Living Heritage and Groups of Traditional Buildings Creating and Conserving the Value of Historic Settlements and Townscapes as Living Heritage
In Japan’s Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, groups of traditional buildings are defined as “valuable clusters of traditional structures that, together with their surrounding environment, form a historic townscape.” A key premise is that these buildings are still inhabited, which means they embody both aspects of living heritage (see note below).
In UNESCO’s World Heritage framework, heritage constructed by political power within a civilization—such as the Pyramids or Angkor Wat—is categorized as monuments or sites. In contrast, heritage formed collectively by ordinary people over generations in their daily lives—such as historic townscapes and villages—is classified as groups of buildings. Examples include the historic center of Venice and the gassho-style village of Shirakawa-go.
Because the value of such heritage lies in the fact that people continue to live within these building clusters, conservation requires careful coordination between the preservation of residents’ everyday lives and the maintenance of the built environment. This balance is both crucial and challenging. At the same time, the opportunity to experience these living, inhabited structures represents a unique attraction for visitors, making this type of heritage especially significant as a potential tourism destination.
Note: “Living heritage” refers to (1) heritage where tangible elements (buildings, archaeological remains, etc.) and intangible elements (cultural practices, livelihoods, etc.) are fused together to create value, and/or (2) heritage that is preserved through the meaningful involvement of local residents or related indigenous communities as respected stakeholders.