The Takanezawa Seminar formed a historical and cultural tourism study group, and since 2015 has been working to solve local issues in cooperation with the local community in the Fukuzumi area of Tamba Sasayama City. In fiscal 2020, we conducted activities under the theme of effective use of abandoned bamboo groves and improvement of nighttime appeal.
Fukuzumi has a historic townscape that has been designated as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings.In recent years, the use of vacant houses has progressed, and the area has become lively, with lodging facilities and cafes opening.After taking measures against the novel coronavirus, the students visited the area and, through an exchange of opinions with the residents, proposed the idea of lighting up the townscape at night with bamboo lanterns.
In rural areas, unmanageable bamboo groves have become a major problem.Bamboo not only grows underground stems and spreads around, but also leads to various problems, such as dead bamboo breaking and falling down, and bamboo thickets becoming hiding places for deer and wild boars.The idea of making bamboo lanterns this time is to create bamboo lanterns every year to trigger regular logging work, and at the same time, use bamboo lanterns to illuminate the historical townscape and enhance the charm of the night.
After summer, we had two prototype meetings and meetings with the local community, and on March 2, we conducted a test lighting at Sumiyoshi Shrine in the Fukuzumi district.On the day of the event, it was raining intermittently and the weather was cold. The warm light of many bamboo lanterns was very attractive.
Going forward, we plan to look back on our efforts, identify issues, and formulate improvement plans in consultation with local residents.
(Hitoshi Takanezawa, Department of Tourism, Faculty of Contemporary Society)
