ICH CONTRIBUTING TO
POST-DISASTER REHABILITATION
Hiromichi Kubota

Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties(Translation by Helga Janse)

Introduc�on
The discussions during the first day of the workshop were largely focused on the roleof intangible cultural heritage (ICH) in disaster risk management (DRM). Many
participants seemed to agree in emphasizing the need to incorporate ICH in DRM, andnotably the need to re-evaluate local knowledge. This perspective is undoubtedly very
important.
However, looking at the reconstruction a�er the Great East Japan Earthquake, there
were no examples of ICH playing a part in that reconstruction. As seen through theexcursion to Onagawa in Miyagi prefecture, earthquake disaster restoration work
consisted of large scale public works restorations. ICH had no part to play in that. In
Japan, it is hard to include traditional ICH into DRM.
Does that mean that ICH has no value in disaster contexts? In this paper, I would liketo look at this issue from the opposite perspective; instead of thinking of ‘the role of
ICH in DRM’, I would like to focus on ‘the role of DRM in ICH’. As an example, let us
look at the lion dance (shishimai or shishifuri) of Onagawa that we visited during theexcursion. In terms of disaster prevention, the lion dance had no part to play.
However, for the disaster-stricken local community, it played an important role in therevival of the community. From an emotional aspect, ICH clearly has a role to play. For
example, ICH can play a role in reducing the risk of young people moving away fromthe local community a�er a disaster. In other words, under normal circumstances,local communities are developed in a sustainable way, in conformity with the locality;
however, when a disaster strikes, this sustainable development is disrupted. ICH canreduce such risk on local communities. In the case of Onagawa, the lion dance playedthat part. There are multitudes of ICH worldwide that can fulfil such a part. It is also
possible that things other than ICH play such a part. By focusing on cases from Japan,
I would like to initiate a discussion on what kind of ICH exists in different countries
that can contribute to the post-disaster restoration.

Categories of ICH
Before starting the discussion it should be pointed out that there exists many different
types of practices and traditions within the concept of ICH. Categorizing ICH is diﬃcult,and within UNESCO the following five categories are used: (a) oral traditions andexpressions; (b) performing arts; (c) social practices, rituals and festive events; (d)WORKSHOP PAPERS
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knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe; and (e) traditionalcra�smanship.
However, while this categorization takes into account the typological characteristics of
ICH traditions and is based on an ethnological perspective, it cannot depict the full
picture of ICH. For instance, performing arts that are constantly changing physicalexpressions, and traditional cra�smanship that is manifested in the creation of
tangible objects, are quite different in their nature of practices. Furthermore,considering the cases of oral expressions and knowledge without any physicalexpression or a resulting tangible object, it is diﬃcult to discuss all categories from thesame point of view. Also, for example, an oral tradition performed in front of an
audience can be recognized as performing arts. Such discrepancies may also dependon the domains of ICH, of which an element is a part – whether it is performing arts,
religious traditions or customary practices. The concept of ICH covers many types ofpractices that differ greatly.
Given that the concept of ICH covers a wide range of practices and knowledge, it isnecessary to build a framework where the categories are developed based on the
topic of the discussion at hand. In this paper, where the topic is to contribute todisaster restoration, the following three categories are hypothesized:
1. Practices/traditions maintained by the local community; o�en related to religion
and/or the spiritual world.
2. Practices/traditions requiring specialized skills or cra� techniques, performed bycertain individuals or dedicated associations; o�en related to occupation andlivelihood.
3. Practices/traditions/knowledge upheld unconsciously as part of everyday life
Category 1 applies primarily to festivals and folk performing arts. During the Great
East Japan Earthquake, this was the type of practice that demonstrated the largest
effect in supporting the revival of the communities. In Japan, there is a large numberof festivals and folk performing arts maintained by the local communities. I would liketo raise the question of what kind of similar ICH practices, maintained by the local
communities, exist in other countries.
Category 2 concerns ICH practiced not by the local communities, but by professionals.
Primarily cra� productions are applicable for this category. Performing arts practiced
by professionals are also included in this category, while cra� techniques upheld by
local communities should be regarded as Category 1. In the context of natural
disaster, the primary challenge in this category is how to revive these cra�s and arts incase their practice is damaged, rather than these practices contributing to therestoration.
Category 3 concerns practices which are part of everyday life, and are not usually
performed in front of strangers, such as annual events, day-to-day events, and

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practices concerned with the basic necessities of everyday life such as clothing, food
habits and housing. So-called local and traditional knowledge (zairaichi) also belong tothis category. Especially from the perspective of ICH supporting disaster restoration,
traditional knowledge (senjin no chie) useful for disaster prevention and mitigation has
been highlighted.
For example, in the areas struck by the Great East Japan Earthquake, a traditional
saying called ‘Tsunami tendenko’ exists. It is a teaching telling people to think about
their own safety first and flee, and not to get caught by the waves by looking for theirfamily and loved ones. This is a local and traditional knowledge; on the other hand, it
is also a tradition resulting in an action or behaviour.
Local knowledge such as disaster resilient lifestyles and traditional architectural
techniques exist in various countries. While it is possible to think of them in terms of
local knowledge, it is also possible to place traditional architectural techniques in
Category 2. Furthermore, there is also local knowledge pertaining to natural
phenomenon, such as reading signs indicating that an earthquake or tsunami will
occur. Rather than being something performed, practiced or used to produce
something, this type of ICH can be said to be pure knowledge. Local knowledge
pertaining to disaster may be diﬃcult to be recognized as ICH from the outside.
Rather, it should be identified through the perspectives of disaster studies in theregion.
To sum up the categories 1, 2, and 3, Category 1 involves, rather than the disaster
itself, ICH that can support the revival of the disaster-stricken community. Category 2
concerns ICH that in itself can be damaged by disaster, and the point in question is
how to revive or transmit its practice in the post-disaster context. Category 3 concerns
ICH that should be identified from the point of view of DRM research. In the following
section I examine examples of Category 1 from Japan.

The Revival of Performing Arts and Fes�vals a�er the Great East Japan
Earthquake
In Japan there is a large number of performing arts and festivals practiced throughout
the country. There are approximately 9,000 ICH practices that are designated bynational and local government as ‘intangible folk cultural properties’, according toJapanese heritage legislation, and most of them are performing arts and festivals.
Furthermore, although the actual number of ICH practices that are not designated as
heritage properties is unknown, the number of such performing arts alone surely
counts in tens of thousands. In fact, in the area struck by tsunamis in the Great East
Japan Earthquake, there were approximately 1,000 elements of performing arts, ofwhich only 10% were designated heritage properties.
However, it should be noted that the designation as an intangible folk culturalproperty does not guarantee financial support. In the Japanese system of intangible
folk cultural properties, the civil societies/organizations preserving the practice do notreceive any regular financial support. There are rare cases of monetary support for

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example for the repairs of tools, but there is no regular funding. So how are thepractices maintained? It is the practitioners and the local communities themselves thattake care of upholding the practices.
For example, in the case of the lion dance in Onagawa, the lion dance procession goesaround the district during the New Year, visiting house by house, performing the lion
dance, and receiving money as reward. The money received is used as funding for thecontinued activity of the lion dance group. For example, if each household pays
10,000 yen (approximately 90 USD), a village of 100 households would gather 1
million yen (approximately 9,000 USD). However, that money is also used for otherlocal festivals and assigned for costs related to the activities of the local children’sorganizations and senior citizens’ assemblies. In other words, ICH is incorporated into
the system of local economy.
Needless to say, not all performing arts gather money in this way. That being said,
both festivals and performing arts are usually upheld and maintained by the local
communities themselves, who pay for the expenses. Why is that? One answer could
be religious reasons. Because of the religious (Shinto and Buddhist) context/
background of the practices, there is an urge/willingness to perform the events even
if it involves paying for the expenses. However, that is surely not the only reason. The
practices are perhaps primarily upheld because they are considered fun and becauseof a sense of societal duty, rather than religious reasons.
It is necessary to understand this background to explain why this ICH can play a role inpost-disaster revival. In Onagawa, lost and damaged equipment and tools were finallyreplaced and restored two years a�er the earthquake disaster. A�er the lion dance
had been revived, the following information was posted on the town’s website: ‘This
year, the lion dance was performed in the remaining houses and in the assembly hallsof the temporary housings, bringing such great joy that some people were moved totears. Tradition is, for the people living in a local community, an undetachable part oftheir everyday life’.
The revival of the lion dance of Takenoura, a coastal village we visited during theexcursion, is a symbolic example. Immediately following the earthquake disaster, whenmasses of people were taking refuge at a hotel, a lion dance was performed with alion head made of a floor cushion and a pair of slippers, bringing comfort to thepeople seeking shelter. This episode shows how ICH can provide emotional support topeople in times of disaster. Furthermore, the residents of Takenoura were living
scattered in temporary housings for six to seven years before the town was restored.
During those years, there were two occasions per year when the residents of thecommunity could gather – the lion dance and the local festival (also featuring the lion
dance). It was the lion dance that kept the hearts of the scattered villagers connected.
It is hard to evaluate this type of emotional effect objectively, as it cannot easily bemeasured quantitatively. However, this is an important example demonstrating how
ICH could contribute to disaster revival.
However, this example is not necessarily applicable to all countries. Local festivals and

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folk performing arts are commonly occurring events throughout the regions of Japan,
and it is against this cultural background that this example should be understood. The
matter of identifying what ICH can contribute to community revival in the event ofdisaster must be considered carefully for each country or locality, with consideration
to the concerned local communities.
There are also examples from Japan where regional post-disaster restoration has notbeen well linked with ICH. The people of Namie town in Fukushima prefecture wereforced to evacuate due to the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant
following the Great East Japan Earthquake. Many folk performing arts used to exist in
this area. However, the entire town was forced to evacuate, and the community wasdispersed as some members of the community were relocated to regions all over thecountry, while most of them sought their new home within the prefecture. Even nowa�er eight years have passed since the accident, there are many people who cannot
return, and some areas still remain restricted because of the risk of radiation.
In the Kariyado district, for example, there existed a deer dance (shikamai), a folk
performing art similar to the lion dance. Now it is on the brink of disappearing. The
primary reason for that is that the practitioners were separated by evacuating over awide region. A�er the radioactivity decontamination work was finished, the district
become liveable again in 2017. However, many former residents are anxious about
radioactive contamination and are hesitant to return. That means that even for thepeople who want to practice the deer dance, it is diﬃcult to gather since people areliving spread out over a wide area, separated from each other. Then their motivation
to perform the deer dance decreases, and it has become diﬃcult to pass on thistradition. Furthermore, since there are few opportunities to train children and young
people, the transmission of the tradition to the future is at risk. As a result, the deerdance has been performed only three times since the accident.
These types of problems do not only occur a�er nuclear accidents. All over thecountry, a great number of rural villages are being depopulated because people aremoving to urban areas. The same problems are occurring in such depopulated rural
areas. In other words, the disruption of local communities could be caused by various
reasons, such as disasters, accidents, depopulation, as well as decreasing birth rates
combined with an ageing population. The part that ICH can play in dealing withdisasters is therefore also connected to the role that ICH can play to cope withvarious problems threatening the continuity of the local community.

The Value and Role of ICH
So far, I have focused on the perspective of ICH contributing to the revival of the local
community. This type of ICH is easily linked to local identity, increasing the sense of
belonging for the residents of the region. In a town such as Onagawa, where each
district has its own lion dance, everyone thinks that their own lion dance is the best.
When this type of local identity is heightened, quarrels sometimes break out between
the districts. If such disputes are amplified, they can develop into political disputes
and ethnic conflicts. We must not forget that ICH is potentially associated with thisWORKSHOP PAPERS
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type of risk.
However, as have been exemplified in this paper, ICH can also play a role ofstrengthening the bonds of a local community. Because of the Great East Japan
Earthquake, such important roles of ICH started receiving recognition in Japan, andnow there is a growing recognition that ICH should be included in the disaster rescue
framework of cultural properties. However, for that purpose, it is important to first
thoroughly inventory what ICH exists where. Then, the second task is to create
networks to share information promptly when disaster strikes, on what has beendamaged and what support exists. However, a methodology for doing this has not yet
been established. Furthermore, even if the necessary tools are restored or recreated,
it is not certain whether the tradition can be revived, and even if the tradition isrevived, it is not certain whether it can be upheld. This means that it is also importantto have a long-term perspective to fully understand matters relating to thecontinuation of the practice in question.
In this process, supporters who are able to have a long-term commitment and getfamiliar with the locality are necessary. This type of support can be carried out not
only by national and local government bodies, but also by people in various positions,such as researchers, teachers and education specialists, journalists, as well as those inreligious institutions. ICH enthusiasts could be involved as well. Ties among thepractitioners who share the common challenges are also important. A sustainablenetwork connecting these various actors and stakeholders would be necessary. Thiscan become a countermeasure not just for safeguarding ICH from disasters, but also
for safeguarding ICH that is disappearing for other reasons, such as globalization andurbanization, as well as depopulation and decreasing birth rates combined with anageing population, issues that are pronounced in Japan.
Furthermore, in addition to safeguarding ICH, this should also become a means ofprotecting the local communities. Recently, opinions are emerging that having ICH
makes communities more viable. ICH is receiving increased recognition not only fromthe perspective of supporting disaster recovery, but also from the point of view ofsocial welfare. What can be said for certain, as mentioned earlier, is that ICH canbecome a means of reviving sustainable development of local communities a�er being
damaged by disaster. Furthermore, ICH can also become a measure in coping withrisks threatening a local community’s sustainable development caused by otherreasons than disaster. Therefore, safeguarding ICH is to safeguard the community.

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