Report on the Symposium in FY 2018
Symposium to Promote World Heritage Registrationof the Eighty-Eight Temples and Pilgrimage Routes of Shikoku
Date and Time:
Venue:
Program:Sunday, January 27, 2019. 1:30~4:00 p.m.
The Crown Palais New Hankyu Kochi(4-2-50, Honmachi, Kochi City, Kochi Prefecture)■ Keynote Reports:(1) Requirements and Merits of Registration as a World Heritage Site
Ichita Shimoda (Senior Cultural Properties Specialist, Office for International
Cooperation on Cultural Heritages, Cultural Resources Utilization Division,
Agency for Cultural Affairs)(2) Initiatives and Challenges in Inscribing the Shikoku Henro on the World
Heritage ListKenichiro Kitayama (Secretariat of the Shikoku Henro World Heritage
Inscription Council, Culture Promotion Division, Arts and Culture Bureau,Kagawa Prefecture)■ Keynote Lecture:
Why Do People Go around Shikoku? – Attractive Features ofthe Shikoku Henro
Hikaru Ebesu (Deputy Director of the Research Center for theShikoku Henro and Pilgrimage of the World, Faculty of Lawand Letters, Ehime University)■ Panel Discussion:
To Make the Shikoku Henro a World Heritage
Facilitator:
Masaaki Oishi (Vice President, Naruto University ofEducation)
Panelists:
Ichita Shimoda (Senior Cultural Properties Specialist, Officefor World Cultural Heritage, Monument and Sites Division,
Cultural Properties Department, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
Hikaru Ebesu (Deputy Director of the Research Center for theShikoku Henro and Pilgrimage of the World, Faculty of Law andLetters, Ehime University)

Organizers:■

Shokyo Nagasaki (Chief Priest of Kongofukuji Temple[Temple 38], Chairman of the Tosa Chamber of the Shikoku
Eighty-eight Sacred Sites Inc.)
Organized by: The Shikoku Henro World Heritage Inscription Council
Cooperation given by:
Shikoku Henro Japan Heritage Council
Supported by:Tokushima Prefecture, Tokushima Prefecture Board ofEducation, Kochi Prefecture, Kochi Prefecture Board ofEducation, Ehime Prefecture, Ehime Prefecture Board ofEducation, Kagawa Prefecture, and Kagawa Prefecture Boardof Education

OutlineOn Sunday, January 27, 2019, the Shikoku Henro World Heritage Inscription Council held a symposium topromote World Heritage registration of the Eighty-Eight Temples and Pilgrimage Routes of Shikoku at theCrown Palais New Hankyu Kochi in Kochi City, Kochi Prefecture. About 100 people participated in theevent, including researchers of the Shikoku henro, specialists in World Heritage programs, and priests ofrelated temples. In addition to presentations on the history and features of the Shikoku henro, discussions
were held on issues related to testimonies to the property’s outstanding universal value and the partnershipwith local communities, on which worldwide attention is now being focused. The symposium provided agood opportunity to deepen understanding of the Shikoku henro and the project to include it in the World
Heritage List.

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Greetings by Related Parties
The symposium began with a greeting by Chairman Akira Chiba of the council,
who stated as follows: “Recently, we have seen increasing numbers of overseas
tourists traveling in Shikoku. This made me realize that the culture of the Shikoku
henro has universal value that is recognized by people all over the world
regardless of their culture, religion, or nationality. As the chairman of the council,
I will accelerate the process to inscribe the property on Japan’s Tentative List ofWorld Heritage Sites at the earliest possible occasion since this is necessary
before inscription on the World Heritage List. At the same time, it is my sincerehope that this symposium will mark an important step
Chairman Akira Chiba of theShikoku Henro World Heritage
toward the inscription on the World Heritage List.”
Inscription Council (Chairman
Following his greeting, Governor Masanaoof the Shikoku Economic
Federation)
Ozaki of Kochi Prefecture, said: “I believe that eachstep of the process toward the inscription on the WorldHeritage List is meaningful and effective in promoting regional education,culture, and inbound tourism in Shikoku. I truly hope that our efforts to add theproperty on the World Heritage List will advance steadily in joint efforts withyou all. I thank you in advance for your understanding and cooperation.”
Vice Chairman Masanao Ozakiof the Shikoku Henro WorldHeritage Inscription Council(Governor of Kochi Prefecture)■

Keynote Report: Requirements and Merits of Registration as a
World Heritage Site
Mr. Ichita Shimoda, Senior Cultural Properties Specialist of the Agency
for Cultural Affairs, reported on the process necessary for inscribing aproperty on the World Heritage List, recent trends of the World Heritage
program, and merits of inscription.
Concerning the recent trends, he said: “Since the number of
inscribed properties has increased, UNESCO has begun limiting thenumber of candidate properties to be examined so as to reduce theburden of their screening, as well as tasks related to the protection of
inscribed properties. Meanwhile, the range of target properties has beenbroadened; in addition to properties whose value is recognizable bysimply viewing them, the targets now include properties the value of
which becomes understandable only after description is provided. To add
Mr. Ichita Shimoda, Senior Cultural Properties
a property on the list, related parties should testify that the property theySpecialist, Cultural Resources Utilization
are nominating satisfies selection criteria and exhibit its outstanding
Division, Agency for Cultural Affairs
universal value by clarifying its authenticity and integrity, as well as byannouncing its management and protection plans. In the case of the Shikoku henro, related parties should
identify the essential value of the property and clarify what determines the integrity of the property. In
addition, they need to study the arguments used in applications of other properties comprising roads andpaths.”“Given the diversification of World Heritage sites and an increase in the number of sites whereresidents live, UNESCO has begun to place greater importance on the involvement of local communities. Itis, therefore, important to build a system that ensures local residents benefit from the protection of theproperty.”
Finally, as merits of efforts to add the property on the World Heritage List, he said as follows: “Theprocess of seeking the inscription can lead to new research findings and consensus among researchers,residents, and local governments, which in turn provides an opportunity for the four prefectures in Shikoku
to align their efforts and share a vision. In addition, the process is effective in promoting local people’sunderstanding of their regional culture since they sometimes recognize its importance only after learningviews of people outside Japan.” He suggested that related parties should work to determine what sort ofmechanism is necessary to promote and share the merits of the process toward the inscription on the World
Heritage List.

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Keynote Lecture: Why Do People Go around Shikoku? – Attractive Features of theShikoku HenroA lecture was provided by Deputy Director Hikaru Ebesu of theResearch Center for the Shikoku Henro and Pilgrimage of theWorld of Ehime University, who discussed the history of theShikoku henro and its attractive features as follows:“The Shikoku henro originated in ascetic training of Buddhist
monks in rural areas of Shikoku, just as Kūkai (Kōbō Daishi)
engaged in such training in mountain forests on the island morethan 1,200 years ago. During the Edo period (1603–1868), the sitesof ascetic training changed into pilgrimage routes. Thistransformation was led by a mendicant priest named Shinnen, whowrote the Shikoku Henro Michi-shirube, a guidebook for thepilgrimage in Shikoku. He also erected many signposts when
Professor Hikaru Ebesu, Deputy Director of thetraveling on the pilgrimage route.”
Research Center for the Shikoku Henro andPilgrimage of the World, Faculty of Law and“Even now, there are many such signposts along the pilgrimage
Letters, Ehime University
routes in Shikoku. They bear a testimony to the role played bycommon people in building and maintaining the roads for the sake of common people, a fact thatsignificantly characterizes the Shikoku henro. Another important characteristic is that at temples along theroutes, pilgrims worshipped Kōbō Daishi at the Daishidō (a building with a statue of Kōbō Daishi) as well
as at the hondō (a building containing a statue of the main deity). This indicates various forms of religious
faith are unified by faith in Kōbō Daishi. Moreover, studies of votive cards (osamefuda) and graffiti haverevealed that many pilgrims were either residents in Shikoku or travelers from the opposite shore on themain island. Diaries of travelers from other regions reveal that the writers noted the custom of o-settai(offering support) only after their landing on Shikoku Island. This indicates that pilgrims in the Edo period
regarded o-settai as a custom unique to Shikoku. The diaries show that pilgrims accepted o-settai without
fail, and the donors of the service always gave their names to pilgrims.”“The Shikoku henro represents a typical form of pilgrimage in Japan, whose culture culminatedthrough popularization. It is the only pilgrimage that is called henro, and this living tradition has been
supported by o-settai, which characterizes the culture of Shikoku.”
Finally, he commented that non-Japanese visitors, whose number is increasing year by year, show theirkeen interest not only in temples but also the paths connecting them and concluded as follows: “Bothpilgrims and pilgrimage routes have been supported by the regional culture of Shikoku, whereas suchregional cultures in other parts of Japan have been lost. I believe that this fact helps us define what theoutstanding universal value of the Shikoku henro is.”■Panel Discussion: To Make the Shikoku Henro a World Heritage

From left:

Facilitator: Masaaki Oishi , panelists: Ichita Shimoda , Hikaru Ebesu , and Shokyo Nagasaki (Titles omitted)

The panel discussion began with a comment by Reverend Shokyo Nagasaki, the Chief Priest ofKongofukuji Temple (Temple 38) in Kochi Prefecture. He expressed his view that the base of the present
form of the Shikoku henro was built by the people who experienced warfare, saying that the memorialservices for war victims, held shortly after the end of World War II, helped develop the Shikoku henro andthat the spread of the pilgrimage in Shikoku contributed to the formation of Shikoku Eighty-eight SacredSites Inc. To protect the eighty-eight temples along the pilgrimage routes, he said it was necessary to add
the Shikoku henro on the World Heritage List and to promote inbound tourism in Shikoku.
The second speaker was Mr. Ichita Shimoda, Senior Cultural Properties Specialist of the Agency forCultural Affairs. He suggested that it was necessary to describe various features of the Shikoku henro, suchas the faith of common people, the unique form of circular routes, and the practice of o-settai in a form thatmeets the selection criteria of the World Heritage program. He said that comparative studies with otherproperties both inside and outside Japan were also necessary in setting forth unique attributes of theproperty. Whereas the property has a history of more than 1,200 years, to inscribe on the World Heritage
List, he suggested that the related parties should pinpoint a specific period in its history. In addition, since
the Shikoku henro features intangible elements, such as the practice of o-settai, he stressed the importanceof searching for the best way to describe them to meet selection criterion vi (to be directly or tangiblyassociated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works ofoutstanding universal significance), which evaluates intangible elements.
Professor Hikaru Ebesu of Ehime University discussed that the history of the Shikoku henro could bedivided into the following two stages: the period of ascetic training that originated about 1,200 years ago;
and in and after the Edo period (1603–1868), when pilgrimage in Shikoku became widespread. Of the twostages, he stressed that the focus should be on the latter stage, where common people toured the eightyeight temples and established the base of the pilgrimage form that has been inherited to the present day.
Concerning tasks to fulfill, he said it was necessary to detect and investigate more distance markers,
signposts, and rest stations to visually present the practice of o-settai.
Finally, as the facilitator, Vice President Masaaki Oishi of Naruto University of Education said asfollows: “Since it is impossible to maintain pilgrimage routes without support of local residents, our mostimportant task is to inspire residents in the region to recognize the cultural value of the Shikoku henro andencourage them to consider how to pass on the property to future generations and how to promote themworldwide.” He concluded that by considering ways of building partnership with local communities,
related parties should detect more aspects of the outstanding universal value of the Shikoku henro so that it
would be included on the World Heritage List.