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1,400-yr-old Kyoto shrine leasing part of its grounds for condo development

7 Comments
By Casey Baseel, RocketNews24

One of the things that makes Japan such a compelling place is the country’s long cultural history. The upkeep of centuries-old buildings can be extremely expensive, however, especially since traditional Japanese architecture is mainly wood, reed, and paper, which aren’t exactly the sturdiest building materials.

As we’ve seen before, sometimes even sites of historical significance can struggle to make ends meet, and Kyoto’s famous Shimogamo Shrine is no exception. That’s why in order to raise the funds it needs, the institution, which was founded some 1,400 years ago, is planning to lease a section of its grounds for the construction of a condominium complex.

Although it’s been around in some form since the 6th century, the Shimogamo Shrine has gotten a number of publicity boosts in the modern era. The shrine was designated a UNESCO world Heritage Site in 1994, and much of the surrounding forest is part of the Tadasu no Mori, an old growth nature preserve that’s listed as a national historical site. In even more recent years, the shrine was depicted in in the 2013 Kyoto-set anime "The Eccentric Family," and the shrine remains one of the most important Shinto sites in Kyoto, beloved for its fall colors and host of the Aoi Matsuri festival, held every year on May 15.

This year, however, the shrine’s finances are looking bleak. Like many shrines, Shimogamo periodically takes part in a ritual called Shikinen Sengu, wherein new shrine buildings are constructed to replace the old ones as the homes of the gods. Shimogamo Shrine does this once every 21 years, and with Shikinen Sengu scheduled to happen in 2015, expects to incur related expenses of some three billion yen.

Government funding should provide about 800 million yen, and, like many shrines in Japan, Shimogamo is also likely to receive donations from major business entities. However, two months into the year, donations are not projected to be nearly enough to cover the necessary costs. In response, Shimogamo Shrine announced earlier this week that it is planning to lease out a section of its shrine grounds for the construction of a condominium complex.

Head Priest Naoto Araki said that the ordinary monetary offerings the shrine receives over the course of a year are applied to ordinary administration and maintenance costs, but points out that the latter are rising every year. Faced with the additional burden of finding a way to pay for 2015’s Shikinen Sengu, he has come to the conclusion that there is no other choice that will enable him to preserve the shrine for future generations but to build the condos. The 50-year lease is expected to bring in about 80 million yen annually for the shrine.

Conservationists will be partially relieved to know that the proposed construction site, while still on the shrine grounds, lies outside the World Heritage Site and national historic site boundaries. The 9,650-square-meter plot, which borders the Mikage-dori road, was formerly the site of housing for the shrine’s priests. Following World War II, the area was repurposed as a golf driving range because of financial difficulties, and in the early 1980s became a parking lot, which saw less and less use as other lots were built in the area.

In keeping with Kyoto’s reverence for its past, any development will have to comply with a number of regulations meant to preserve the city’s traditional beauty, and the developers are currently in the middle of preliminary talks with Kyoto’s Municipal Beautification Council. The proposed 107-unit complex would be spread among eight buildings, each a modest three-stories tall and no more than 10 meters high so as not to mar the surrounding views, with traditional Japanese tile roofs. Within the complex, the same type of elms as those which grow in the Tadasu no Mori woodlands are scheduled to be planted.

Despite these concessions, many online commenters still weren’t happy about the news.

“I was really surprised to hear about this. I don’t mind if they charge admission to the shrine, but I want them to call off the condo construction. It’ll ruin the scenery.”

“At first I thought, ‘That’s just wrong,’ but it looks like there’s no other way for them to get the funds they need, so it can’t be helped.”

“Even if they’re a World Heritage Site, is this the only way for them to survive?”

“Ah man…are they still going to be able to film samurai TV shows there?”

If approval processes go smoothly, construction is expected to start in November, with completion of the complex estimated in spring of 2017.

Sources: Jin, Mainichi Shimbun

Read more stories from RocketNews24. -- Japan’s World Heritages Fly Well Under Radar -- New ‘Shrine Cafe’ in Tokyo offers fortune-telling and counseling services with your tea -- Tsushima no Miya Station: The Japanese train station open only two days a year

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7 Comments
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It might sound like a good idea in theory, but ruining the aesthetics of the nearby shrine and being a fairly long walk to the nearest major rail station (Keihan Electric Railways' Demachiyanagi Station) could be big minuses for this housing proposal.

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Turn it into a ryokan and maybe it can make more money than as a shrine.

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I can't exactly speak to the problems of upkeep for ancient cities like Kyoto, but it seems like this is where the government has a responsibility to ensure that things like selling off land from these sites doesn't have to happen.

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Maybe the head priest can sell his supercar(s) to help offset the cost of making these new digs?

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The upkeep of centuries-old buildings can be extremely expensive, however, especially since traditional Japanese architecture is mainly wood, reed, and paper, which aren’t exactly the sturdiest building materials.

i had heard that very little actual restoration is done in Japan - more often than not old buildings and so on are just rebuilt to look exactly like their predecessor (is that right?).

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Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples don't pay tax...somehow they need better management to prepare for these certainties.

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@Kaerimashita, Shinto shrines are actually NOT supposed to be permanent structures lasting hundreds of years. That's why the Grand Shrine at Ise are demolished and replaced with another new shrine structure every circa 20 years. Buddhist shrines are made to last, but given wooden structure's vulnerability to fires, earthquakes (if not properly designed), termites and weather, most Buddhist shrines built from wood were only built within the last 300-400 years or so. There's even debate if the pagoda at Horyu-ji in Nara is even a "old" structure, given it was rebuilt in 1603.

Anyway, getting back on topic, I still worry about the location of the new housing. In Japan, they value a lot close access to a busy commuter rail line; the problem with new homes built near the Shimogamo Shrine is that (if the information from Google Maps is correct) you have have to walk 300+ meters to get to Demachiyanagi Station--not a good idea given the hot and humid summers and sometimes snowy winters in the Kyoto area. (Now, if there will be a homeowner association that will fund a minibus service to Demachiyanagi or even all the way to JR West Kyoto Station, that might be a different story.)

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