Home > Policy > White Paper, Notice, Announcement > White Paper > JAPANESE GOVERMENT POLICICIES IN EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND CULTURE 1994 > PART II Chapter 9 Section 5 5

Intangible cultural properties include such performing arts as Noh, Kabuki, and the Bunraku puppet theater and such crafts as pottery and dyeing and weaving. Items of special value in this category are designated as important intangible cultural properties, and those who perform these activities are recognized as holders or holding bodies. In June 1994 Noh supporting roles (wakikata) and the Katobushi school of joruri (Bunraku narration) were designated as important intangible cultural properties in the performing arts category, and Shino pottery and Saga brocade were designated in the crafts category. One person in each of these fields was recognized as the holder of an intangible cultural property, a so-called living national treasure. Six people in other designated fields also received recognition.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs provides special subsidies to holders of intangible cultural properties to enable them to polish their skills still further and train successors to carry on the tradition. Subsidies are also provided for training programs administered by holding bodies. In fiscal 1994 the Agency initiated a program of research and surveys relating to support measures for the training of successors in traditional cultural fields.

Folk-cultural properties include folk manners, customs, and performing arts, and they may be either tangible or intangible. Items of special value in each category are designated as important tangible or intangible folk-cultural properties. In December 1993 four items, including the Oni Kembai dance of Iwate Prefecture, were designated as important intangible folk-cultural properties. The government also designated two important tangible folk-cultural properties, including nori (dried seaweed) production implements from the Omori district of Tokyo.

Since folk-cultural properties form part of the infrastructure of daily life, they have tended to change or disappear rapidly amid the rapid social development and lifestyle changes that have occurred in the postwar era. The Agency for Cultural Affairs is therefore working to protect important tangible folk-cultural properties by providing subsidies for the construction of facilities to repair and preserve these items and protect them from disasters and for the activities of preservation organizations involved in the display of important intangible folk-cultural properties and their transmission to future generations.

In fiscal 1993 the Agency introduced grants for support activities for the preservation and utilization of folk-cultural properties, whereby the Agency provides grants for projects for experiencing and recording actual production activities relating to important tangible folk-cultural properties, including production of the items themselves and methods of use. Grants are also provided for the repair and replacement of implements, apparel, facilities, and other items used in ceremonies, folk performing arts, and other activities that have been designated as important intangible folk-cultural properties.

The repair of wood sculptures and buildings requires traditional manufacturing and repair techniques, as well as traditional production techniques of the materials used, such as hiwada (Japanese cypress bark) and lacquer. Items that require preservation measures are selected as traditional conservation techniques, and recognition is given to individuals and bodies that possess those skills.

In June 1994 the Agency for Cultural Affairs selected six traditional conservation techniques, including lacquerware repair techniques and production methods for kumiodori dance props, and recognized holders of those skills. In addition, one person was recognized as the holder of a traditional conservation technique of coloring buildings.

The Agency is working to preserve these techniques by providing subsidies for activities relating to the maintenance and improvement of skills and the training of successors. It is also compiling records of conservation techniques.