Sacred Places, Pilgrimage, and Tourism - Geography of Religion in Japan: Religious Space, Landscape, and Behavior - page 164

The World Heritage Association has wrestled with the principle, in academic
investigations and awareness movements, that the churches exist as religious living
spaces. The strong critical awareness of the churches and the associated history may
vanish if the present conditions continue (Kimura 2007a ). The World Heritage
Association is strongly aware of the problem of conserving the churches in situ . For
example, one opportunity for the Association to begin arose through a Society for
Architecture and Conservation meeting held on Naru Island, one of the Goto Islands
(Goto City). This was the hometown of Mr Kakimori, the Director-General. Mr
Kakimori was born into a Mizukata (one of posts) family of hidden Christians and
was familiar with Oratio. The establishment of repair and conservation techniques
for ecclesiastical buildings helps preserve the church as a building, conserve local
history, and create a personal history.
However, the intention of registering the Nagasaki Church Group as a World
Heritage site is not just about conserving some valuable and splendid churches, but
also about introducing the churches to as many people as possible. This highlights
the modern problem of harmony with tourism. The World Heritage Association has
always taken the problem of the conservation and exhibition of the churches and
harmony with tourism into consideration. Documentation from the association (The
Association for Declaring the Nagasaki Church Group a World Heritage 2007 )
states that “The churches and the environments surrounding them have particular
charm and value as spaces to restore people's mental wellbeing, despite the faiths of
modern society where people live such busy lives in urban areas, but also have the
potential to act as a catalyst in local revitalization as a tourism resource.”
The association also states clearly “Registering the ecclesiastical building group as
a World Heritage site naturally opens the door to people from outside the area, making
balancing the tourism a major issue.” The association emphasizes “Tourism and the
conservation of the church group have contradictory sides, so careful consideration to
harmonizing both is required, and we need to also carefully note that improving the
roads and providing parking for tourists and establishing shops may damage the land-
scape or lead to the destruction of culture properties and the environment.”
The coexistence of conservation and tourism resources, which seems such a con-
tradiction on the surface, is a problem about core elements of the concept of being
a World Heritage site. The spirit of the World Heritage treaty concerns not only the
conservation and control of heritage sites of remarkable universal value around the
world, but also their conversion into economic value and the promotion of tourism
where they are situated (Muneta 2006 ).

4.2.3.3 Achievements of the World Heritage Association

The association has been involved in many events (Table 4.2 ) such as sponsorship,
co-sponsorship, and support since fi rst being established. The activities include
phases of academic activities and promotional activities. The academic activities
include forums, symposiums, lectures held once or twice a year, awareness move-
ments, and public relations activities (including photo exhibitions, concerts at