Progress ReportofGreat East Japan Earthquake
RecoveryPresent State of Affected Cultural Heritage

5 November, 2014

Japan ICOMOS National Committee

Progress ReportofGreat East Japan
Earthquake Recovery
Present State of Affected Cultural Heritage

Foreword
On March 11 2011, Japan was struck by a massive earthquake which scaled M9.0, leaving behind an unprecedented aftermath in the East Japan region. It has brought a serious impact on cultural heritage as well, and inorder to rescue and prevent them from further damage, national efforts along with Bunkacho (Agency for Cultural Affairs) had been made immediately after the disaster in terms of securing special budget and other special measures. As an expert organization on conservation and preservation of cultural heritage, Japan ICOMOS
National Committee have been deeply involved with these damage investigations and recovery projects. We
would like to express our sincere gratitude for the many suggestions, supports, and words of encouragementthat we have received from fellow ICOMOS members around the globe throughout this course.
The conditions of this disaster and ways of recovery have already been mentioned in the overall report distributed at the 17th ICOMOS General Assembly that took place in Paris, November that year. Over these past three
years we have seen remarkable progress in the recovery projects of cultural heritage, as well as those of thegeneral infrastructures such as roads and houses. However, considerable number of cultural heritage had been
lost by the disaster, and many recovery projects have been delayed due to certain circumstances.
Thus, we have taken this opportunity to prepare a progress report on the current situation of disaster recoveryof cultural heritage, and distribute it at the 18th ICOMOS General Assembly in Florence. We will be more thanwelcome to receive any comments and suggestions on this report.
Yukio Nishimura
President, Japan ICOMOS National Committee
November 5, 2014

Schematic Diagram of Cultural Properties
Tangible Cultural
Properties

Important Cultural
Properties

Paintings, Sculptures,
Buildings, Historical materials

National Treasure

Registered Tangible Cultural
Properties

Intangible Cultural
Properties

Important Intangible Cultural
Properties

Stage arts, music, applied art techniques
Important Tangible Folk
Cultural Properties

Folk Cultural
Properties

Cultural Properties

Clothing, implements, dwellings
Manners and customs, Folk performing arts
Folk techniques

Important Intangible Folk
Cultural Properties
Registered Tangible Folk
Cultural Properties

Historic Sites

Monuments

Places of Scenic Beauty

Ancient capital ruins, Gardens,
Bridges, Beaches, Fauna, FloraSpecial Places of
Scenic Beauty

Natural Monuments

Special Natural
Monuments

Designation

Registered Monuments

Selection
Registration

Special Historic Sites

Important CulturalLandscapes

Cultural Landscapes
Terraced rice fields, Rural landscapesGroups of Historic
Buildings

Preservation Districts forGroups of Historic Buildings

Post towns, Castle towns, Farming
and fishing villagesiImportant Preservation
Districts for Groups ofHistoric Buildings

DATE-TIME
at14:46 JST (05:46 UTC)
March, 11, 2011
EPICENTER
Off the coast of Sanriku
38.1 N, 142.9
Depth:
24 kilometer
MOMENT MAGNITUDE
9.0- (JMA, as of 2011-03-11)
Cf. The seismic energy was -10.000(10 4.05 ) times as big as 2009
L’Aquila (6.3- magnitude)

Aomori

Akita
Yamagata

Iwate

MiyagiEpicenter
Fukushima
Tochigi

Gunma

Ibaraki

Saitama

Tokyo
Chiba

(Ref. Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology)ii

CONTENTS
Foreword										Schematic Diagram of Cultural Properties						

ii1. Overview of the Nation-Wide Efforts for the Recovery of Cultural Properties

1

1.1 Initiatives by the Agency for Cultural Affairs
1.2 Recovering Efforts by Private Sectors
1.3 Forthcoming Challenges
1.4 National Financial Assistance for Disaster Recovery

2. Cases of Heritage Structures

1
2
3
4

5

2.1 Seismic Countermeasures
2.1.1 Kodokan: Seicho and Nobility Hall
2.1.2 Former Ibaraki Prefecture Ota Junior High School Assembly Hall
2.1.3 Chateau Kamiya Former Distillery Facilities
2.2 Wooden Buildings
2.2.1 17th Century Educational Facility of Yubikan
2.2.2 Ishinomaki Saint John the Apostle Orthodox Church
2.2.3 Kesennuma City’s Historic Buildings from Tsunami Damage
2.3 Masonry Structures
2.3.1 Fukushima City Museum of Photography
2.3.2 Sekinoichi Sake Brewery and Registered Traditional Buildings
2.3.3 Old Covered Cavalry Training Facility
2.3.4 Tokiwabashi Bridge
2.3.5 Ishii Lockage
2.3.6 Masonry Walls of Sendai Castle
2.4 Stone Monument
2.4.1 Stone Monument of Kodokan

3. Cases of Groups of Traditional Buildings Recovery
3.1 Sawara District in Katori City, Chiba Prefecture
3.2 Makabe District in Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki Prefecture
3.3 Development of a General Disaster Prevention System for Preservation Districts for Groupsof Traditional Buildings

4. Cases of Historic Garden’s Recovery

5
5
5
6
7
7
7
8
10
10
11
11
12
13
14
15
15

16
16
17
19

21

4.1 Special Historic Site Motsuji Garden
4.2 Special Historic Site and Special Natural Monument Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens

5. Artifacts and Historic Record Recovery

21
22

23

5.1 Present state of Rescue Measures for Movable Cultural Properties
5.2 Actions for Recovery and Protection of Privately-Owned Historic Documents Damaged by the
Earthquake by Miyagi Shiryō Net (Miyagi Historic Documents Conservation Network)
5.3 Stabilizing Treatments by Rikuzen Takata City Museum

Afterword

iii

23
23
25

Progress Report of Great East Japan Earthquake Recovery――

Progress Report of Great East Japan Earthquake
Recovery Editorial Working Group

Namiko Yamauchi: Chapter1 (1.4), Chapter2 (2.3.1,
2.3.2, 2.3.3, 2.3.4, 2.3.5, 2.3.6), Chapter4 (4.1)

Cooperated by

Toshikazu Hanazato
Yuga Kariya
Kazuyuki Yano

Designed byContributors

Chieko Igarashi

Toshikazu Hanazato: Chapter 2 ( 2.3.1, 2.3.2, 2.3.3)
Takeshi Ishizaki: Chapter2 (2.4.1)
Hiroshi Ino: Chapter2 (2.3.5)
Yuga Kariya: Chapter 3 (3, 3.2, 3.3), Chapter 6
Tetsuji Kudo: Chapter2 (2.3.6)
Masaru Kumagai: Chapter5 (5.3)
Takuya Miura: Chapter2 (2.2.3)
Masayuki Morii: Chapter5 (5.1)
Eisuke Nishikawa: Chapter2 (2.1, 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.3)
Tsukasa Oikawa: Chapter4 (4.1)
Daisuke Sato: Chapter5 (5.2)
Kumiko Shimotsuma: Chapter1 (1.1, 1.2, 1.3)
Kunie Sugio: Chapter4 (4.2)
Kennichi Takahashi: Chapter 3 (3.1)
Hironobu Tsumura: Chapter2 (2.2.2)
Kazuyuki Yano: Chapter1 (1.4), Chapter2 (2.2.1, 2.3.4,
2.3.5)

Edited bytee

Published by
c/o Japan Cultural Heritage Consultancy
Hitotsubashi 2-5-5-13F, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 1010003, JAPAN
Tel&Fax: +81 3 3261 5303
E-mail: jpicomos@japan-icomos.org
November 5, 2014

The Adachi Fujio Fund of the Japan ICOMOS Na-

Tables and Photos provided by
Hanazato, Hiraizumi Cultural Heritage Center, Hiroshi
Ino, Takeshi Ishizaki, Japanese Association for ConKazamachi Cityscape Preservation Association forCommunity Recovery, Miyagi Shiryō Net Secretariat,
Masayuki Morii, Sendai City Board of Education,
Kunie Sugio, Kennichi Takahashi, Hironobu Tsumura,Kazuyuki Yano, Hajime Yokouchi

Translated byMichiru Kanade: Chapter2 (2.1, 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.3,
2.2.2, 2.2.3), Chapter3 (3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3), Chapter 5 (5.2)
Tomona Mizumoto: Chapter1 (1.1, 1.2, 1.3), Chapter
5 (5.1, 5.3), Chapter6

iv

1. Overview of the Nation-Wide Efforts for the
Recovery of Cultural Properties

traditional events or performing arts, including performance for raising awareness of their damaged traditional culture, conduction of damage-status surveys onfolk cultural properties, repairs or authentic re-creationof damaged or missing tools, succession planning, ororganization of symposiums on disaster recovery. ACA
started to formulate the program before the Great East
Japan Earthquake was occurred, and launched it in May
2011, in order to promote tourism or local revitalization by developing culture with various and rich culturalproperties of the place. Consequently, this program contributes to building back local communities by a powerof culture.
In JFY-2012, ACA launched the “Affected Museum
Reconstruction Program” to provide disaster-affectedmuseums of arts or history with financial assistancemainly for (1) repairing damaged objects, (2) organizing
the repaired objects and compiling their information into
a database, (3) interim storage of the objects after emergency treatment, (4) organizing events for the revivalof the museum, and (5) organizing exhibitions with theobjects that belong to damaged museums. This program
has been conducted in prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima, and Ibaraki.

1.1 Initiatives by the Agency for Cultural Affairs (ACA)
Three and a half years have passed since the outrage of Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011.
With regard to the cultural properties protected under
the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, 744
were affected by the disaster (Table 1.1 ).
Within the budget framework of the Special Account for Reconstruction from the Great East Japan
Earthquake, ACA has conducted government subsidy
programs to restore the damaged Important Cultural
Properties, Important Tangible Folk Cultural Properties,
Historic Sites, Places of Scenic Beauty and Groups of Traditional Buildings. As of the end of Japanese Fiscal Year(hereinafter called JFY) 2013*1, 81 restoration projects
had been completed, and 11 are still in progress. The
entire program is expected to be accomplished in JFY2020 (Table 1.2).
With regard to the regular budget programs of ACA,a subsidy program entitled “Program for Local Revitalization by Culture” has helped groups of local residents inaffected areas take necessary actions to continue their*1 Japan’s fiscal year runs from April 1 till March 31 in the following year

Table 1.1 Numbers of national designated cultural properties damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake㻲㼕㼚㼑㻌㼍㼞㼠㼟㻌㼍㼚㼐㼍㼜㼜㼘㼕㼑㼐㻌㼏㼞㼍㼒㼠㼟㻲㼛㼘㼗㻯㼡㼘㼠㼡㼞㼍㼘
㻼㼞㼛㼜㼑㼞㼠㼕㼑㼟㻹㼛㼚㼡㼙㼑㼚㼠㼟※Total㻺㼡㼙㼎㼑㼞㻌㼛㼒㻯㼡㼘㼠㼡㼞㼍㼘
㻼㼞㼛㼜㼑㼞㼠㼕㼑㼟㻭㼛㼙㼛㼞㼕
㻵㼣㼍㼠㼑㻹㼕㼥㼍㼓㼕
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㻲㼡㼗㼡㼟㼔㼕㼙㼍㻵㼎㼍㼞㼍㼗㼕
㼀㼛㼏㼔㼕㼓㼕
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㼅㼍㼙㼍㼚㼍㼟㼔㼕㻺㼍㼓㼍㼚㼛
㻿㼔㼕㼦㼡㼛㼗㼍
㻹㼕㼑㻷㼛㼏㼔㼕㼀㼍㼚㼓㼕㼎㼘㼑
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㻿㼜㼑㼏㼕㼍㼘
㻺㼍㼠㼡㼞㼍㼘
㻹㼛㼚㼡㼙㼑㼚㼠㼟㻼㼘㼍㼏㼑㼟㻌㼛㼒㻿㼏㼑㼚㼕㼏
㻮㼑㼍㼡㼠㼥
㻿㼜㼑㼏㼕㼍㼘
㻼㼘㼍㼏㼑㼟㻌㼛㼒㻿㼏㼑㼚㼕㼏
㻮㼑㼍㼡㼠㼥

㻴㼕㼟㼠㼛㼞㼕㼏㻌㻿㼕㼠㼑㼟㻿㼜㼑㼏㼕㼍㼘
㻴㼕㼟㼠㼛㼞㼕㼏㻌㻿㼕㼠㼑㼟㻵㼙㼜㼛㼞㼠㼍㼚㼠㻵㼚㼠㼍㼚㼓㼕㼎㼘㼑㻯㼡㼘㼠㼡㼞㼍㼘
㻼㼞㼛㼜㼑㼞㼠㼕㼑㼟㻵㼙㼜㼛㼞㼠㼍㼚㼠㼀㼍㼚㼓㼕㼎㼘㼑
㻯㼡㼘㼠㼡㼞㼍㼘
㻼㼞㼛㼜㼑㼞㼠㼕㼑㼟㻵㼙㼜㼛㼞㼠㼍㼚㼠㻯㼡㼘㼠㼡㼞㼍㼘
㻼㼞㼛㼜㼑㼞㼠㼕㼑㼟㻺㼍㼠㼕㼛㼚㼍㼘
㼀㼞㼑㼍㼟㼡㼞㼑㼟㻺㼍㼠㼕㼛㼚㼍㼘
㼀㼞㼑㼍㼟㼡㼞㼑㼟㻵㼙㼜㼛㼞㼠㼍㼚㼠㻯㼡㼘㼠㼡㼞㼍㼘
㻼㼞㼛㼜㼑㼞㼠㼕㼑㼟㻼㼞㼑㼒㼑㼏㼠㼡㼞㼑㼟㻿㼠㼞㼡㼏㼠㼡㼞㼑㼟

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※Properties with multiple designations (such as Historic Sites / Places of Scenic Beauty and Important Cultural Properties / Historic sites) are each counted as one under the "Number of㻯㼡㼘㼠㼡㼞㼍㼘㻌㻼㼞㼛㼜㼑㼞㼠㼕㼑㼟㻎㻚

1

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1.2 Recovering Efforts in cooperation
among Private and Public Sectors

For the many damaged cultural properties whichcannot receive the financial support by the national government, ACA cooperated in the fund-raising campaigns
driven by the Foundation for Cultural Heritage and Art
Research and the Japan National Trust.
The Foundation for Cultural Heritage and Art Research (FCHAR) has cooperated individually with the
Agency for Cultural Affairs, Samsung Japan Corporation, World Monuments Fund and a famous writer
Natsuhiko Kyogoku in order to make appeals for raisingmoney. FCHAR supported the reconstruction of Izura
Rokkakudo owned by Ibaraki University in JFY-2011, andlaunched the “Save Our Culture” campaign in JFY-2012.
The purposes of the FCHAR’s fundraising activities areto support property owners conduct recovery projectsof (1) registered cultural properties protected under

Immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake,
ACA launched the “Cultural Property Rescue Program”
for movable properties and the “Cultural Properties Doctor Dispatch Project” for built properties in cooperation
with related organizations, in order to urgently protect
the affected cultural properties from being demolished,abandoned, scattered or stolen. A total of 6811 persons
participated in the Cultural Property Rescue Program(completed in JFY-2012), and contributed to activities forrescue, first-aid treatments and interim storage of movable cultural properties at 90 in 4 prefectures. Under the
Cultural Properties Doctor Dispatch Project (completed
in JFY-2013), damage surveys of over 4000 buildings
were conducted in the disaster-affected regions.

Table 1.2 Numbers of recovery projects implemented with the aid of Special Account for Reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake
Historic Structures

Arts and Crafts

National Treasure /Important Cultural
Properties

National Treasure /Important Cultural
Properties

Folk Cultural Properties

Monuments

Registered
Cultural
Properties

Important Tangible Folk
Cultural Properties

DisasterPrevention
Environmental
Conservation
Conservation
Conservation
Facilities
Preservation
Preservationand Utilization

Conservation

Transmission
andUtilization

Fiscal Year

SpecialPlaces of
ScenicBeauty /Places of
ScenicBeautySpecialHistoric
Sites /
Historic
Sites

NaturalMonuments

ImportantPreservation
Districts forGroups ofHistoric
Buildings

Ｔｏｔａｌ※

Cumulative
total percategory

Number of
Projects

Conservation

Completed in 2011

0

0

2

0

0

0

0

3

1

0

0

6

5

Completed in 2012

5

1

15

0

2

2

0

8

3

3

4

43

42

Completed in 2013

2

1

5

1

0

0

1

12

1

1

1

25

24

Prospective completionin 2014

0

0

2

0

0

0

0

5

1

0

1

9

9

Prospective completion
after 2015

0

0

3

0

0

0

0

5

3

1

1

13

12

Cumulative total
per category

7
2
27
1
2
2
1
33
9
5
7
96
92
Number of
30
9
3
43
7
Projects※Properties with multiple designations of Special Historic Sites /Historic Sites and Special Places of Scenic Beauty / Places of Scenic Beauty are each counted as one project in the "number of projects".

Total※

Table 1.3 Amount of donation and the implementation status of the projects concerning salvage and recovery of the cultural properties
damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake
As of May 15, 2014
As of May 15, 2014

Conditions of Subsidy Programs

Ｄｉｖｉｓｉｏｎ
Fiscal
Year

2011
2012
2013
2014
Total

Conditions ofDonations(Contributions)

Assistance on
Rescue Measures ofCultural Properties

Assistance on Conservation of Cultural Properties
Fine arts
Intangible
and applied Structures Monuments Cultural
craftsProperties

Fine arts
and applied Structures（Doctors）
crafts（Rescue）

Total

Total

Total

544

1

1

1

1

2

274,999

1,000

1,000

40,00040,00041,000

168

11

42

2

21

76

1

1

2

78

51,1597,425

62,094

1,598

15,31586,43220,0006,000

26,000112,432

109

7

32

17

56

1

1

2

58

28,4533,000

52,20017,93873,138

5,000

4,000

9,000

82,138

6

2

21

2

2

27

27

15,0271,200

20,300

1,100

1,300

23,90023,900

827

20

96

4

40

160

3

369,638

11,625

135,594

2,698

34,553

184,470

65,0002

5165

10,00075,000259,470
Upper row: number of projects
Lower row: amount of money (thousand yen)
Source：Foundation for Cultural Heritage and Art Research publication"Shishuu-no-michi 2014 Summer No.75" June 6, 20142

the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, (2)cultural properties protected under the Prefectural andMunicipal Ordinance, and (3) cultural properties that are
not registered but recognized for their values relevantto those mentioned above in (1) and (2). A total amountof donations are 370 million yen as of May 2014, andadopted 76 projects in JFY-2012, 56 in JFY-2013, and 27
in JFY-2014 (Table 1.3). This campaign is planned to last
until JFY-2016.
The Japan National Trust has undertaken “Great
East Japan Earthquake Recovery Project for Natural andCultural Heritage ―SEEDS OF FURUSATO―”in May 2011.
A total of 66 million yen has been donated as of May
2014, and 41 support projects have been carried out inthree different phases: 14 in Phase1, 15 in Phase2, and
12 in Phase3.

While a steady progress has been made in the recovery of cultural properties over the past three and ahalf years since the earthquake disaster, there still arecases where the recovery measures cannot be commenced and others yet under the treatment. To ensure acontinuous, long-term support for the disaster-affected
cultural properties, ACA along with the Miyagi Prefecture Board of Education and the “Kesennuma Kazamachi
Cityscape Preservation Association for Community Recovery” organized a relay event entitled “Cultural Heritage, Town, People, and Recovery” consisting of three
symposiums that took place in Miyagi Prefecture andTokyo in JFY-2013, where the current state of culturalproperties recovery was widely communicated and at
the same time the cooperation and support in the medium- to long-term perspectives have been encouraged.
Alongside with the task of continuous support forrecovery, efforts are currently being made to create a
network of experts and related organizations so that theexperiences through the Great East Japan Earthquake
can be used effectively in future disasters. In the Cultural
Property Department of ACA, the “Disaster Countermeasures Committee for Cultural Properties” has been
established to correspond immediately on the occasionof a large-scale catastrophe. As a practical partner of
the Committee, the “Taskforce for Promotion of Disaster
Prevention Network for Cultural Properties” was established in the National Research Institutes for Cultural

Figure 1.1 Restaurant Wordsworth after recovery

Figure 1.3 The liquor shop Kadoboshi before the disasterFigure 1.2 Restaurant Wordsworth after the disasterFigure 1.4 Relocation of the liquor shop Kadoboshi

1.3 Future Challenges

3Properties in July 2014. This taskforce is expected topromote relevant project activities, including data collection, research and capacity building, to develop andstrengthen a network for disaster risk reduction of cultural properties.

1.4 National Financial Assistance forDisaster Recovery
The Japanese national government provides financial assistance for the restoration and repair of nationally designated or registered cultural properties affectedby Great East Japan Earthquake through the Agency
for Cultural Affairs, under the disaster recovery budget
category. While the usual rate of subsidy is 50% of restoration costs, an additional 20% subsidy is available fordisaster recovery projects. Furthermore, depending on
the financial situation of the owners of the restoration
project, additional assistance can be requested from thenational budget up to 85% of the total cost. Restoration
projects for nationally owned cultural properties wereconducted directly by the government and some havebeen completed already. The emergency excavations
that are necessary for the protection of buried culturalproperties prior to reconstruction are supported by theGreat East Japan Earthquake Recovery Fund.
Cultural properties that are designated at the regional level can receive assistance from the relevant
regional government. They can avail of additional assistance from the special disaster recovery subsidy thatis allocated to regional governments from the national
budget.
Apart from the above, culturally valuable harboror river-related properties managed by the Ministry ofLand, Infrastructure and Transportation (MLIT) were
restored by MLIT.
For those projects considered to be important andcomplicated, advisory committees are formed to makeconservation decisions on matters such as material authenticity. Reports are planned to be published.

Table 1.4 Conditions of government subsidy projects on culturalproperties
As of November 4, 2014
Fiscal Year
Number of subsidygranted projects
Amount of granted
subsidy（thousand yen）

2011

2012

2013

2014

53

40

27

16

3,179,175

1,646,685 1,696,479 2,096,786

4

2. Cases of Heritage Structures
2.1 Seismic Countermeasures
In the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11,
2011, numerous cultural property structures were damaged over a wide region. The Agency for Cultural Affairs
has made efforts for recovery, by assessing the extent
of damage starting immediately after the earthquake
and has provided national funding for disaster recovery
projects. After three and a half years since the disaster,nearly all recovery restoration projects have been completed, excluding those with exceptionally severe damage. Because it became apparent that cultural properties which had been structurally reinforced prior to theearthquake experienced only slight damage, at the sametime as they underwent restoration, structures were
reinforced for seismic protection.
As an interim report of the recovery process, threecases of architectural restoration of Important Cultural
Properties in Ibaraki Prefecture will be given.

Figure 2.1 Kodokan Seicho and Nobility Hall, exterior

Figure 2.2 Braces were introduced for reinforcement into theextant floor structure of buildings in the left photo2.1.1 Kodokan: Seicho and Nobility Hall

2.1.2 Former Ibaraki Prefecture Ota Junior High School Assembly Hall

Kodokan is a clan school constructed in the Edo
Period of which three structures - main gate, Seicho,
and Nobility Hall - are nationally designated Important
Cultural Properties. The property on which they stand isdesignated as a National Historic Site.
The Great East Japan Earthquake damaged theSeicho and Nobility Hall, with earthen walls falling onsuch areas as the portico. Results of structural analysis
showed that reinforcement was necessary. These structures were seismically reinforced by introducing wooden
braces in the floor structure; steel braces were installedin the roof structure, unifying the two buildings. This
form of reinforcement employed reversible methods
and was placed in areas hidden from view, so that thecharacteristic architectural designs of these structures
would not be disturbed. Countermeasures were carefully
taken with due regard to the value of these buildings ascultural properties.

This assembly hall is a school building constructedin the late Meiji Era. The Great East Japan Earthquake
caused many cracks in the wood lath and plaster walland structural analysis revealed the necessity for seismic
reinforcement. At first, it was planned to temporary dismantle the walls for installation of reinforcement within.
However, because this restoration was undertaken as adisaster recovery project, in order to keep the extent ofconstruction work to a minimum, an alternative method
had to be devised. Therefore, it was decided to place exposed steel columns inside the hall in the four corners, tobe connected by steel-frame lattice beams hidden in theroof and floor structures. To keep the dimensions of thereinforcement columns small, comparably thin squarepipes made of thick high-strength steel were employed.
They were painted dark brown so as not to obstruct thehistoric interior. Though this method taken, with limits in5the area to be dismantled, resulted in visible reinforcement members, it was planned with care to keep influences on the interior design minimum.

less steel rods were inserted into holes made in the
top ends of walls, while mortar was removed from selected joints to be filled with aramid fiber of high tensile
strength. For reinforcement of the entire structure, steel
frame reinforcement was installed on the inside andoutside, carefully choosing where they would be placed- within the non-designated area of the storehouse andbehind the fermentation room - so that they would not
be obtrusive to the view. These reinforcement members
were designed with simple lines and in places equippedwith interior lighting fixtures, in an effort to blend theminto the historic environment.

Figure 2.3 Former Ibaraki Prefecture Ota Junior High School Assembly Hall, exterior view

Figure 2.4 Interior steel frame reinforcement of the Assembly
Hall: Steel columns of 200-millimeter square were installed in thefour corners
Figure 2.5 Chateau Kamiya Former Distillery Facilities, exterior

2.1.3 Chateau Kamiya Former Distillery
Facilities
Within the premises of the wine distillery built in
mid-Meiji era, the three structures of the office, fermentation room, and storehouse are nationally designated
Important Cultural Properties. They are all brick buildings vulnerable to earthquakes, and at the time of theGreat East Japan Earthquake, numerous cracks appearedon their walls. Particularly, the gable end of the washingroom attached to the fermentation room was severely
damaged to the extent of near collapse.
For seismically reinforcing these structures, stain-

Figure 2.6 Mortar joints of the brickwork were removed to insert
aramid fiber for reinforcement62.2 Wooden Buildings
2.2.1 17th Century Educational Facilityof Yubikan
The Yubikan main building was undergoing refurbishment for wear and tear when the earthquake hit
and caused it to collapse. We believe that the building
would not have collapsed completely if the earthquake
had happened after the restoration work was finished.
Continuance of the work and further repair was delayedsince the area had to be tested for radiation released
from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Risingmaterial costs also affected the work schedule.
The remaining elements were dismantled entirely
and we inspected them individually for the damage.
After the inspection, we found light damage to the roof
supports and floor joints but severe damage to thestructural elements. In particular, horizontal elements
such as threshold, head jamb, connection of verticalposts and horizontal beams were all seriously damaged.
As for restoration we decided not to make changes tothe original plan and bring them back to the condition of
Meiji period. We will try to keep all usable original elements and replace only those that are not usable. Specifications followed traditional construction techniquesand materials throughout the restoration work. The only
exception is that on the east and south elevation, wherewall elements were small and weak in structure, seismic
reinforcements that would not affect the total designand value of the building were added.
Reassembly of the main building parts, plastering,and re-installment of the doors and screens will follow.
The work is scheduled to be completed in 2015. After
partial dismantling, restoration of the annex buildingthat did not collapse is almost complete.

Figure 2.8 Construction of the roof structure

Figure 2.9 Roof thatching

2.2.2 Ishinomaki Saint John the Apostle
Orthodox Church
Former Ishinomaki Orthodox Church (Church ofSaint Ioan the Apostle, located in Nakase, Ishinomaki
City, Miyagi Prefecture) is a wood-frame two-storied
church structure believed to have been built in 1880
(Meiji 13). Heavily damaged by the Miyagi Earthquakethat occurred about one-hundred years later on June
12, 1978, this structure ended its life as a church. At thattime, the structure was relocated from Sengoku-cho,
its original location, to Nakase (a sandbank in Kitakamikawa River) to house a museum and was designated as
an Ishinomaki City Cultural Property. Though the building was again severely hit by the tsunami of the Great
East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, it luckily
escaped total destruction and being washed away. With
seawater having rushed through the building, almost
all fittings were broken and most of the interior and ex-

Figure 2.7 Dismantlement of the roof7

in the parking lot of Ishinomaki City Archeological Cultural Property Survey and Storage Facility. Where thechurch structure will be reconstructed for restoration
has not yet been decided.

terior finishes had fallen off, revealing the substrate. It
was almost a miracle that the only major damage to theframework was breakage of a continuous column on thenorth façade.
In 2014, damage surveys of structural members
were made while dismantling the building by hand.
Structural members that could be reused in the relocated and reconstructed structure also had to be selected
through this process. Mainly, detailed measurementsof structural members were taken; the members fromthe first relocation in 1979-1980 were identified; andsurveys of traces on major members from the first relocation, to determine the building’s original composition,
were made. It was found that there were a few building members - columns and beams - from the original
construction with a numbering system inked in Chinesecharacters. All members excluding those of the walls
were renumbered to mark their locations for relocation,and the disassembled building was removed from thesite, for storage in a prefabricated storehouse standing

Figure 2.12 Disassembled building members in safe storage

2.2.3 Kesennuma City’s Historic Buildings from Tsunami Damage
In the city center of Kesennuma, there is a wide
variety of Japanese Modern architecture from the earlyShowa era (latter half of the 1920s to 1930s) of which
many have been nationally registered as Historic Buildings. The past Great East Japan Earthquake brought
severe damage to these structures. For example, with
Kadoboshi Store, its lower story was completely washedaway while the upper level was discovered outside thestore’s premises. Due to the extent of damage and thefact that the site on which it stood was scheduled forinfrastructure development for disaster recovery, at one
time, demolition seemed inevitable. However, one year
after the earthquake, “Kesennuma Kazamachi CityscapePreservation Association for Community Recovery” wasestablished and while they made continuous efforts
through support from the Agency for Cultural Affairs,
additional provisions from Save Our Culture project
was made available. This enabled emergency treatmentof the historic structure, as well as pulling of the store
building back to its original place. (Furthermore, funding from the Freeman Foundation was made possible
through World Monuments Fund.) In the days ahead,
they will seek for further support, while making plans
for reconstruction after the completion of infrastructure

Figure 2.10 Former Ishinomaki Orthodox Church after having
braved the tsunami waters

Figure 2.11 The structure was carefully dismantled for relocation

8

development. Methods for adaptive use of the structurethat would contribute to the recovery of the Kesennuma
area will also be considered.
Though the thatched-roof Ogata Family Residence inthe village of Kogoshio in Kesennuma City was destructed and washed away by the tsunami, building members
were retrieved through the efforts of many who participated in activities headed by Professor Osamu Goto of
Kogakuin University. With the cooperation of a building
contractor in Yamanashi Prefecture, individual building
members are presently being repaired and restored. Thisbuilding will also be made available for public adaptiveuse, after being reconstructed in Kogoshio following
infrastructure development. (Restoration work on disassembled building members in storage is supported byWorld Monuments Fund.)Figure 2.13 Kadoboshi Store, immediately after the earthquake

Figure 2.16 Ogata Residence, before the earthquake

Figure 2.14 Kadoboshi Store was pulled back to its original location, employing a traditional relocation method

Figure 2.17 Ogata Residence, immediately after the earthquake

Figure 2.15 Otokoyama Headquarters, immediately after theearthquake

Figure 2.18 Reassembling of the Ogata Residence

9

2.3

Masonry Structures

2.3.1 Fukushima City Museum of Photography
Fukushima City Museum of Photography is a twostory stone building, constructed in 1922. It is now acity-designated cultural property. The stone used forthe building is called Kunimi Ishi, a type of volcanic tuff.
A cementitious material was used for joints of 5 mmin thickness. The typical dimension of a stone block is
about 50 cm to 55 cm x 85 cm x 35 cm. It is not certain
whether some kind of connector was used for the joinery, but at least metal is not used. The framework of thetruss is made of wood reinforced with steel for verticalload. Foundation is of reinforced concrete. Major damage found after the earthquake includes inclination andcracks in the decorative pediment above the entrance(Figure 2.19) and cracks and movement of the stone of
the southeast corner (Figure 2.20). There were cracks
at the corners of openings. Some plastering of interior
walls fell as well. For safety reasons, the museum has
been closed since the disaster occurred. In April of 2011,
an investigation was conducted by the Architectural Institute of Japan. In November of the same year, Cultural
Properties Doctor Dispatch Project also examined thebuilding. From Dr. Mitsuji and his colleagues who monitored the microtremor of the building, we now know
the natural frequency of the building is 3.5Hz in shorter
direction and 4.8Hz in longer direction. The characteristic of this earthquake was that the short-period element
was predominant even though the scale of the earthquake was very strong. Masonry buildings with shortnatural frequency like the Fukushima City Museum areparticularly affected.
As a remedial measure, temporary scaffoldings
were erected to prevent further fall of the pediment(Figure 2.21). In September 2014, Fukushima city decided
to restore the building to use as a regional cultural asset.
A new plan will be made for the building’s revival as asymbol for earthquake recovery, including seismic countermeasures.

Figure 2.19 Damage on the decorative pediment
above the entrance

Figure 2.20 Damage on the stone of the southeastern corner

Figure 2.21 Temporary scaffoldings were erected to prevent further fall of the pediment10

2.3.2 Sekinoichi Sake Brewery andRegistered Traditional Buildings
Sekinoichi Shuzo, a traditional sake brewery in Ichinoseki City, in Iwate Prefecture, owns seven nationallyregistered cultural properties. Built in early 20th century, these buildings were all designed as sake storehouses
by Yusuke Obara who studied under Kingo Tatsuno. Now
some of them are used as a beer factory, and others
are used as a restaurant and a museum. Two buildings
are of masonry structure using local stone called Nobiru
stone from Shiogama region in Miyagi Prefecture, while
the rest are wooden structures.
The biggest damage was sustained by the two masonry buildings and one large scale kura-style storehousecalled tori-kura. As seen in Figure 2.22 the upper partof the gable side wall collapsed outward. As a remedial
measure, wooden boards have been placed as seen in
Figure 2.23. As of September 2014, one stone building
is still closed to the public for safety reasons. The otherstone building, which suffered a large crack on the unreinforced wall on the gable side, was restored and people
began using after the crack was grouted and filled in
remedial repair soon after the earthquake. The mud wallof the tori-kura (Figure 2.24) inclined 1/30 in the direction of the shorter beam. 17 wire ropes are now used toprevent further distortion. These restoration measuresfor progressive reinforcement were mostly finished by
October 2012, but the plan for the stone building is stillin progress. Restoration works for these buildings aresupported by both the national and regional government. Additional support was also received from theWorld Monuments Fund in 2012.

Figure 2.23 Wooden boards were placed as an emergency measure for the collapsed wall

Figure 2.24 The tori-kura is open to the public after its restoration

2.3.3 Old Covered Cavalry Training Facility
This facility was built in 1909 for indoor training of
the Japanese army’s mounted soldiers. Of the six onestory brick buildings that were constructed originally,
two remain standing. While these two buildings have nodesignation status, citizens have requested preservationof the buildings in light of their previous use as a residence for evacuated people (from Korea and China, etc.)
and as a confectionary factory after the War. The buildings are now owned by the Morioka City government.
Each building is 24 m wide and 49 m deep (Figure 2.25).
The original steel roof truss structure still remains. Brickwalls with no reinforcement are of 45 cm thick and 400
cm high and have buttresses.
The Great East Japan Earthquake hit these buildings
while their renovation construction was underway, causing distortion of the north wall and particularly severe
damage, including cracks and distortion, in the waiting
room at the north entrance (Figure 2.26).

Figure 2.22 The collapse of the stone wall causedby the earthquake11

A structural investigation was conducted in June
2011. By comparing the current conditions with records
from a survey conducted in 2006 prior to the renovation
construction, the investigation found the inclination of
the walls and uneven settlement of the foundation to berelatively insubstantial. The roof trusses were all safe.
Renovation construction was for a while interrupted by
the earthquake but resumed afterward.
The remaining buildings of the covered cavalry are
now open to the public as a civic arena called “Morioka
Fureai Ooi Baba Plaza” (Morioka Friendly Covered Calvary Training Plaza) which can host multi-functional activities including indoor tennis matches. Before resumptionof the renovation, the plan for damage repair and seismic reinforcement was revised to allow accommodationof large, indefinite number of people. The newly added
structural reinforcements include foundation reinforcement with H-steel horizontal beams with reinforced
concrete. Furthermore, H-steel pillars are bolted withinorganic material anchors to the brick pillars and their
tops are tied together with horizontal H-steel beams(Figure 2.27). The brick wall’s structural calculation was
not performed for this structural reinforcement plan.

Figure 2.27 Structural reinforcement with thesteel frames

2.3.4 Tokiwabashi Bridge
Tokiwabashi is a twin stone arch bridge that spans
the Nihonbashi River in central Tokyo. Built in 1877,
Tokiwabashi is now designated as a National Historic
Monument. The bridge is 28.8 m in length and 12.6 m
in width. During the Great East Japan Earthquake, thebridge sustained structural damage including rotationof arches, several cracks and displacements in the archstones, bulging of spandrels, and depression of a part ofthe bridge floor.
After inspection of the damage, it was decided thatmajor repair incorporating the dismantlement of stoneelements was required to restore structural stability. The
project involves installation of falsework for safety andthe implementation of research including laser scan andboring survey for documentation prior to restorationwork.
As the bridge is located in the middle of the busy
metropolis, these surveys and restoration work had tobe carefully undertaken while maintaining steady waterlevels and flows in the cross-sectional river area. Meticulous calculation is required so that the falsework would
cause minimum disturbance. The construction was carried without interrupting the regular operation of small
vessels.
The stone-built Tokiwabashi replaced an older
wooden bridge to accommodate increasing traffic in theearly Meiji period, when Japan as a whole experienced
sudden influx of new western culture. The bridge wasconstructed using a mix of traditional Japanese stone

Figure 2.25 The cavalry building after its restoration

Figure 2.26 Damage to the brick counterfort and its emergency
treatment

12

bridge building techniques and newly acquired western
technology, which is evident in the bridge design itself.
As the oldest standing stone bridge*1 in Tokyo, having
survived two intense earthquakes (the bridge bears traces of restoration work on damage caused by the Great
Kanto Earthquake of 1923), Tokiwabashi is an important
historical monument.
The dismantlement phase began in 2013. Now thedismantling of the railing, the bridge floor and the stones
right above the arch stones has been completed. The
restoration phase will begin over the next year. During
this phase, the falsework will be taken down after thearch stones are completely dismantled. The condition of
the foundation stones will be inspected and a decision
will be made on the final foundation refurbishment. It isbelieved that pine pile woods were used for foundation.
The plan is to use the same piles if the condition allows,
and to use concrete piles if the deterioration is too
severe. We plan to limit replacement rate of the stoneelement to less than 30% but that will depend upon thecondition of the individual stones.
Reassembly work is planned to begin in 2015 andend in 2017.

Figure 2.30 Bulging of the arch stones

2.3.5 Ishii Lockage
Ishii lockage links the North Kitakami Canal and the
Kitakami River which runs from northeastern Japan into
the Pacific. Completed in 1880, it is the first western
style lockage and the oldest remaining example of operating lockage in Japan. The lockage was designed bya Dutch technical expert and built as part of the Nobiru
Harbor development that took place in early Meiji period.
The ground shaking and tsunami of the Great East
Japan Earthquake destroyed its opening and closing
apparatus, and caused displacement and uneven settlement of some stone and brick elements. Luckily, because
the first shockwave came from the canal side, the mitergate was forced to open, which saved the fundamental
function of the lockage. Post-disaster investigations included 3D laser scanning, structural survey of masonry,
strength tests of bricks, ground radar investigation,
strength test of existing concrete, soil tests, test for apparatus degradation, and documentation survey. After
this series of tests, the functional stability for operation
was confirmed.
The investigation revealed that the brick-laying
method used in the original construction of the lockage
was an unusual one that is very rare in Japan.
The restoration work included repair of bricks andcapping stones and re-laying of stone steps, which wascompleted in March 2014. The Ishinomaki area, where
Ishii Lockage is located, suffered ground settlement of
about 60 cm. The banks were of insufficient height even
before the earthquake. As it is unrealistic to raise andadjust the lockage to this level, there is a plan to build a
new water management system in front of Ishii Lockage.

*1 not counting small-scale stone bridges in Japanese gardens

Figure 2.28 Construction of the temporary timbering

Figure 2.29 Dismantling of the bridge

13Vizcaino wrote in his travel report, the “Gold and Silver
Island Report”, that “the castle is the best and most invincible one because it soars in the rocky hill surroundedby deep rivers. It is protected by cliffs over 100 ‘estades’(195 m) and has only one entrance.” The original buildings of the castle are all lost; the remains include masonry walls, an earthen mound and the remnants of moat.
Damage from the earthquake included displacements and/or rotation of masonry stone walls and thegates of Nakamon, Shimizumon and Nishimon as well as
the northeastern wall of principal compound. Restoration work supported by national subsidy began in 2011
and is planned to be completed in 2015.
When the stones were dismantled as part of thecurrent restoration process, it was discovered that concrete had been cast behind the stones during the restoration undertaken in 1978. For the current restoration,
the decision was made to follow traditional construction
methods and remove all concrete mass except for thefoundation. Instead of concrete mass, small filling stonesof various sizes were used. The earthen wall north of
Otemon or the main gate was found to be constructedwith layers of roof tiles and clay mixed with chopped up
straw. These roof tiles and clay were collected after thecollapse and reused during the reconstruction of theearthen wall. While modern material had been used
for the surface of the wall in the previous restoration,
traditional plastering material was used in the current
restoration.
The masonry wall of the western gate has suffereddamage by multiple earthquakes in the past, not only the
one in 1978. Since no survey data or photographs frombefore the fall are available, the style and angle of existing stones used in the foundation area was followed.
The northwestern wall of the principal compound

Figure 2.31 Dismantling and custody of the stone blocks

Figure 2.32 Brick restoration

Figure 2.33 Repairs on bricks and stone blocks

2.3.6 Masonry Walls of Sendai Castle
The remains of the old Sendai Castle Ruins weredamaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake on March
11, 2011. Built by Masamune Date in 1601, Sendai Castle
was remarkable in its use of surrounding natural features. The principal compound was located at the top ofa hill at 112 m above sea level, whereas the secondary
and tertiary compounds were situated at the foot of thehill. Upon his visit in 1611, Spanish explorer Sebastian

Figure 2.34 The northeastern wall of principal compound, immediately after the earthquake (taken on 2011/3/11)

14

is 200 m in length, 5 m in height. Apart from collapse
in three locations, the entire wall is distorted. Restoration is carried out based on survey maps, photographs
and position measurements made before the collapse.
So far most of the fallen stones are back in place. Stone
elements that had been broken or shortened during theprevious restoration have been replaced by new ones.

monument was damaged by the bombardment at theend of World War II. The restoration was carried out tostrengthen the stone monument by installing concrete
plate behind it. The research results revealed that the installation of concrete plate behind the stone monument
at the previous restoration had a bad effect during thevibration due to the earthquake. The following procedures were decided by the committee of experts for the
restoration. The stone monuments and concrete plate
was moved to the restoration facility and the concrete
plate was removed. The stone monument was strengthened by using stainless steel rod, aramid fiber and epoxy
resin. The broken surface stone with inscriptions werereturned to the original position and strengthened withinorganic adhesive. The concrete cover of stone baseapplied at the previous restoration was removed andstrengthened by using epoxy resin. In order to make thestone monument anti-earthquake structure, barycenterof the monument should be lowered and it is necessary
to increase the moment to resist against the moment
induced by the earthquake force. Based on the results ofstructural analysis, the stone monument and base stone
was firmly glued. The restoration program was completed in fall of 2013 (Figure 2.38).

Figure 2.35 Stones were dismantled from the wall (taken on
March 15, 2013)

Figure 2.36 The northeastern wall of principal compound, after
its restoration (taken on April 3, 2014)

2.4

Stone Monument

Figure 2.37 Damaged Kodokan stone monument due tothe earthquake

2.4.1 Stone Monument of Kodokan
The Kodokan opened in August 1841. The Kodokanstone monument is made of marble called Kansuiseki.
The spirit of Kodokan is curved on the surface of thestone monument. The Great East Japan Earthquake of
9.0 magnitude occurred in March 11, 2011. The stonemonument collapsed due to the ground movement of
the earthquake (Figure 2.37). After this, The Agency of
Cultural Affairs organized a committee of experts forthe restoration project. First, the investigation was carried out to identify the cause of the damage. The wood
shelter of this stone monument burned and the stone

Figure 2.38 Kodokan stone monument after the restoration work15

3. Cases of Groups of Traditional Buildings Recovery

the buildings in the district were damaged, more or less,when the area experienced strong horizontal oscillation of 5 higher on the Japanese seismic intensity scale.
(As a result of an “emergency safety check process fordisaster-stricken structures,” 116 structures were judged
to be dangerous and 246 requiring caution.) Immediately
after the earthquake, owing to support from the municipality as well as private organizations and specialists,
confirmation of the extent of damage and emergency
procedures were made possible, and great confusion
was avoided. However, this disaster brought a shock to
the residents and the municipality whose preservation
efforts had been carried out since 1994, and resulted ina temporary recession of their preservation actions relying on local cultural and environmental resources.
Damage to historic buildings was mostly seen as
roof tiles slipping off or roof ridges falling, while damage to structural members was limited to only a few
buildings. This can be considered to be the result of architectural restoration that had been carefully plannedand executed since 1994. On the other hand, extreme
damage was seen in structures that had been neglected
regular maintenance for decades. Because many ofthese structures composed historically significant elements of Sawara’s streetscape, their restoration became
the district’s next challenge. Particularly, restoration ofseverely damaged Chiba Prefecture-designated properties – 13 structures of 8 families – that comprise thecores of district preservation became a major issue.
At first, it seemed that smooth progress could be
expected regarding architectural restoration and recovery projects to be worked on under on the national
historic district preservation system. However, owing
to the lack of craftsmen and increase in prices of building supplies, repair work was delayed. After one year,
the confusion ended and repairs were begun and theplanned restoration work was nearly completed within
three years after the earthquake. Regarding prefecturedesignated cultural properties, the ratio of funding forconstruction costs from Chiba Prefecture was raised
from 50% to 75%, and city funding from 17% to 20 %, so
as to lessen the property owner’s burdens, enabling theexecution of restoration projects.
The Ono River and Sawara Cityscape Preservation
Association, a local NPO, established a “support commission” immediately after the earthquake and began
to provide support and talk to property owners not
to demolish their historic structures damaged by theearthquake. While donations were being gathered, sup-Six Nationally Selected Important Preservation
Districts located in the Tohoku and Kanto regions wereaffected by the great earthquake of 2011. The largest
damage was seen in the selected districts of Makabe in
Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki Prefecture and Sawara in Katori
City, Chiba Prefecture. Although their national district
selection was only after the earthquake, Kauemon-cho
district in Tochigi City, Tochigi Prefecture and Murata
district in Murata Town, Miyagi Prefecture also were
hit hard by the disaster. In this report, the recovery processes of the two districts of Sawara and Makabe will be
dealt with, followed by the introduction of an effort inresearch and development of a comprehensive disasterprevention program for national preservation districts.
At five Important Preservation Districts for Groupsof Traditional Buildings of Kanagasaki Town, Semboku
City, Shimogo Town, and Kawagoe City, as well as Sawara
District, Katori City which will be explained in detailbelow, disaster recovery projects have nearly all been
completed.

3.1 Sawara District in Katori City,
Chiba Prefecture
The historic district of Sawara, a city that once
prospered as a major port town along the grand Tone
River, is located along Katori Highway and Ono River. The
buildings and their environment convey to this day theatmosphere of a merchant town from the 19th and early
20th century. Its value was recognized and in 1996, thearea was nationally selected as an Important Preservation District for a Group of Traditional Buildings. With
Sawara Matsuri Festivals that take place in the districtalso having been nationally designated as an Important
Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 2004, Sawara is wellknown as a place where history and culture from bygoneeras can be experienced today. In recent years, Sawara’s
historic streetscape is visited by many and the historicfabric is now regarded highly as a local resource for tourism.
This district of Sawara with such backgrounds was
hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake. About half of16

3.2 Makabe District in Sakuragawa
City, Ibaraki Prefecture

port from World Monuments Fund was requested. A
200 thousand dollar funding from American Express wasmade possible, which strongly helped the district’s recovery. As a result, all historically significant structures inthe district were restored with none lost. Nevertheless,there are still problems ahead that need to be solved.
There remain several structures that have not yet been
restored, due to further damage caused by aftershocks
or the owners’ financial difficulties.

Figure 3.1 Sawara, Katori Highway (Left: After restoration

Figure 3.2 Sawara, Mercantile house (Left: After restoration

It is believed that the town of Makabe had beenplanned and established by around the early 17th century. In the Edo period, Makabe prospered as a zaigocho or “country town” centered on the jinya government
house, where various products gathered from all around.
The district was nationally designated in June 2010 as anarea with numerous traditional structures intact fromthe latter half of the 18th century up to mid 20th century, that well convey the historic environment to thisday. In March 2011, when the district was just about toembark on full-fledged architectural restoration, Makabe was struck by the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Sakuragawa City experienced an earthquake with amain shock of 6 lower on the Japanese seismic scale andmore than 80 percent of 106 listed traditional structures
were damaged. Nearly all of the Nationally Registered
Historic Buildings in and around the district were affected as well. With these historic structures, the roof
and walls fell or sunk and there was fear of them being
demolished and removed from the site, if judged to be

Right: Before restoration)

Right: Before restoration)17

restoration or recovery of Nationally Registered Historic
Buildings outside the district. However, relying on thePlan for the Maintenance and Improvement of HistoricLandscape, approved by the country, which the city had
introduced in 2009, the Nationally Registered Historic
Buildings were additionally designated as Constructions
Forming Historic Landscape, enabling generous funding
for recovery projects.
However, because these individual post-earthquake
restoration projects involved not only recovery of damaged areas, but were intended to achieve full-scale restorations at the same time, there were delays in projectplanning and the owners’ decision-making process be-

unsafe.
Therefore, Sakuragawa City immediately started
surveying the extent of building damage and providing
emergency treatment. Aiming to start disaster recovery
projects without delay, assistance from Japanese Council
for Preservation Districts for Groups of Historic Buildings(Denkenkyo) was asked for. In response to this request,
specialists from six cities were sent to Makabe to provide support. In order to minimize monetary burdens on
the part of property owners for restoration, the funding
rate for recovery projects was greatly raised to strongly
support the owners. Under normal circumstances, there
would not have been any funding systems applicable to

Figure 3.3 Gojinnya-mae Street (The Shiota Residence)
Top: Before the earthquake
Middle: After the earthquake (taken on March 12, 2011)
Bottom: After restoration (taken on July 1, 2014)

Figure 3.4 Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (The Tanimura
Residence)
Top: Before the earthquake
Middle: After the earthquake (taken on March 12, 2011)
Bottom: After restoration (taken on December 13, 2013)18

3.3 Development of a General Disaster Prevention System for
Preservation Districts for Groups of
Traditional Buildings

fore execution. In addition, the rise in costs of construction materials and lack of skilled workers brought further
troubles to be dealt with prior to starting of recovery
projects. Thereafter, architectural restoration was carried out and as of September 2014, there are 39 restored
buildings, 26 presently undergoing restoration, and 25
more waiting for restoration. Regarding Nationally Registered Historic Buildings, when work on the three buildings presently being restored is finished, all restoration
projects will have been completed.

Since after the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995,
the Agency for Cultural Affairs has established guidelines
and such for seismic capacity evaluation, as an earthquake-resistant measure aimed at Japan’s cultural property structures. Following the recent disastrous earthquake in 2011, the guideline was revised and a funding
system for seismic analysis undertaken by the property
owners themselves was newly established. Additionally,a promotional pamphlet titled “Questions and Answers:
Protecting Cultural Properties from Earthquakes” waspublished to enable easy understanding by property
owners and the general public of preventive measures.
However, these materials pertain mainly to seismic
protection of individual Important Cultural Property
structures and are not directly applicable to historic
districts where many people actually live and numerous
historic structures are concentrated.
Therefore, regarding Preservation Districts forGroups of Traditional Buildings and their surrounding
historic streetscapes, research and development of ageneral disaster prevention program is presently underway, for assuring safety and comfort as well as inducing community revitalization. This aims at solving social
problems of the area (aging population and lower birthrate, increase of vacant houses, decline of industries,etc.), while at the same time seeking for more effective
methods of fire and earthquake protection.
A research team led by Oyama College, National
Institute of Technology has been established, including
participants from institutions such as Waseda University
and Tokyo Metropolitan University, with a focus on theselected preservation districts of Makabe, Tochigi, andKiryu, as well as those affected by the earthquake in thenorthern Kanto region. The team works closely together
with the local residents, municipalities, and organizations such as the Japanese Association for MACHI-NAMI
Conservation and Regeneration and has produced sub-Figure 3.5 Traditional buildings after restoration

stantial results. Their goal is set not only on disaster re-19

covery from the recent earthquake, but also on actions
to better support future community development. They
include (1) establishment of a voluntary disaster prevention system, (2) establishment of a technical system forrestoration planning, (3) fortification of disaster recovery abilities in buildings, and (4) creation of sustainablecommunities and policies. By autumn of 2015, they areplanning to draft and enforce a general disaster prevention plan that would be applicable not only to the preservation districts of the northern Kanto region, but also
to preservation districts nationwide and furthermore, tocommon extant urban areas and villages.

Figure 3.7 Editing of restoration reports

Figure 3.6 Testing structural strength of an earthen
wall seen in storehouses

General Survey of theHistoric Townscape・Relationships within the local
community・Comprehension of local spatial
elements
・Efforts made for security andsafetyRediscovery and Creation of
Tradition and Culture
・Sharing the sense of significance・Region-based human resources
development

SociologicalTools

Accumulation ofEngineering Knowledge

・Analyzation and case studies on
disaster risks
・Solving technical problems
・Inheritance and discipline intraditional methods
・Proposal for space application

Scientific
Tools
Inventing “Tools” for Sharing
Local Information and Senses

Creating a “Platform” for the Local
Stakeholders to Discuss and Enhance
the Sense of Community

Improve the communication tools such as:
３DCG, models, GIS systems , and guidelines

・Construction of the effective
independent anti-disaster activities
・Revitalization of the cooperative
activities by the local citizens

Proposals for the General Frameworks for
Safe and Secure Community Building within the
Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings
Figure 3.8 Major research topics and keywords for fiscal years 2013 to 2014 in the research “Development of a General Disaster Prevention System for Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings”

20

4. Cases of Historic Garden’s Recovery
4.1
Special Historic Site Motsuji
GardenLocated in Hiraizumi Town in Iwate Prefecture,
Motsuji temple is an important component of the World
Heritage site “Hiraizumi – Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land.”
Most of Motsuji was built by Motohira Fujiwara, thesecond lord of the Oshu Fujiwara clan, in the Heian period or late 8th century. The temple’s Pure Land garden,
which depicts the Pure Land of the Buddhist afterlife, isnationally designated as a Special Historic Site and a Special Place of Scenic Beauty. One prominent feature of thegarden is a standing rock that rises about two metersfrom a small island in the garden’s Oizumi-ga-ike pond.
In May 2011, immediately prior to discussion of theHiraizumi nomination at the 35th World Heritage Committee in Paris, the standing rock was found to be leaning about 8 degrees as a result of the Great East Japan
Earthquake and several aftershocks. The Agency for Cultural Affairs promptly reported this finding to UNESCO
and Hiraizumi Town launched an ad-hoc project for the
restoration of the rock. Following the advice of the committee experts, surveys and excavation were conductedin the area surrounding the rock and island in order tocome up with a conservation plan. The project took two
years and finished in 2012.
The standing rock was carefully hoisted by chain
block at an angle. A mixture of clay and new stone wasused to fill a void that had resulted from earthquake
damage, and the rock was returned to the position
where it was surveyed in 1990. The excavation survey,
which was the first of its kind to be conducted in the saidarea, provided new knowledge on traditional garden
construction techniques, including methods used for
erecting the rock and creating the island. Through successful restoration, the value of the standing rock andisland has been preserved.

Fig. 4.1 Conditions of the disaster-affected standing rock and its
rescue measures

Figure 4.2 Hoisting the standing rock

Figure 4.3 After the restoration

21

4.2
Special Historic Site and Special Natural Monument Koishikawa
Korakuen Gardens
Koishikawa Korakuen located in Tokyo is a historicJapanese garden of stroll-garden style, dating from theEdo period (1600-1868). It is designated by the national
government of Japan as a Special Historic Site and a Special Place of Scenic Beauty.
The East Japan Great Earthquake, which occurred
March 11 2011, damaged parts of this historic garden,
including a stone bridge situated on the major visitor
trail in the garden. It was decided to restore the bridge
and, prior to recovery works, on-site investigation was
conducted, which resulted in the new findings of thehistorical changes in the location, material, and structureof the bridge (remains of an old wooden bridge werediscovered) and also the records of past earthquakes in
the pond together with those of reactive measures thathave been taken historically such as earth filling after
earthquakes.

Figure 4.5 Survey of the stone bridge

Figure 4.6 Survey of the lotus pond

Figure 4.7 Panoramic view of Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens

22

5. Artifacts and Historic Record Recovery

temporarily kept under the custody of the related organizations, so that they could be returned back to theirowners soon. Though we are starting to see the clear
pictures of the recovery procedures for large-scaled general museums like Ishinomaki Culture Center, building
museums on a safe land requires a time-span of morethan five years, and the procurement of the temporarystorage for the rescued cultural properties have always
been a crucial issue. The Agency for Cultural Affairs havebeen providing support as the “Affected Museum Reconstruction Program”, where efforts are being made toresolve this issue by making use of closed school buildings and constructing prefabricated buildings.

5.1
Present state of Rescue Measures for Movable Cultural Properties
The “Committee for Salvaging Cultural Properties
Affected by the 2011 Earthquake off the Pacific Coast of
Tohoku and Related Disasters” which focuses on movable cultural properties affected by the Great East Japan
Earthquake had conducted salvage activities on culturalproperties within the evacuation zones imposed after
the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. The
project has eventually lasted until March 2013 insteadof its original plan for a one-year term. On the occasionof working within the evacuation zones a safety manual
had been compiled after deep deliberation, and withsome restrictions such as prohibition of carrying out objects which showed radiation dose above the thresholdlevel, collections from public museums were successfullytransmitted to the temporary storage buildings. Salvage
activities on cultural heritage within the “difficult-toreturn zone” still continues today at the initiative of Fukushima Prefectural Board of Education, even after thesalvage committee was disbanded. This is not an exception to other areas either, as concerns remain that thecultural properties could get lost whilst the dismantlement of houses in the course of recovery, and thus theactivities by Miyagi Shiryō Net and other NPOs continue.
On the contrary, in Miyagi and Iwate Prefectures
where the Cultural Properties Rescue Program has
been taken into action since a month after the disaster,emergency treatments or repair works are being carriedout on the disaster-affected cultural properties that are

5.2
Actions for Recovery and Protection of Privately-Owned HistoricDocuments Damaged by the Earthquake by Miyagi Shiryō Net (Miyagi
Historic Documents Conservation
Network)In the Miyagi District, Miyagi Shiryō Net (Miyagi Historic Documents Conservation Network) was founded
following the earthquake in July 2003 with the aim ofprotecting historic documents and other historic materials from disasters. Prior to the earthquake of March
2011, a listing of historic documents and archiving ofdigital records from 412 old-established families had
been undertaken. Through these activities, a network of
specialists, local municipality officers, and residents was
gradually created.
At the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake, information obtained through surveys undertaken before
the disaster was made full use of to clarify the extent ofdamage and take prompt actions for rescuing historic
documents. As of December 2013, tens of thousands ofitems from 99 collections has been rescued. Continued
efforts focusing on emergency treatment of tsunami-affected historic documents are presently being made. The
national and local governments as well as specialists, together with the participation of countless local citizens,support these activities. This made us re-acknowledge
the essential role citizens play in the protection of local
historic documents.

Figure 5.1 The rescue measure at Tomioka Town Museum of History and Folklore

23

A period of approximately ten years will be necessary for completing the treatment of rescued materials
and returning them back to their owners. As valuable
as these materials are, as records of areas where theirlandscapes have been greatly changed or as grounds forrecovery of cultural traditions, provision of appropriate
environments for their storage and use will still require ahuge amount of work and time. One of the major problems we will be facing is seeking methods for continuingthese activities, with regard to the acquisition of necessary fees and maintenance of systems for recovery.

Figure 5.3 Emergency treatment on the historic documents affected by tsunami

Figure 5.2 Rescue measures on disaster-affected historic documents

Otsuchi (Ａ１）

Ofunato City （Ａ３，Ｂ１）
Rikuzen Takata City （Ａ１）

Ichinoseki City（Ａ１，Ｂ２）

Kesennuma City （Ａ４）

Kurihara City（Ａ７）Osaki City
（Ａ３，Ｂ１）

Minami Sanriku （Ａ５）Tome City（Ａ１）Kitakami, Ishinomaki City （Ａ２）
Kahoku, Ishinomaki City （Ａ２）

Wakuya （Ａ１）

Ogatsu, Ishinomaki City （Ａ３）
Yamato（Ａ１）Monou, Ishinomaki City （Ａ３）
Onagawa （Ａ７）

Sendai City
（Ａ１２，Ｂ２）
Kawasaki（Ｂ１）Zaoh（Ｂ１）

Oshika, Ishinomaki （Ａ２）

Higashi Matsushima
City （４）Natori City （Ａ１）

Murata（Ａ２，Ｂ２）Ishinomaki City （Former area of Ishinomaki City）（Ａ１８）
Total in Ishinomaki City （Ａ３０）

Watari （Ａ３）■ Rescue of disaster-affected documents■ Document rescue and one-house survey■ Only one-house survey
Ａ： Number of document rescues （total 99）
Ｂ： Number of one-house survey (total 11）

Yamamoto （Ａ１）

Marumori （Ｂ１）

Figure 5.4 Map of the disaster-affected cultural properties rescued by Miyagi Shiryō Net after the Great East Japan Earthquake

24

5.3
Stabilizing Treatments by Rikuzen Takata City Museum
Since the earthquake disaster, the Rikuzen Takata
City Museum had been continuously operating the“stabilizing treatment” on approximately 460 thousand
cultural properties that have been salvaged from thefour tsunami-hit cultural facilities immersed with seawater and brought to a closed elementary school building.
The treatment aims to recover the objects back to theirconditions where they could withstand the prolonged
storage, by removing the adhering mud (mud removal),fungus and bacterium (sterilization), and salt (desalination). Disaster-affected objects are composed of awide variety of materials including paper, wood, metal,
plants, stone, fiber and bone, and therefore they eachrequire different treatments. However, the stabilization
techniques for objects immersed in seawater are yet tobe established even in the global level, and the Rikuzen
Takata City Museum is currently challenging this task
and constructing new methodology with the cooperation of related organizations. Although the stabilization
treatment of around 140 thousand objects―natural history specimens in particular―have been completed asof August 2014, a large amount of objects are still kept
frozen due to lack of concrete methods for rinsing certain materials. Taking into account that establishing thestabilization techniques on these materials requires considerable amount of time and effort, the Rikuzen Takata
City Museum is looking forward to the embracement ofcooperation with related organizations, encourage therevival of museum activities in the disaster-affected areas, and the dissemination of the established techniques
both nationally and internationally.

Figure 5.5 Cleaning work on a paper material (booklet)

Figure 5.6 Cleaning work on a paper material

Figure 5.7 Cleaning work on a folk material25

Afterword
This progress report aims to summarize the general conditions of the recovery projects being conducted on thecultural heritage that have been affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake. The direction of future examination on disaster countermeasures is also partially mentioned. However, we regret that these reports have yetremained very simple.
As an organization for the experts and practitioners in charge of cultural heritage preservation, Japan ICOMOS
National Committee will continue to work in hand with the corresponding administrative bodies, researchers,
and practitioners, for the recovery of disaster affected cultural heritage and furthermore develop the comprehensive disaster prevention plans on cultural heritage to confront wide range of disaster that could happen
again in the future as well as establishing the theories and techniques related to the post-disaster recovery.
We are now planning on submitting the overall report on the recovery of disaster-affected cultural heritage by
the Great East Japan Earthquake, at the 19th ICOMOS General Assembly three years later.
Progress Report of Great East Japan Earthquake Recovery Editorial Working Group
November 5, 2014