Conservation and Management of Cultural Landscapes
Hiroko Edani, Cultural Landscape Section,
Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties
1．
．Definition of “Cultural Landscape”
When we travel through various parts of Japan, we feel that each region has its unique characteristics.
What elements make one region so distinctive from another? The gently curved lines of terraced rice
paddies…, a vegetable field stretching over the hill…, a group of houses roofed with locally produced
tiles…, or a hot spring resort with its old-fashioned streets? From region to region landscapes change
along with the natural settings. The impressions received from the same landscape will also differ
from person to person. However, whatever the region, local residents have shaped its distinctive
landscapes over a long period by working on their local environment. These landscapes, though they
may not appear to be sophisticated, nonetheless impress viewers with their solid and down-to-earth
beauty. Such landscapes, which we may call “combined works of nature and man,” are Japanese
important assets, inherited from our ancestors who long maintained a harmonious lifestyle with nature.
On April 1, 2005, the Japanese government inaugurated a new system to conserve such landscapes,
regarding them as cultural properties. Since the recent revision of the Law for the Protection of
Cultural Properties, these landscapes, known as cultural landscapes, have been recognized as a
category of cultural properties. The Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties defines cultural
landscapes as “landscape areas that have developed in association with the modes of life or livelihoods
of the people and the natural features of the region, which are indispensable for an understanding of
our people’s modes of life and livelihoods” (Article 2, Paragraph 1, Item 5 of the Law for the
Protection of Cultural Properties). As for a mechanism to conserve such cultural landscapes, the Law
stipulates the need for protecting and sustaining the entire system, comprising the natural environment
and the modes of life or livelihoods of the people, since these elements are essential for conserving
cultural landscapes.
2．
．Background to Establishing the Cultural Landscape Conservation System
The establishment of the new system to conserve cultural landscapes was driven by two major
movements—one inside and one outside Japan.
In Japan, there was a nationwide movement to reassess the value of local natural settings, including
rice terraces and satoyama (managed woodlands and grasslands near human settlements), and to
conserve the original landscapes of individual areas. At the same time, UNESCO began to review its
criteria for World Heritage sites to reevaluate the areas that were neither purely cultural nor purely
natural in order to enable their potential listing as world heritage sites. As a result of the review, in
1992, a new concept of “cultural landscape” was introduced into the World Heritage Convention. As
of May 2012, over 70 locations are inscribed as cultural landscapes on the World Heritage List. They
include the vineyards in the Jurisdiction of Saint-Emilion, France, and Rice Terraces of the Philippine
Cordilleras.
In response to such growing demands both within and outside Japan, the Japanese government
established its own cultural landscape conservation system in 2005.
3．
．Different Concepts of “Cultural Landscape” as Defined by the World Heritage Convention
and the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties of Japan
The World Heritage Convention defines “cultural landscape” as “combined works of nature and man,”
and that “they are illustrative of the evolution of human society and settlement over time, under the
influence of the physical constraints and/or opportunities presented by their natural environment and
of successive social, economic, and cultural forces, both external and internal.” Cultural landscape” is
further classified into the following three categories:
i) A “landscape designed and created intentionally by man”
Such landscapes include gardens and parks created for aesthetic reasons, and many of them
(though not all) are part of religious or commemorative facilities or their complexes.
ii) An “organically evolved landscape”
Landscapes that originated in social, economic, administrative, or religious norms, and that have
evolved into the present status in relation to, or in response to, the natural environment. Such
landscapes are further classified into the following two sub-categories:
・ “Relic (or fossil) landscape”
Landscapes that represent a certain period of time and whose evolutionary process terminated
either suddenly or gradually
・ “Continuing landscape”
Landscapes that are closely related to a traditional way of life, which continues to play
positive social roles in present society, and whose evolutionary process is ongoing
iii) An “associative cultural landscape”
A landscape that may be valued because of the religious, artistic, or cultural associations of the
natural elements
The definition of “cultural landscape” by the World Heritage Convention differs from that in Japanese
law in that the former includes the landscapes of the past, where no contemporary residents maintain
the modes of life or livelihood activities related to the landscapes, in addition to the continuing
landscapes, where local people continue to engage in the livelihood and daily life activities related to
the evolution of the landscapes.
Of the three major categories of the “cultural landscapes” listed above, categories ii) and iii) have
particularly strong relations with the “cultural landscapes” stipulated in the Law for the Protection of
Cultural Properties of Japan. Regarding category ii), however, there is a difference between the
definition by the World Heritage Convention and the Japanese law. Whereas the former includes the
landscapes of the past, where no present residents maintain the modes of life or livelihood activities
related to the landscapes, the latter includes only the continuing landscapes, where local people
continue to engage in the livelihood and daily life activities related to the evolution of the landscapes.
This is because most of the former type of landscapes are already protected in Japan under the same
Act, either as “tangible cultural properties” or “monuments.” Accordingly, the Law for the Protection
of Cultural Properties places greater emphasis on the continuity of the livelihoods and daily lives of
local people. In addition to the landscapes shaped in relation to agriculture, forestry, or fisheries, urban
cultural landscapes are also included in the targets of protection. This also distinguishes the cultural
landscapes in Japan from those protected by the World Heritage Convention.
4．
．Systems to Protect Cultural Landscapes
In Japan, at the request of local governments (prefectural governments and municipalities), the
national government selects and designates cultural landscapes of especially high value as “Important
Cultural Landscapes.” As such, the Wetland in Omi-hachiman (Omi-hachiman City, Shiga Prefecture)
was the first to be selected in 2006. Following the wetland, other landscapes have been designated as
Important Cultural Landscapes, the total number of which has now reached 30. Moreover, surveys to
gain this designation are currently under way in a further 50 areas across the nation. (See Data 1.) In
Nara Prefecture, the southeastern area of Asuka Village (comprising Inabuchi, Kaya-no-mori, and
Nyudani districts) was designated as the first Important Cultural Landscape in the prefecture on
September 21, 2011, under the title: Cultural Landscape of Asuka Hinterland.
Cultural landscapes are jointly created by nature and people, reflecting the daily lives and livelihood
activities of the local people which are closely related to the natural settings and local climate. Such
landscapes can be observed in any inhabited region across the country. In addition to farming,
mountain, and fishing villages, cities also have valuable cultural landscapes, which have been fostered
in association with urban industries and the daily lives of urban dwellers. As Important Cultural
Landscapes, the Japanese government designated Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture (Cultural Landscape in
Uji) in 2009 and Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture (Cultural Landscape in Kanazawa; Tradition and
Culture in the Castle Town) in 2010. As is evidenced by these cases, efforts to conserve and promote
cultural landscapes are also well under way in Japanese cities.
5．
．Surveys of Cultural Landscapes
Surveys of cultural landscapes should be conducted from three viewpoints of natural environment,
history, and the daily lives or livelihoods of local residents. Furthermore, surveys must be conducted to
1) specify the landscape units: 2) determine their constituents: 3) clarify organic interrelations between
the landscape units and constituents: 4) reveal local residents’ recognition of the landscape units: and
5) determine the essential value of the landscape. The fifth item—determining the essential value of
the landscape—particularly entails a comprehensive and integrated analysis of survey results,
incorporating all three viewpoints mentioned above. In Japan, however, it is necessary to foster
resources who can fully assess this essential value. Since researchers involved in these survey
programs are specialists in their respective academic fields, many of them, if not all, are not so good at
integrating survey results and understanding them holistically. As a result, in many cases, researchers,
engaged in fragmental surveys, are unable to find the overall value in a particular landscape.
While the system to protect cultural landscapes targets only tangible elements, the value of such
tangible elements are created and sustained by the intangible activities of local residents. In their daily
life activities and efforts to maintain their livelihoods, people are conserving cultural landscapes in
their respective regions. In surveys of cultural landscapes, however, many researchers tend to focus
their attention on the tangible elements, such as rice paddies, vegetable fields, forests, and groups of
buildings, along with their geographical distribution. It is essential, however, to clarify residents’
activities that sustain such elements and in what way they influence local landscapes. For example, in
Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture, we see tea plantations covered by shading screens made of reeds and
straws. Conservation of this cultural landscape, however, entails maintaining the system to produce
reeds and straws, as well as systems to grow tea plants, and produce and market tea leaves. (See Data
2) In other words, what is visible (the tangible landscape) is supported by invisible efforts (intangible
systems). Accordingly, surveys of cultural landscapes must incorporate studies of both tangible and
intangible elements.
6．
．Effective Use of Cultural Landscapes for Community Development
Among the various types of cultural properties, cultural landscapes have particularly close relations
with the various modes of people’s lives in the region concerned. Throughout a long history, these
modes of life have been constantly changing. Accordingly, changes are inevitable in cultural
landscapes, and this should be accepted. In some sites of Important Cultural Landscapes, such as the
Farm Village of Hondera Area, Ichinoseki. and the Landscape with the Tsujun Irrigation Channel and
Rice Terraces in Shiraito Plateau, conservation plans are conducted incorporating potential changes.
Since cultural landscapes are products of local people’s modes of life and livelihood activities, the
landscapes cannot be conserved without also sustaining their modes of life, which is an intangible
element as discussed in the previous section. To conserve these landscapes, it is therefore necessary to
raise local residents’ awareness of the value of the cultural landscapes and promote their understanding
of the need for their continuing activities. Based on this enhanced awareness on the part of community
residents, a new system to promote conservation of the landscapes must be established, involving local
residents as leading players.
The new concept of “cultural landscape” can have several positive impacts on local communities.
Even in communities that have been considered to date to have no special assets, residents can find the
value of their respective communities if they review their own communities from the viewpoint of
cultural landscapes. The introduction of this concept also provides community members with good
opportunities to acknowledge the attractive features of the landscape, as well as their own contribution
to sustaining such features. In this view, efforts to conserve cultural landscapes should be regarded as a
means to develop a better community by using cultural landscapes, rather than merely improving the
cultural landscapes themselves.
Conservation of a reed production center Pottery center using local resources (Ontayaki
(Wetland in Omi-hachiman, Omi-hachiman Village, Hita City, Oita Prefecture)
City, Shiga Prefecture)
Cultivating land with a small tractor (Rice Traditional houses of tea producers (Cultural
Terraces in Obasute，Chikuma City, Nagano Landscape in Uji, Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture)
Prefecture)
[Data 1] List of Important Cultural Landscapes and Nominated Cultural Landscapes (as of May 18, 2012)
No. Prefecture Location Name
Cultural Landscape of the Saru River Basin Based on Ainu Tradition and
1 Hokkaido Biratori-cho, Saru-gun
Modern Reclamation
2 Iwate Tono City Tono - Arakawa heights stock farm
3 Iwate Ichinoseki City Rural Landscape of Ichinoseki Hondera
4 Gunma Itakura-machi, Oura-gun Fluvial Landscape in the Confluence Zone of the Tone and Watarase Rivers
Landscape of Farming and Mountain Villages, Site of Former Gold Mine
5 Niigata Sado City
Located in Nishimikawa, Sado
6 Ishikawa Kanazawa City Kanazawa Cultural Landscape - Tradition and Culture of a Castle City
7 Nagano Chikuma City Obasute Rice Terraces
8 Shiga Omihachiman City Omihachiman Lakeside District
9 Shiga Takashima City Lakeside Landscape of Kaizu, Nishihama, Tinai in Takashima-shi
10 Shiga Takashima City Lakeside Landscape of Harie, Shimohuri, Tinai in Takashima-shi
11 Kyoto Uji City Uji Cultural Landscape
12 Nara Asuka-mura, Takaichi-gun Okuasuka Cultural Landscape
Kamikatsu-cho,
13 Tokushima Kashihara Rice Terraces
Katsuura-gun
14 Ehime Uwajima City Yusu Mizugaura Terraced Fields
Cultural Landscape of the Shimanto River Basin -Mountain Villages on
15 Kochi Tsuno-cho, Takaoka-gun
Headwater
Yusuhara-cho, Cultural Landscape of the Shimanto River Basin - Mountain Villages and
16 Kochi
Takaoka-gun Rice Terraces Upstream
Nakatosa-cho, Cultural Landscape of the Shimanto River Basin - Rural / Mountain Villages
17 Kochi
Takaoka-gun and Distribution / Traffic on Upstream
Nakatosa-cho,
18 Kochi Port and Fishing Town Landscape of Kure
Takaoka-gun
Shimanto-cho, Cultural Landscape of the Shimanto River Basin - Rural / Mountain Villages
19 Kochi
Takaoka-gun and Distribution / Traffic on Midstream
Cultural Landscape of the Shimanto River Basin - Occupation Distribution /
20 Kochi Shimanto City
Traffic Downstream
21 Saga Karatsu City Warabino Rice Terraces
22 Nagasaki Sasebo City Cultural Landscape of Kuroshima Island, Sasebo-shi
23 Nagasaki Hirado City Hirado Island Cultural Landscape
24 Nagasaki Goto City Cultural Landscape of Hisaka Island, Goto-shi
Ojika-cho,
25 Nagasaki Ojika Islands Cultural Landscape
Kitamatsuura-gun
Shinkamigoto-cho,
26 Nagasaki Cultural Landscape of Kitauonome, Shinkamigoto-cho
Minamimatsuura-gun
Yamato-cho,
27 Kumamoto Fishing Village Landscape of Sakitsu in Amakusa-shi
Kamimashiki-gun
28 Kumamoto Amakusa City Tujun Irrigation Canal and Rice Terraces Landscape of Shiraito Tableland
29 Oita Hita City Onta Pottery Village
30 Oita Bungotakada City Rural Landscape of Tashibunoshou Ozaki
Selection Date Additional Selection Date Area （ha）
） Selection
(Nomination Date) Criteria
July 26, 2007 4381.0 2（2,3,5,7,8）
March 28, 2008 February 12, 2009 1416.1(S*), 2.4(AS**) 2（1,8）
Total 1418.5
July 28, 2006 337.5 1（2）
September 21, 2011 606.5 2（1,8）
September 21, 2011 518.3 2（1,5,6,8）
February 22, 2010 292.0 2（5,7,8）
February 22, 2010 64.3 1（1）
January 26, 2006 July 28, 2006 174.6 (S), 13.7 (AS 1) 2（1,3,5,8）
July 26, 2007 165.7 (AS 2)，Total 354.0
March 28, 2008 1842.8 1（5)，1（7）
August 5, 2010 295.9 1（5），1（8）
February 12, 2009 228.5 2（1,5,6,7,8）
September 21, 2011 565.8 2（1,5,8）
February 22, 2010 16.0 2（1,8）
July 26, 2007 8.3 1（1）
February 12, 2009 (Nominated on November 18, 5355.7 2（3,5,8）
2011)
February 12, 2009 8976.9 2（1,3,5）
February 12, 2009 February 7, 2011 3324.2 (S), 519.1(AS) 2（1,3,5,7,8）
Total 3843.3
February 7, 2011 244.6 1（4），1（5）
February 12, 2009 September 21, 2011 13392.7（S）, 79.6（AS） 2（1,3,5,7,8）
Total 13472.3
February 12, 2009 5303.6 2（3,4,5,7,8）
July 28, 2008 400.9 2（1,5）
September 21, 2011 475.5 1（1）
February 22, 2010 August 5, 2010 1105.6（S）, 349.6（AS） 2（7,8）
Total 1455.2
September 21, 2011 3881.1 2（1,8）
February 7, 2011 September 21, 2011 313.9（S）, 810.4（AS） 2（3,8）
Total 1124.3
January 24, 2012 2（1,4,8）
July 28, 2008 July 23, 2009 63.9（S）, 73.8（AS 1） 2（1,3,6）
February 22, 2010 468.1（AS 2）, Total 605.80
February 7, 2011 159.9 2（4,7,8）
March 28, 2008 February 22, 2010 14.1（S）, 224.7（AS） 2（1,5,8）
Total 238.8
August 5, 2010 92.0 2（1,8）
*Selection, **Additional Selection
Distribution Map of Important Cultural Landscapes
[Data 2]
Cultural Landscape in Uji: Tea Production and Its Organic Links
with Other Activities
1. Tea plantations in Uji
A typical visual image of a tea plantation would be rows of tea plants
stretching as far as the eye can reach, with bright sunshine pouring
down on them. This is in fact an image of just one type of tea
plantation called "sun-grown." In sun-grown tea plantations, tea
leaves are exposed to direct sunlight so that they acquire an
astringent taste, as in sencha and bancha teas. Many tea plantations
in and around Uji City, on the other hand, are "shade-grown": tea
plants are shaded from the sunlight with honzu (reed screens and
straw) or kanreisha (cheesecloth-like black screens made of synthetic
fiber).
In Uji, shades are placed one by one each year starting from April.
Fig.1. Harvesting in honzu-covered
The soft tea buds are carefully hand-picked in the harvesting season
tea garden
that begins in early May. Tea leaves thus collected have little
astringency but instead feature a deep aroma and an enhanced flavor (umami) and a clear color; they
are processed into tencha (raw ingredient of matcha‐powdered green tea) and gyokuro, and other
high-grade teas.
2. Tea cultivation in shade-grown tea plantations
(1) Production in tea plantations
・ Tea plantation-rice paddy-reed field-forest linkage
The most important element of cultivation in shade-grown tea plantations is shielding the light. In
the traditional honzu-covered tea cultivation, the first step in light shielding involves constructing
a frame with logs and bamboo poles over the tea plantations. Reed screens are then placed over
the frame top to form the first layer, over which rice plant straw is spread as the second layer. In
this manner, 95% to 98% of the light is shielded. Throughout the month of May, the new tea tips
are harvested by hand. Compared to kanreisha, honzu is more effective in maintaining
temperature, thereby helping tea plant growth and preventing frost. The use of straw also has
effects other than light shielding: it imparts a distinctive aroma to the tea plants, and after
harvesting, the straw is put on the ground around the roots of the tea plants and between the
ridges as mulch, which controls to weed growth and soil temperature adjustment.
Uji's tea production is greatly aided by the surrounding natural environment. Rice plant straw,
essential in tea growing in Uji, is produced in rice paddies in the flood plains of the Uji River and
nearby terrace fields. Reeds for reed screens are taken from Lake Biwa. The proximity of Lake
Biwa is considered an important factor in the development of tea production in Uji. Moreover, the
nearby forests provide cedar trees and bamboo as materials for the tea plantation frames, as well
as firewood and charcoal, also required for tea production.
・ Tea plantations and native species
Japan's tea-producing regions have traditionally cultivated native species of tea that have been
propagated in respective locales in the form of seeds since the old days. Different regional
climatic conditions and cultivation methods have resulted in varieties with distinctive qualities
and characteristics. Uji also has its native species of tea, from which have derived numerous
excellent varieties, such as those represented by the “Asahi” and “Samidori” brands.
Tea plantations that grow native species have various types of tea plants. This facilitates natural
blending, while at the same time making it more difficult to homogenize tea taste due to
qualitative divergence. In recent years, the conversion of tea plantations into residential estates,
coupled with a focus on single-variety cultivation, has rapidly shrunk the percentage of native
species. According to Kyoto Prefecture’s statistics on tea production (2009), native species
occupy only 11% or 179.3 ha of the total surface area of 1,622.7 ha for tea plantations in Kyoto
Prefecture. In Uji City alone, the native species takes up 13 ha or 17.5% of the total of 74.4 ha.
This indicates that many Uji tea producers adhere to the traditional values of the native species,
while also giving birth to excellent varieties.
・ Tea plantations and oigoya
Every tea plantation has its oigoya, a dedicated workshop. In shade-grown tea production, oigoya
ware originally built as a storage space for materials for the frames, such as bamboo poles and
logs and reed screens, all of which are essential for light shielding. Therefore, no equivalent is
found in sun-grown tea production. In fact, oigoya can be considered characteristic of Uji's tea
plantations which produce tencha and gyokuro away from sunlight.
A typical oigoya is 4 to 6 meters wide and about 12 meters long, to allow for the storage of
bamboo poles and the like. In recent years, oigoya are becoming smaller in size since permanent
shelves are installed over an increasing number of tea plantations, thereby eliminating the need
for extra materials. Nevertheless, an oigoya is always found near a tea plantation.
・ Tea plantations and persimmon trees
In Uji, persimmon trees often stand in or on the edges of tea plantations as if to command
attention from passers-by. Those persimmon trees are said to have been planted to protect the tea
plants from frost and sunlight.
Why persimmon trees and not other trees? Supposed reasons for this choice of tree include the
fact that just like tea plants, persimmon trees, are well suited to, sandy clay soil, which drains well
yet retains sufficient water; persimmon fruits can be harvested as an interim crop after the busy
season for tea growers; and it is easier to keep persimmon fruits from falling prematurely, due to
the tea plants surrounding the persimmon trees stabilizing the soil temperature.
Given the recent trends of permanent shelf installation and tea plantation standardization,
persimmon trees have been gradually disappearing from tea plantations. Yet, one can see that the
remaining persimmon trees enhance the scenic beauty of these tea plantations.
Fig. 2. Tea leaves grow covered by reed screens Fig. 3. A persimmon tree in a tea garden
and straw (an oigoya is visible in upper right hand
corner)
3. Processing of tea leaves into aracha
・ Manufacturing process and tea factories
One characteristic of tea production is the fact that the tasks performed by tea farmers include
processing. For tencha, tea farmers handle tasks up to steaming and drying of tea leaves, which
results in the primary processed product called aracha or crude tea. Aracha is then shipped to
wholesale houses and markets, where it is finished as matcha.
An indispensable element in tencha processing are the long, brick-built drying furnaces
developed in Uji during the Taisho era (1912-1926). They are about 16 meters long. Although
having such a furnace built in a tea factory requires a large floor space, many tea factories in the
built-up part of Uji have them and use them for aracha processing even today. What has made
this possible?
In medieval times, Uji was a city crowded with the mansions of chashi (tea masters who selected
and blended tea leaves). In the modern era, as the profession of chashi declined, the former
residences were divided into long strips of land, on which tea merchants' houses were built. As a
result, those houses extended far back, as much as 60 meters from the shop front facing the street.
Tea-making facilities were thus installed along the dirt floor that extended out to the rear. This
floor layout with a considerable depth is believed to have enabled the development and
installation of the Uji drying furnaces.
・ Tea farmers and wholesale houses
The manner in which the tea is distributed varies from one locale to another. In Uji, tea
distribution involves tea farmers handling tasks from tea production to aracha manufacturing, and
the wholesale houses that buy aracha from the tea farmers and process it as the finished product
or shiagecha. Some tea farmers engage in the entire process of finishing their home-grown tea as
merchandise and selling it to retailers, but they are quite rare.
Tea farmers here usually belong to the Uji City Tea Producers Cooperative Association, and 70 to
80percent of them always sell their aracha to their designated wholesale houses. This system,
called iritsuke, is typical of tea distribution in Uji. In the iritsuke system, different tea farmers do
business with different wholesalers; some sell to several houses, others to only one. The main
advantage of this system is stable shipments, while the disadvantage is late payment. For example,
a tea farmer selling aracha to a wholesaler in June can expect to get paid for this shipment in two
installments‐in August and December. For this reason, recent years have seen some tea farmers
leaving the iritsuke system to supply directly to the general cooperative market. In any case, the
high concentration and proximity of producers and processors/sellers in a single district is a
distinctive characteristic of Uji's tea industry.
Fig. 4. Tea farmer's house in a commercial district Fig. 5. Tea factory at the back of a house built on
a long strip of land
４．宇治の茶園を成り立たせているもの
Even today, despite Uji's advanced urbanization, tea farmers and wholesalers continue to live in the
city, carrying out tea leaf production, processing it into aracha using drying furnaces, finishing
processing, and retail sales—all entirely within Uji.
Uji's shade-grown tea production is not made possible solely by the tea plantation. It is founded on the
methods and techniques of tea production, as well as links between tea production and other human
activities that involve various forms of land utilization, such as rice production, reed planting, and
work in oigoya and tea factories. Together, all these factors constitute Uji's sustainable tea plantation
landscape.
