Cultural Heritage and Conservation – Notre-Dame Cathedral and Shuri-jo Castle
- 24 July 2023
- 6:00pm – 7:00pm
- Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, 13 / 14 Cornwall Terrace, London NW1 4QP
- https://dajf.org.uk/event/cultural-heritage-and-conservation-notre-dame-cathedral-and-shuri-jo-castle
- +44 (0)20 7486 4348
- events@dajf.org.uk
- Tweet
The year 2019 was an annus horribilis for heritage conservation. On April 15th that year, Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris caught fire. The building lost overnight its entire roof, constructed in mediaeval times, as well as its 19th century spire by Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc. About six months later, on October 30th, the Seiden (State Hall) of Shuri-jo Castle in Okinawa, Japan, which was a symbol of the Ryukyu kingdom, was completely destroyed by fire.
The two buildings were very different in terms of legal status, cultural value, history, materials, and governance. On the other hand, there are quite a few similarities, such as strong social reactions, the role of scientific studies, and the importance of intangible cultural heritage.
In this talk, Professor Kono will consider the two cases from various angles and offer some thoughts on the recovery of cultural heritage after disasters of this kind.
About the contributors
Toshiyuki Kono
Toshiyuki Kono is Professor Emeritus of Kyushu University (Fukuoka, Japan); Honorary President of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). Professor Kono served as the 8th president of ICOMOS, an advisory body to UNESCO, between 2017 and 2020. Prof. Kono is a Titular Member of the International Academy of Comparative Law and currently serves as a board member of the International Academy of Commercial and Consumer Law. In 2019, he received the Reimer-Luest Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Germany).
