A Small but Lively Town-Oguni-cho, Kumamoto Pref.

JFS Newsletter No.34 (June 2005)
"Initiatives and Achievements of Local Governments in Japan" Article Series No.10

Japan is well-known as one of the most extensively forested countries in the world. Forests account for 67 percent of Japan's land area, and have always provided water resources and wildlife habitat, as well as wood for house construction, firewood, food and compost. Forests have also been worshiped as holy places where many gods live.

Planting seedlings in logged areas to prevent forest denudation and floods is said to have been encouraged since the Muromachi Period, around 1550. In the Edo Period (1603-1867), cedar, cypress and pine trees were planted for timber at many locations throughout Japan. Currently, artificial plantations account for 40 percent of Japan's forests, but inexpensive log imports are making it financially difficult to justify forest maintenance costs. Rural depopulation, the aging of forest workers and lack of successors also contribute to poor management, and some forests are going to ruin.

Meantime, under the Kyoto Protocol that took effect in February 2005, the Japanese government is required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 6 percent from the 1990 levels Of this 6 percent, the government plans to allot 3.9 percent to the ability of forests to absorb carbon dioxide. However, this will depend on appropriate forest management, as well-managed forests absorb more CO2.

This article introduces the innovative initiatives of Oguni-cho in Kumamoto Prefecture, southern Japan, which has been creating modern structures using local wood for the last 20 years, hoping to revive Japan's wood-working culture.

New-style Wooden Buildings

Oguni-cho is a rural town located on the gentle slopes of the Aso caldera, said to be one of the world's largest, located in the center of Kyushu and facing Oita Prefecture. Its population is about 9,000 and its land area is 137 square kilometers, of which 74 percent is mountainous.

The area around Oguni-cho, where the Chikugo River starts, is called the roof of the Kyushu Mountain Range. It is a cool upland region with an annual average temperature of 13 degrees Celsius. Its rainy and humid climate is suitable for growing high-quality cedar. Oguni cedar has solid and clearly grained wood characteristic of a severe climate, and has been traded as a brand for 250 years.

In 1983, Nobutoshi Miyazaki had just assumed the office of Mayor of Oguni-cho, and felt it was unreasonable not to use local high-quality cedar for a public building that had been designed to use concrete blocks. He had its design changed to a wooden building using local cedar. After that, many other public buildings were built with Oguni cedar as part of the town's policy to effect a forestry revival by encouraging active wood distribution, processing and building businesses in this wood-producing district.

The first wooden structure was Yu Station, a bus terminal with an innovative wood and glass design built in 1987 on the site of Higo-oguni Station on the former national Miyanoharu Railway, which stopped operation in 1984. A modern architect designed it as Japan's first example of the three-dimensional wooden truss construction method. This method assembles triangles of three small-diameter logs that are joined together using a special technique. With this method, a large structure with no supporting pillars can be built.

Oguni Dome, a wooden gymnasium, was built with the same method. It has two indoor basketball courts, and its roof is made of 5,602 small-diameter logs joined by the wooden truss method. The names of the elementary and junior high students at the time of construction are inscribed on the logs. The Dome is affectionately called Big Turtle, because the roof looks like a giant turtle shell. Other wooden structures with innovative designs include public facilities such as a school, a preschool and a commercial museum, as well as private facilities such as restaurants, banks and retailers. These buildings create a new atmosphere, while blending into the existing scenery.
Oguni Dome (Japanese page)

The point Mayor Miyazaki wants to emphasize is that the structures are built using a new method combining high-quality Oguni cedar and high-level construction techniques, rather than simply using local wood and traditional construction methods. He wants to both revive wood-working culture and promote Oguni-cho as a unique and active town.

The mayor's plan is called Yuki no Sato in Japanese. The yu in yuki, means eternity, relaxation and perfect composure, and the ki denotes wood; sato means home town. The town has taken the concept expressed by yu as its town image, and is promoting the plan's six themes, which include sales of local specialties made with natural materials, events organized by local people, and the town's attractiveness as a nature tourism destination.

Encouraging Residents to Accept Change

Shoei Yoh, the architect who designed three buildings in Oguni-cho in the three-dimensional wooden truss construction method, received a prize from the Architectural Institute of Japan in 1989. The Yuki no Sato project gained accolades from the national government and Kumamoto Prefecture, and the name of Oguni-cho rose to prominence throughout Japan. An increasing number of people visited to observe and study the project, and as a result, a lot of information and people flowed in to the town.

In the second stage of the project, Oguni-cho shifted its focus from hardware to software, that is, how to effectively use the buildings made of local wood. The key was people. One of the town's aims is to encourage people who try to create a better future, and it solicited support from residents to open the Oguni School for a Better Future in 1986. It also started a Townsfolk Planning System, in which local government officers and residents team up to study issues facing the town and make suggestions that will be reflected in its policies. A variety of proposals have been made, and more and more people have been coming up with unique ideas.

In 1991, the six regions of the town set up their own "Land Utilization Plan Teams" (current name: Community Plan Promotion Teams). Most women and young people had shown little interest in community development, but a sense of crisis about rampant resort development and serious damage from a typhoon that hit Kyushu in 1991 led them to join these teams. Moreover, some participants started an active competition in ideas with other teams.

Meanwhile, the municipality adjusted its ordinances and subsidy systems to offer venues and opportunities to residents who work for a better future. The town also accepted interns interested in community development from universities throughout Japan. The viewpoints of these young people from outside helped residents discover assets of the town they had taken for granted.

These projects have helped cultivate people who can take the initiative to work towards a better future for Oguni-cho, and this in turn caused more people to get involved and expand networks beneficial to Oguni-cho in and out of town. Experts in various fields from outside the town have lent support by offering advice. An increasing number of people who had moved out returned to work there. Some returnees are from Oguni-cho and others are from areas near the town. Some city dwellers also moved in.

A small FM radio station started serving Oguni-cho, a local magazine is published, and a variety of events, such as movies, concerts and art exhibitions, are held throughout the year. The town has been shifting its image from a closed rural area to an open and sophisticated town where residents take care of the natural environment.

"A community should be open to people who are willing to meet challenges and make unique suggestions," says Mayor Miyazaki. He added that the government's role is to give as much support and protection as it can to people who are industrious. In this context, the concept of tourism has been introduced into town policy.

The Kyushu Tourism Symposium of 1996 was held in Oguni-cho, and this encouraged residents to perceive tourism as a key to the town's development, and in September 1997, the Kyushu Tourism University was founded in Oguni-cho. This university serves as a venue of learning and interaction through lectures and fieldwork, with the aim of creating networks and nurturing people who will promote tourism in mountainous areas.

Eight years have passed since the University's foundation, and a total of over 1,000 students have taken courses there. Graduates have voluntarily established national networks that reach beyond differences of generation, region and occupation. In the town, some people have opened farm restaurants serving local foods, and others have opened their private residences as overnight accommodations for visitors. Some people have even moved in from other areas.

Oguni-cho regards tourism as a means to energize people through discovery and as an opportunity for people to meet and interact. Oguni-cho and its energized people will be interesting to watch into the future.

(Staff writer Kazumi Yagi)