Fire prevention countermeasures for cultural properties in Nara City

Abstract

Nara City was the ancient capital of Japan for 100 years in the 8th century, and it was prosperous, not only as the western terminal of the Silk Road, but also as the centre of Buddhist culture in Japan. There are, as a result, a large number of important cultural properties in Nara City, totalling 769 designated properties. They include 118 national treasures and 526 important cultural properties. Buildings constitute 29 of the 118 national treasures in Nara City and also 68 of the 526 important cultural properties. Other articles designated as cultural properties are paintings, sculptures, items of industrial art, old manuscripts, archaeological assets and historical data (Table 1). The national proportion of buildings of national treasures and important cultural properties in Nara City is 29 out of 207 and 68 of 1842, respectively. These are considered valuable and Nara contains very large numbers compared to the other 47 prefectures and 3245 municipalities in Japan. Flood or earthquake disasters are rare in Nara City. Because most of the buildings are made of wood, most disasters are caused by fire. Disaster countermeasures in Nara City have had to contend with approximately 60 fires per annum in recent years. Among these fires, about 30 were in buildings, but no cultural properties were damaged.