ABSTRACT
Japanese cultural heritage includes assets that survived many disasters, thus embedding traditional knowledge. By reviewing the relevant traditional disaster mitigation measures, this chapter discusses how Japanese traditional buildings and cities have survived many disasters, eventually becoming designated heritage sites. It examines various perspectives on how traditional designs of heritage buildings and historic towns, built with limited materials and technologies, have been able to mitigate the impact of unavoidable disasters. A recent trend in Japan has emerged in ‘disaster mitigation,’ which tries to minimise damage in unexpected situations, in contrast to ‘disaster prevention,’ which aims to achieve zero harm, which is often impossible in unforeseen situations.
This chapter explains the characteristics of cultural heritages in Japan from the perspective of their resilience to disasters. It describes the ‘survival designs’ achieved with limited materials and technologies, focusing on different hazards, including earthquakes, fires, floods, and snowstorms.
