Report on the Symposium in FY 2015
Commemorating the partnership agreement between the Shikoku Henro and the Routes of Santiago de Compostela“To Make the Shikoku Henro a World Heritage Site”
International Symposium
Date and Time:
Venue:
Program:

Organizers:

Sunday, February 14, 2016. 1:30~4:30 p.m.
Sunport Takamatsu Kagawa International Conference Hall
(Sunport 2-1, Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture)■ Keynote Lecture:
Concepts of World Cultural Heritage and the Outstanding
Universal Value of Pilgrimage Routes
Yukio Nishimura (Director, Research Center for Advanced
Science and Technology, the University of Tokyo)■ Panel Discussion:
Attractive Features of the Shikoku Henro and World Heritage
ProgramFacilitator:
Nobuko Inaba (Professor, University of Tsukuba)
Panelists:
Yukio Nishimura (Director, Research Center for Advanced
Science and Technology, the University of Tokyo)
Fransisco Singul (Director, Xacobeo Cultural Division,Galicia Region, Spain)
Shinichi Shimizu (Professor, Tokushima Bunri University)
Hiroshi Tsujibayashi (Director, Wakayama Prefecture WorldHeritage Center)
Hikaru Ebesu (Professor, Ehime University)
Organized by:
The Shikoku Henro World Heritage Inscription Council
Cooperation given by: NPO Network for Shikoku Henro Pilgrimage and Hospitality
Kagawa Prefectural Assembly Japan-Europe FriendshipFederation■ Outline
On Sunday, February 14, 2016, theShikoku Henro World Heritage
Inscription Council organized the firstinternational symposium aimed at theinscription of the Shikoku henro on
the World Heritage List at Sunport
Takamatsu Kagawa International
Conference Hall in Takamatsu,
Kagawa Prefecture. The event, heldwith the theme “To Make the Shikoku
Henro a World Heritage Site,”commemorated the partnershipagreement signed in September 2015
between the four prefectures of Shikoku and the Galicia region, Spain, home to pilgrimage routes alreadyregistered as a World Heritage site. The symposium was participated in by about 160 people, including
researchers of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in Spain and the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes
in the Kii Mountain Range (a World Heritage site in Japan), as well as other specialists in the World
Heritage program. Based on comparative studies of views and initiatives taken by parties related to theseproperties, the participants held lively discussions on characteristics of the Shikoku henro and its
outstanding universal value, which should be testified to in order to register it as a World Heritage site. The
symposium provided an optimal opportunity to promote understanding of the project to inscribe theShikoku henro on the World Heritage List, a project that should involve all people in Shikoku byincorporating a broad, global perspective.

■Greetings by Related Parties
The symposium began with a greeting by Chairman Akira Chiba of the council, who
explained that concerted efforts were being made by residents in Shikoku to promote
global recognition of the Shikoku henro, which has been developed and preserved bycommon people, and to pass on the treasured asset of Shikoku to future generations.
He said that the partnership agreement with the Galicia Region could help theregistration of the Shikoku henro, expressing his hope that the symposium would
mark an important step toward its registration as a World Heritage site and that thefriendship between Shikoku and the Galicia Region, Spain, would become evenstronger.
Chairman Akira Chiba ofthe Shikoku Henro World
Following Chairman Chiba’s greeting, His Excellency Gonzalo de Benito,
Heritage Inscription
Council (Chairman of theSpanish
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Japan, delivered a messageShikoku EconomicFederation)in which he said that Santiago de Compostela and the Shikoku henro had commonpoints in their historic origins and that friendship between Spain and Japan was being
deepened day by day. Next, Manager Hiroki Kato of the Monuments and Site
Division, Cultural Properties Department, Agency for Cultural Affairs, stated that
the Agency for Cultural Affairs would continue to support the efforts of Shikoku as
much as possible. Mr. Osamu Tsujimura, Chair person of the Kagawa Prefectural
Assembly, pointed out various challenges in registration of the property, but heexpressed his expectation that the symposium would achieve a great outcome.
In the closing ceremony, Governor Keizo Hamada of Kagawa Prefecture,
Vice Chairman Keizo
which hosted the symposium, thanked the participants for joining lively
Hamada of the Shikoku
Henro World Heritage
discussions, which he believed would surely contribute to the registration of theInscription Council
property as a World Heritage site. He also asked the participants for their continued(Governor of Kagawa
Prefecture)
support and cooperation in promoting the campaign to inscribe the Shikoku henroon the World Heritage List.

■

Keynote Lecture: Concepts of World Cultural Heritage and the Outstanding Universal
Value of Pilgrimage Routes
As a keynote lecturer, Director Yukio Nishimura of the ResearchCenter for Advanced Science and Technology, the University ofTokyo, who also serves as a member of the council’s
Committee for Evidence of Outstanding Universal Value,
discussed recent trends of the World Heritage program andviews of pilgrimage and cultural routes as follows:“Although there used to be international conventions toprotect cultural properties at the time of armed conflicts even
before the establishment of the World Heritage Convention, asignificant turning point was the construction of the Aswan
Director Yukio Nishimura of the Research Center for
Advanced Science and Technology, the University of Tokyo
High Dam in Egypt. To save ancient Egyptian temples frominundation by the dam construction, an international cooperation project was initiated, which led to thespread of the concept of World Heritage. As a result, the World Heritage Convention was established,which was the first framework to protect heritage sites at peace time.”“In recent years, the range of properties included on the World Heritage List has become increasingly
diversified. In addition to magnificent cathedrals and other historic monuments, various properties whosevalue had not been well recognized before are being added to the list today, such as terraced rice paddies,railway roads, modern cities, and modern buildings. Underlying this trend is a broadened concept of WorldHeritage. Stepping forward from simply protecting assets of humanity from destruction, related parties
have begun to recognize the importance of mutually appreciating cultures of the world while accepting
their diversity.”

“In consideration of the outstanding universal value of pilgrimage routes, those already on the World
Heritage Lists include the Routes of Santiago de Compostela, the pilgrimage routes in the Kii Mountain
Range, the Silver Route in Mexico, and the Silk Roads. In addition to being paths of religious faith, theyalso feature cultural interaction and propagation. These properties comprise lines represented by roads,
points represented by facilities, and the invisible form of the faith that enticed people to go on pilgrimage.
Of the three components, intangible faith is the most difficult to describe. Accordingly, it is important tocreate an appropriate narrative on various forms of faith to present the outstanding universal value of anominated property. In addition, it is necessary to clearly show how respective component parts contributeto the universal value. In the Kii Mountain Range, travelers on the pilgrimage routes feel they are purified
by walking amid natural settings. In Sacro Monte in Italy, chapels dotted along the route have mural
paintings and other works to deepen visitors’ understanding of Christian teachings. In this way, there aremany forms of pilgrimage. It is therefore important to stress unique features of the Shikoku henro ascompared with other pilgrimage routes by showing concrete examples.”Finally, Mr. Nishimura introduced initiatives to improve the environment of Mt. Fuji, stating, “It isimportant that efforts to register a property as a World Heritage site be associated with activities to improvelandscapes and the natural environment.” He suggested the project in Shikoku should incorporate thisviewpoint.

■

Panel Discussion: Attractive Features of the Shikoku Henro and World Heritage Program

From left: Facilitator: Nobuko Inaba; Panelists: Yukio Nishimura, Fransisco Singul, Shinichi Shimizu, Hiroshi Tsujibayashi and Hikaru Ebesu (Titles omitted)

In the beginning, respective panelists commented on the theme.
Mr. Fransisco Singul, a researcher of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela, stated that the pilgrimage
routes in Spain had many common points with the Shikoku henro. He suggested, “It is important to claim
the value of Buddhist temples’ architectural design, which has matching value to that of churches, and thento stress the role of the Shikoku henro as a backbone of Japanese culture.”
Next, Professor Hikaru Ebesu of Ehime University explained the history of the Shikoku henro, which
originated as ascetic training of Buddhist monks and later transformed into pilgrimage of common laypeople. He explained that the henro comprised circular pilgrimage routes developed by common people forthe sake of common people and had been supported by o-settai (offering support) offered by local residents
in Shikoku. He said: “The essence of the Shikoku henro is faith in and devotion to the Buddhist priest,Kūkai (Kōbō Daishi), nurtured in Shikoku. Pilgrims developed the faith that the journey with the Buddhist
saint would lead to their rebirth.”
Professor Shinichi Shimizu of Tokushima Bunri University suggested that roadside tea houses,Daishidō (a building that has a statue of Kōbō Daishi) on the temple grounds, and temple towns could bepresented as component parts that bear testimonies to the universal value. He suggested the need of valuing
the modern period, stating, “If we are to specify the target period of the property to protect as the time whenthe majority of pilgrims traveled on foot, when traditional landscapes and natural settings were preserved,and when the practice of o-settai was common, these conditions are applicable to the times from the Edoperiod (1603–1868) to the early Showa era (1926–1989).” As a model case, he also introduced activities ofHiraizumi, where related parties continue academic research and discussions to seek inscription ofadditional properties on the World Heritage List.
Director Hiroshi Tsujibayashi of the Wakayama Prefecture World Heritage Center explained theprocess taken before the inscription of the Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range on the World
Heritage List, stressing that the partnership between the three related prefectures played a vital role. Hesaid: “At the time of the registration as a World Heritage site, many roads, which comprised the major
component parts, were not well preserved. To restore the roads, we built a system to involve volunteers,
who still continue to engage in activities. To preserve the World Heritage site, we are seeking a way tosustain a regional culture in joint efforts with community residents.”
Following the comments by respective panelists, they discussed various features of the Shikoku henro,
including the circular form of the pilgrimage routes, the living tradition of pilgrimage ando-settai,
and the relationship between the pilgrimage and the natural environment in Shikoku. The panelists
confirmed the need of selecting tangible historical assets to represent these intangible features. Referring to
the Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range, where signposts and other traces of human activities
along the routes represent pilgrims’ faith and prayers, Director Yukio Nishimura suggested that similarobjects along the Shikoku henro could represent intangible aspects, such as prayers and salvation of thesoul.
Based on the panel discussion, as the facilitator, Professor Nobuko Inaba of Tsukuba University
suggested as follows: “It is important to delve into local history, determine the authentic value of theproperty based on thorough studies, and prepare an appropriate narrative based on facts. To add theShikoku henro on the World Heritage List, it is essential to identify its universal value while at the sametime taking protective measures of the property.” She concluded that related governments must continue
surveys and research in joint efforts.