in this way. I havefor assistance?

also heard about how such connections led to actual
Panel
Discussion

52

aid. For example, when the invasion of Ukraine began,

UEKITA Yasufumi (the University of Tsukuba)

the staff shared information with the committee andSince 2016, I have been conducting a study on

relief supplies were delivered from Estonia. I believe

wooden churches in western Ukraine with fundingthat it is necessary for Japan to share information withfrom the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research. My goalorganizations that will become hubs in such regions.

is to gain an understanding of their restoration condi-

With regard to cooperation with the EU, the EU

tions and to consider restoration methods. After thedoes not allocate a dedicated budget to the restoration

independence of Ukraine from the Soviet Union, theof cultural heritage sites. In the case of assistance pro-traditional techniques that were lost during the Soviet

vided to member states, the broader framework in-Union were finally restored and wooden churches

volves restoring cultural heritage sites as part of infra-

could be repaired using traditional methods. Still, fromstructure development through consultations between

our viewpoint, the restoration techniques were quite

the EU and member states.

rough, and there was quite a lot of replacement mate-“International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage in Central Europe: The Past and the Future”

On the other hand, this is stated in the EU’s policy,

rial. I was thinking of having various forms of interac-and I was told that the EU is also actively working intion as a space to discuss what cultural heritage is,the digital and innovation fields, especially in relation

but then the coronavirus pandemic started, and thento environmental issues and cultural heritage. I believe

the war started, and my research was cut off.

that it is possible for Japanese organizations to partic-

Most of my research collaborators have left theipate as partners when the EU provides assistance incountry, so it is difficult to understand the internal sit-

projects related to such fields by contributing theuation in Ukraine. But in terms of the preservation ofknowledge that Japan possesses.

cultural heritage sites, I don’t think this was done suf-

Although it may not be a need that is directly associ-ficiently before the war began. The economic prob-

ated with conservation and restoration in particular, di-lems are also significant, and the Ukrainian govern-saster prevention is a topic that the EU government

ment itself does not have much money, but therecognizes that Japan has much knowledge in. In somebiggest problem is that there are very few young peo-cases, organizations related to disaster prevention,ple involved in the preservation of cultural heritage

such as the Institute of Disaster Mitigation for Urbansites. Even when we talked at local universities, theCultural Heritage at Ritsumeikan University, have held

young people were interested in creating new things

symposiums with ICOMOS international committees.

or going abroad and they didn’t have much of a vi-

There are many countries in Central and Eastern Eu-

sion for how to preserve the culture of their countryrope where earthquakes frequently occur, so I feel thatand what this would be like in the future. This was the

such topic could be a foothold for future cooperation.

case before the war, so it may be the same for young
people in many Eastern European countries. Howev-

KINBARAThank you very much. While exploring such possi-

er, the matter of how to nurture the next generation isconnected to the root of international cooperation re-garding cultural heritage, so I think human resource

current times. But I think it is also important to put Ja-

development is an indispensable issue.

pan’s strengths to work and to do so continuously.

I have been unable to enter Ukraine for a long time,

However, space for government assistance has di-

so I am trying to move the target site to a Ukrainianminished significantly due to the addition of Central

wooden church that remains in neighboring Poland.

European countries to the EU. It has become difficult

Although Poland appears to be relatively cooperativefor JICA to provide the same kind of government as-

toward Ukraine, the relationship between the two

sistance that it did in the past. We must reconsider ourcountries has been delicate in the past. In such a situ-

approach, address the problems, and change course

ation, what is the position that Japan should takeas necessary.
In addition, even if we are to rely on the private sec-

like inside Ukraine people are unified about theirtor, such as a university, it is quite difficult for a single

country’s relationship with the surrounding countries

organization to do so. Universities can obtain Grants-

and cultures. There are people of various ethnicities,

in-Aid for Scientific Research, but it is difficult to con-so I think the work will start by deciding the priorities

tinue working on projects funded by such grants, so I

while maintaining the right balance.

think we must consider ways to support international

At the same time, if we do not consider Ukraine’s
future vision for the preservation of its cultural heritage

cooperation in the region in question while taking thispoint into account.
Many issues have been mentioned above, but I

cooperation. If only a part of it is fixed, it will not be

would like to consider future directions by borrowing

preserved continuously, so I think it is necessary for

the wisdom of the experts who have been involved.

cooperation projects to have a combination of a

Thank you very much for your time today. I would likeshared vision, human resource development, and an

to thank the panelists who participated, as well asorganizational structure that determines priorities.

Prof. UEKITA and Prof. TATEZAKI.
With that, I would like to conclude the panel discus-

Thank you very much for that very thought-provoking comment. Regarding Ukraine, the Consortium
Subcommittee for West Asia also discussed it, andfrom an archaeological standpoint, Prof. YUKISHIMA
Koichi explained the damage situation in Ukraine in
relation to Scythian archaeology. I think it is importantthat conservation experts in various fields, includingarchaeology and architecture, get involved. In addition, it is essential to create a kind of cohesive teamand show how Japanese international cooperation
should be by connecting people involved in Ukraine,and I hope that the consortium can achieve that.
Finally, let me summarize.
Here, we examined the type of international cooperation that Japan has been providing to the eastern partof Europe, which is considered Central Europe. We
have also examined how to move forward. It is not only
an issue of whether what we have been promoting in a
Japanese way can be accepted internationally in thesion. Thank you very much, everyone.

53“International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage in Central Europe: The Past and the Future”

sites and cooperate with each other, it will be ad hoc

KINBARA

Panel
Discussion

when engaging in international cooperation? It is notClosing Remarks
I am TOMODA Masahiko, Secretary General ofJapan play in this process? How can we develop the

JCIC-Heritage. First of all, on behalf of the organiz-

determination to build long-lasting and better rela-ers, I would like to thank the presenters who took thetionships, rather than just temporary cooperation?

stage at today’s seminar; Prof. KINBARA, who mod-In addition, there are various things that we do noterated the discussion; and the two experts who par-know about the situation in Ukraine. But JCIC-Heri-

ticipated as observers. I would also like to express

tage is making efforts to gather information about

my gratitude once again to the audience who attend-

Ukraine. Moreover, there are still many things that weed the seminar today.

do not understand well, such as what has been done

Many issues were raised. I didn’t know much about

in Ukraine so far, and what kind of institutions andthis region, but I learned a lot. At the same time, withpersonnel are available, so we need to gather more

the cooperation that has been carried out so far, I felt

information. I would also like to create opportunities

the difficulty of being involved in the reconstruction of

to share such information with our audience.

regions and countries, and the reconstruction of cul-

In any case, the future of the war in Ukraine is stillture and cultural heritage sites. I believe that the

totally uncertain. I would like to take this opportunity

stance of the participants and those who stand on

to send my sincere prayers that the war will cease

the side of aid-providers in this process is being

and peace will return to Ukraine as soon as possible.

questioned.

That concludes today’s seminar.

I also think that an important question is how to

Thank you very much for your participation.

provide useful and beneficial support. What role can

TOMODA Masahiko(Secretary General, JCIC-Heritage)

TOMODA Masahiko was born in 1964. He is registered as a first-class architect, and a Professional Engineer (Discipline of Civil Engineering).
He specializes in architectural history and cultural heritage conservation. From 1994 on, he served as Field Director for the Japanese
Government Team for Safeguarding Angkor, working mainly on the restoration of Northern Library of Bayon Temple in Cambodia.; thereafter
he has been involved in planning, design, and supervision of numerous archaeological and architectural heritage conservation projects inJapan and overseas. From 2008 on he has been engaged in international cooperation projects for built cultural heritage at the Tokyo National
Research Institute for Cultural Properties, working on survey research, conservation and repair support, and nurturing technical humanresources in Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Bhutan, Nepal and elsewhere.
Since 2019, He is placed in Director of the Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation, Tokyo National Research Institute forCultural Properties. He also serves as a Board member of the ICOMOS Japan National Committee.

Report on the 32nd Seminar“International Cooperation for Cultural Heritage in Central Europe:
The Past and the Future”
December 2023
Published by:
Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage
C/O Independent Administrative Institution National Institutes for Cultural Heritage
Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties
13-43, Uenokoen, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-8713, Japan
Tel: +81-(0)3-3823-4841 / Fax: +81-(0)3-3823-4027
Edited by:
FUJII Ikuno(Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage)
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without the prior written permission of the copyright owners.