Cultural Properties Rescue Project
We have partnered with Okayama Shiryo Net and the Western Japan Inter-University Council for the Preservation of Historical and Cultural Resources in order to advance restoration activities for the materials damaged in the torrential rains that affected western Japan.
Goal: In this globalizing world, it is our goal to search for better ways of life and strive for the realization of a new regional society supported by diverse histories and cultures.
Overview: Through the formulation and subsequent practical application of theoretical research on the preservation and promotion of local historical heritage, which is often damaged or destroyed during times of disaster, we aim to understand the mutual relationship between community and consciousness and cultivate personnel able to contribute to the construction of a diverse, open, and resilient regional society. Through the preservation and promotion of local historical heritage centered on the Okayama region, we aim to shed light on the diverse local cultures of Japan and contribute to the growth and revitalization of regional areas.
Future endeavors: We will participate in the Inter-University Research Institute Network Project to Preserve and Succeed Historical and Cultural Resources, an initiative started in FY2018 and run by the National Institutes for the Humanities (NIHU), Tohoku University, and Kobe University at its core. In cooperation with “Shiryo Net”, a nationwide, university-based program to preserve historical documents, we aim to develop educational programs to foster individuals who will carry on the historical and cultural resources of the local community and to disseminate relevant information both within Japan and internationally.
Partnership with Okayama Shiryo Net
Following the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995, historians, cultural heritage management specialists, museum affiliates, and citizens of the city of Kobe banded together to create the Historical Resource Network in an effort to rescue and protect the historical and cultural materials stored in private houses. Eventually, similar organizations appeared and spread across the country in an initiative known as “Shiryo Net”. In the aftermath of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, local preservation activities have been actively pursued in such regions as Miyagi, Fukushima, and Ibaraki.
The Center for Research on the Dynamics of Civilizations is also committed to active participation in these initiatives.