■Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties ■Center for Conservation Science
■Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems ■Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation
■Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage


“International Symposium on the Conservation of Modernization Heritage and Its Promotional Planning” in Taiwan

The symposium in session
On-site survey: Steam hammer Taipei Factory No. 141 still remains at the smithery in the vehicle factory of Taipei railway workshop (manufactured by Toyo Iron Works and purchased in 1934).

　The Modern Cultural Heritage Section has been interacting with Taiwanese officials and researchers working on cultural properties since FY 2017 so as to share mutual experiences and issues on conservation and utilization of modern cultural heritage for their smooth resolution through research.
　As part of this activity, we participated in the “International Symposium on the Conservation of Modernization Heritage and Its Promotional Planning” held under the auspices of the Bureau of Cultural Heritage, the Ministry of Culture and Chung Yuan Christian University in Taiwan on August 17th, 2018. At the symposium, Japanese experts representing the industrial heritage, railway and machinery areas delivered lectures. Mr. Kitagawa, the Head of the Modern Cultural Heritage Section at Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, lectured on the administration of cultural properties related to modernization heritage. The symposium attracted a large Taiwanese audience, including administrative officials, owners of cultural properties, university researchers, and citizen groups, resulting in engaging discussions ranging from the principles of conservation and utilization of modernization heritage to their approaches.
　In conjunction with the symposium, we discussed with Taiwanese researchers how hydraulic structures, factories, and railway facilities constructed during the period of Japanese rule have been conserved and utilized, along with various approaches and issues. Among them was a very interesting case in which a motorcycle manufacturer who had developed an electric-assist railbike made use of the dead track of a now-defunct railway. The railway is now protected as a cultural property for the operation of the facility.
　We also visited Director-general Gwo-Long Shy and other officials at the Bureau of Cultural Heritage, the Ministry of Culture in Taichung. There, we exchanged ideas on Japanese and Taiwanese histories, and on concepts concerning systems for the protection of cultural properties associated with modernization heritage, as well as their conservation and utilization.

（ / KITAGAWA Daijiro, ISHIDA Shinya)

Field survey on the conservation and restoration of iron structures in Taiwan

Meeting in the Bureau of Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture

　On August 19th (Saturday) to August 27th (Sunday), the Modern Cultural Properties Section of the Center for Conservation Science conducted a survey on the conservation and restoration situation of iron structures built in the Japan colonial period (1895-1945) existing in Taiwan. In this survey, we focused on a large-scale factory and iron bridges.
　The preservation of Japanese colonial buildings began in earnest following the end of martial law in 1987, and about half of all Designated or Registered Cultural Properties are Japanese colonial-era buildings.
　For this survey, although we focused on a sugar-refining plant, since tobacco and brewed liquor factories had a monopoly on the country until the 1990s, many of their factories and machinery have been left untouched. Although these factories are greatly influenced by their location, many factories in large cities such as Taipei have been assigned new roles by town planners, and are used as commercial and cultural facilities.
　On the 22nd, we visited the Bureau of Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture, and held a discussion with Director-general Gwo-Long Shy on the efforts to preserve Taiwan’s cultural assets.
　Since 2000, Taiwan has made efforts to preserve its industrial system of production, distribution and manufacturing. This has led to an active exchange of ideas regarding renewed interest in the preservation of Japan’s own industrial heritage.

（ / ISHIDA Shinya)

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