“Disaster and the Humanities: Preservation, Management, and Heritage” Interdisciplinary Symposium of the National Institutes for the Humanities and the University of Bonn
No.115
2025-05-01
On December 1, 2020, the National Institutes for the Humanities (NIHU) and the University of Bonn, Germany, signed a comprehensive agreement of research and personnel exchange. With the COVID-19 pandemic subsiding, the two institutions co-hosted their first international symposium “Disaster and the Humanities: Preservation, Management, and Heritage” from September 26 to 28, 2024, at the University of Bonn.
The first day of the symposium started with opening addresses from the heads of the institutes, Michael Hoch, rector of the University of Bonn, KIBE Nobuko, president of NIHU, and KAWAHARA Setsuko, council general of the Consulate-General of Japan in Düsseldorf. Following them were keynote addresses “Katastrophenschutzpolitik in Japan” (Emergency Preparedness Policies in Japan) by AGATA Koichiro, professor at Waseda University, and “A Series of Compound Natural Disasters: Flooding in Edo Aggravated by a Volcanic Eruption,” by WATANABE Koichi, professor at the National Institute of Japanese Literature.
President KIBE speaks at the symposium
Three sessions were held on the second day of the symposium.
Session 1: Saving Cultural Resources
How can we salvage and preserve cultural resources damaged by earthquakes, floods, and other disasters? Session 1 shared many examples of protection and preservation efforts in Japan responding to this question.
・AMANO Masashi (associate professor, National Museum of Japanese History), “Preservation and Succession of Local Historical Culture: Current Status and Problems of Disaster Management in Japan.”
Session 2: Disaster and Its Records
This session covered disasters and human-perpetrated disasters such as war, highlighting studies conducted in South Korea and Japan.
・Edward Boyle (associate professor, International Research Center for Japanese Studies), “Resilient Materials: Heritage in Disaster Recovery.””
・Alt (project appointed assistant professor, National Museum of Japanese History), “Bearing the Unbearable: The Early Post-War in Anime.”
・Harald Meyer and Reinhard Zöllner (professors, University of Bonn), “Commemorating the Great Kanto Earthquake.”
Session 3: Digital Humanities
This digitalization-themed session covered two cases: tangible cultural resources such as buildings and remains, and intangible ones, including dialects and characters.
・YOKOYAMA Akiko (project appointed assistant professor, National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics), “Language Preservation in the Community: The Case of Okinoerabu, Ryukyuan.””
・KOMAI Sachi (project appointed assistant professor, International Research Center for Japanese Studies), “Exploring Distance: KIRINO Natsuo’s Novels in Japanese and English Contexts.”
・Matthias Lang (Director, Bonn Center for Digital Humanities), “Protecting the Material Cultural Heritage with 3D Technologies.”
Scene from the second day of the symposium
In contrast to the second day when the presentations revolved around the humanities and information science, on the final day, scholars of the natural sciences joined the symposium.
Session 4: Local Culture and Nature
This session featured lessons learned from crises and the kinds of preparation that should be made in normal times. In addition to sharing various case studies from Japan, Germany, and Italy, the session presented Japanese and European case studies.
・YOSHIDA Takehito (visiting professor, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature), “Local Culture for Avoiding Disasters and Taking Advantage of Blessings in Nature.”
・Lothar Schrott (professor, University of Bonn), “Lessons to Learn—The Role of Higher Education in Disaster Risk Management and Insights from the Flood Events of July 2021.”
・Irene Petraroli (post-doctoral fellow, University of Twente, the Netherlands), “Disaster Preparedness and Community Resilience Between Japan and Europe.”
Session 5: Sustainability and Resilience
“Sustainability” and “resilience” were the keywords. The participants actively exchanged views, referencing cases of global environmental research conducted in India and Japan.
・Prabir Patra (professor, RIHN), “Effect of Modern Agriculture Practices on Air Pollution and Climate Change.”
・Paola Fontanella Pisa (program associate, United Nations University, Bonn, Germany), “Cultural Heritage and Local Knowledge for Community Disaster Resilience: Participatory Approaches in Tadami UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.”
Excursion to the Augustusburg Palace, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site
The affiliation and position of the speakers are based on information as of September 2024.
(Text: OHBA Go, Researcher, Center for Innovative Research, National Institutes for the Humanities)
