60
IDEAS TO MAKE KYOTO
A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE
Suggestions from concerned members of Kyoto's international community
(from KJ
#27, THE DEATH & RESURRECTION OF KYOTO)
1. Resolve to recognize
Kyoto's symbolic importance as the quintessential Japanese city, accepting
its responsibility to act as such by exemplifying the best of Japanese
custom and tradition, including respect for the natural environment
and reverence for the spiritual and social values of community life.
Initiate new programs that emphasize community over individual affluence,
and environmental sanity over modern convenience. Call a three-year
halt on all major public and private urban development projects until
a reevaluation of Kyoto's role and direction is made by concensus of
the entire population of the city.
2. Look towards the
next 1200 years, and beyond. Make Kyoto a showpiece of valuable past
and viable future, thinking positively and creatively towards
sustainability, beyond fossil fuel and limited natural resources. Require
all potential public, private and industrial sector development to pass
critical assessment on this basis. (This would indeed make Kyoto "a
city with a name for itself in the world").
3. Think beyond construction
project spending. Bearing in mind Kyoto's role in the evolution of so
many time-proven elements of traditional Japanese lifestyle, its successful
Meiji transformation, and current world environmental imperatives, make
the primary goal of new Keihanna Science City the development of innovatory
Green alternative "soft" technology providing practical means to improve
life and halt environmental degradation, both within Kyoto, nationally,
and beyond Japan's borders. (This would indeed make Kyoto "a city with
a name for itself in the world").
4. Redefine the goal
of "affluence" as true quality of life, not as government-promoted
access to cable television and HDTV. Where can Kyoto citizens picnic
while viewing the sunset from the Eastern hills?
5. Actively encourage,
with tax incentives, practical solutions to problems of energy efficiency
by setting increasingly strict targets for all new buildings (especially
public buildings), i.e. cogeneration, passive heat, solar power, minimizing
electrical dependence on "nuclear Ginza" (14 nuclear plants on the coast
within 100km of Kyoto), not forgetting ancient low-tech wisdom such
as deciduous trees for summer shade and winter light, natural convectional
ventilation, traditional flexibility of building design to adapt to
seasonal changes). Totally ban sealed buildings with all-year-round
airconditioning...
6. The four seasons
are a central pillar of Japanese culture. Restore them to Kyoto. In
November, 1993, to the delight of the citizens of Seoul, the mayor forbade
the annual trimming of ginkgos in front of the city offices so that
fall colors could be enjoyed to the utmost. Kyoto City government take
note: stop denuding the trees on main streets in early October - allow
them to shed their leaves naturally. Nobody enjoys Kyoto's premature
winter.
7. Shakkei,
the device of borrowed scenery used in Japanese gardens, is nearly extinct.
Restore the shakkei to places such as Entsu-ji by reforesting
logging scars on Mt. Hiei and enlisting residents to voluntarily adhere
to strict building codes that would prevent highrises from blocking
the view.
8. Preserve what remains
of intact ecosystems (such as Midorogaike) in the cityÕs environs, with
full assessment of impact of fringe development on resident species.
Strictly control clearfelling of native forested hillsides for monocultural
plantations. Ban hunting; declare all surrounding hills wildlife sanctuaries.
9. Create a ring of
nature centers around the city/mountain interface that would teach about
the local ecology. Model after Honen-in's mori no ie (Forest
House) which gives free public lectures and provides space for exhibits,
local crafts, and natural products.
10. At present, 3.09
m2 of green park space is provided per person in Kyoto. City
government says its aiming for 6 m2, including in that figure
the planned but inaccessibly remote Omi Sports Park which residents
have been fighting for 15 years. How many parks currently counted are
simply packed sand or cement with a few sad trees? Why are existing
neighborhood parks being paved over?
11. Hold City government
to its Greening Ordinance: one tree for every Kyoto citizen. Also allow
no tree to be cut if it can be transplanted, with every tree cut to
be replaced, under responsibility to care for the new tree for at least
10 years.
12. De-canalize the
Kyoto's rivers. Replant the banks of the Kamo with more willows and
cherry trees....and grass. Make it shady. Make stepping-stones suit
the space - not all cement hippopotami. More footbridges too.
13. The sight of trash
in the Kamo River is abominable. Request the Water Department to spend
less money on granite office buildings and more on state-of-the-art
filtering technology to make Kyoto water at least potable, if not fragrant.
Clean water! ("The perfect gift from Kyoto", as the old haiku says.)
14. Provide more litter
bins. Why should a city with Kyoto's construction budget rely on citizen
volunteers to clean pavements? Establish a fine for littering, and enforce
it.
15. Create 'kerbside'
recycling stations for the separate collection of glass, aluminum, plastics,
and paper. Follow through. Implement recycling centers in all wards,
modeled on Suita/Senri's successful Kuru Kuru Plaza, which puts citizen
recycling activities at the core of operations, including public workshops
for crafts and ogatta-gomi & bicycle restoration, a recycling
research institute, recycled goods distribution network center, lecture
and seminar rooms, a cafe, and even a public multi-purpose hall, and
playrooms for children of people participating in Plaza activities...
16. Recent studies
(September 1994) by Prof. Wakimoto Tadaaki of Ehime University show
that burning trash in the open releases harmful dioxins. Ban uncontrolled
trash burning within city limits.
17. Incentives should
be introduced for green setbacks for all parking lots, and hedges to
replace concrete-block walls.
18. The automobile
is been the most destructive force in Kyoto. Discourage its use. Close
traffic to all historic districts and central parts of the city such
as Sanjo, Kiyamachi, and Teramachi Countless cities elsewhere have done
this. Why can't Kyoto?
19. Bring back streetcars,
but make them battery-powered & non-polluting. Replace KyotoÕs fleet
of noxious buses with state-of-the-art 'clean' ones. Ban diesel-fueled
vehicles and enforce strict air-pollution controls. Restrict vehicular
access in business zones to certain periods.
20. Kyoto's streets
are crowded, noisy, full of fumes, obstacle-ridden, benchless, and dangerous
for kids, the elderly, everyone. Create "oases' at bus-stops and corners
by including street furniture, fountains for drinking-water, shady plants,
clocks, solar-powered lights, and computer terminals for community news
and use.
21. Kyoto's size and
topography make it ideal for cycling and walking. Greatly encourage
bicycle use, create free bicycle parks, exclusive lanes for bicycle
and pedestrian use. STOP LEGAL KIDNAPPING OF BICYCLES BY CITY EMPLOYEES!!
Hold a bonfire of all 'bicycle-free zone' signs that currently deface
and disgrace the city.
22. Bring back traditional
kanban. No large, gaudy, oversize billboards: replace with well-designed,
human-scale, less-conspicuous signs. Place on street level.
23. Entreat flashy
chainstores (MacDonald's, Lawsons, Kentucky Fried, etc) to rebuild their
facades and signs with more chaste, Kyotoesque designs. Make Kyoto's
pachinko parlors obey their own association's commitment to "tasteful,
appropriate exterior design." Ban vending machines from historic districts
as well as the garish tarento souvenir shops in Arashiyama and
near Kiyomizu-dera.
24. Eliminate excessive
noise; ban political campaigning by loudspeaker (including the ridiculously
loud right-wing vans); give politicians access to newspapers, radio
and KBS-TV instead. Unplug the loudspeaker at Ryoan-ji's rock garden...
25. Enforce the 45-meter
building height restriction. NO EXCEPTIONS! Build more underground -
Kyoto subways are great! Consider designating the area south of Kyoto
Station and west of Fushimi as an "unrestricted height" building zone.
26. Families hoping
to hand down their machiya (traditional Kyoto townhouses) to
the next generation face a crippling inheritance tax. They either tear
down their house and put in a low-taxed parking lot, or sell it to wealthy
developers who then build highrises. Attention Diet members! revise
the National Inheritance Law!
27. Turn the hundreds
of empty lots of idle land. that were surrendered to pay off inheritance
taxes into urban neighborhood vegetable gardens.
28. Renovate existing
machiya. Many machiya owners, in Kyoto face the the decision of "what
to do next." At a fraction of the cost (half to one tenth) of building
anew, businessmen are beginning to recognize the value of marketing
their wares in the traditional atmosphere of renovated machiya. There
are countless possibilities for new uses; from retaurants to professional
offices, galleries to gift shops.
29. Maintain traditional
facades when building anew. Not only in historic districts where maintenance
of the traditional street scene is required by ordinance, machiya facades
should be retained - but anything can be built behind them. The bizarre,
confused feeling of Kyoto's streets could be given a traditional sense
of order simply by having all buildings wear a suitable mask.
30. Front streets
with machiya, but develop remaining space behind them to achieve increased
economic value. Kyoto's narrow and deep lots are perfectly suited to
this strategy. Beyond the street scene, this would maintain the spatial
and sensory qualities of traditional machiya, as well as employment
of the entire trade/craft network (carpenters, plasterers, roofers,
toolmakers, tatami, fusuma and shoji makers, etc) involved
in machiya construction and upkeep.
31. Delineate heritage
pathways to create and preserve traditional Kyoto neighborhoods; make
streets with machiya focal points for walking and bicycle tours through
the city. Close to traffic on certain days. Create a Green Arc Pathway
along the Lake Biwa canal from Nanzenji where it enters Kyoto to its
confluence with the Kamo River and beyond.
32. All public buildings,
e.g. post offices, police stations or koban boxes, public toilets and
other facilities should be designed in a style compatible with traditional
Kyoto architecture. A few such examples exist - but why so few?
33. Many shrines,
temples and minka (traditional farmhouses) are preserved and
maintained by local communities in Japan. These often serve the community
as places for recreation and education for both young and old. What
if each prefecture in Japan adopted a building in Kyoto as its own?
Buildings, gardens, and homes of cultural merit could be used by academics,
politicians, schoolgroups, craftsmen, or clubs from that prefecture
when they visited Kyoto, in a modern version of the old daimyo custom
of maintaining a residence in the old capital.
34. Put all wires
underground; start in historic districts.
35. Preserve the best
architecture from the first half of this century (Taisho and early Showa).
36. When the Kyoto
Tower ages and has to be torn down, DON'T rebuild it. Reconsider the
awesomely, grossly unsuitable new Kyoto Station planning disaster and
new 600 billion yen expressway. NOW!
37. Kyoto could become
the first city in Japan to insist on Environmental Impact Assessments
being effected during the conceptual stage of development projects
rather than after, as is currently practised.
38. Ensure that government
and public bodies use recycled paper for office work, and recycle all
waste paper.
39. Rescind the loophole
that allows the mayor to be the sole and final decision-maker concerning
large construction projects (and height-limit exceptions). Allow citizen
committees to publicly review all large-scale development projects.
40. Inaugurate an
annual competition and prize for best project of the year integrating
new technology and Kyoto tradition - architecture, landscaping, social
program, craftwork, art....
41. Revitalize the
craft industries by forming cooperatives (33% of small textile manufacturers
are going out of business). Protect natural craft materials (reeds,
bamboos) and the tool-makers who use them. Include craftspeople in educational
projects for new residents, school groups etc.
42. Tighten, instead
of easing, restrictions such as the Large Retail Store Law, to enable
smaller stores to remain competitive and maintain their essential role
within local communities. Tax supermarkets, chain stores and other big
business enterprises; use revenues to support traditional crafts.
43. Encourage more
temples to follow the example of Honen-in, by holding public events,
exhibitions, and concerts.
44. Stop police harrassment
of street musicians and street vendors. Shizuoka holds a five-day annual
contest for street performers, and renamed its main avenue "Performance
Street."
45. Bring back, support
and cherish the Aki Matsuri, Kyoto's premier showplace, information
exchange and community outreach for citizens' groups. Why was such a
vital community event produced solely by volunteer effort, and only
once a year?
46. despite its reputation
as a "matsuri" town (Kawabata claimed there was one everyday
somewhere in Kyoto), Kyoto's festival scene sadly lacks festivity. How
can kyoto improve its "festivity index"? For a start, Jidai Matsuri
is terminally boring. Put it on a CD-ROM and do it once a decade for
nostalgia (put its superb costumes on permanent dispay at Heian Shrine).
On the other nine years, start a procession for anyone who wants to
participate at Umenokoji-koen and end at Central Park Kyoto (Gosho).
Let the crowd mingle, dance and sing until the evening. A festival for
Kyoto rather than a tourist draw.
47. Expand Aoi Matsuri.
With its twin out of the way, Aoi Matsuri, will offer the historical
parade fix that Kyoto sunable to avoid. The entertainments that go along
with the actual procesion are delightful - these should be expanded
to include more parts of the city.
48. Gion Matsuri:
Yoiyama and yoiyoiyama are heavenly; give a free beverage coupon and
uchiwa fan to everyone who wears a yukata. The actual
parade can be leavened by the inclusion of (more) music and perhaps
Edo acrobats. This year's ubiquitous playing of Gion music by stores
should be discouraged: canned music has no place in a festival. Keep
it live, and bring the festival to life. Encourage cultural continuity
by preserving the warehouses (and neighborhoods) the floats are stored
in.
49. Daimonji-yaki.
The Obon fires are still a lovely sight. But too many tall buildings
and city lights are dimming this spectacle, a sad commentary on the
entire city planning fiasco. Turn out the lights!
50. Give Kurama Fire
Festival back to Kurama. Drastic measures are called for: eliminate
95% of the tourists and 99% of the police. Don't let anyone on the train
or road who does not live in the area. Outsiders who want to watch should
have to hike it (reserve train tickets for the disabled and elderly).
With all the space opened up, beer and food can be sold by the roadside.
51. Encourage ethnicity:
the city should support regional ethnic festivals, such as the Korean
Higashi-Kujo Mudang, and provide funds for promotion as well as a secure
annual venue for such festivals.
52. Make every Saturday
a real non-work/non-school day. A big part of what is wrong with festivity
in Kyoto is connected to the economic/social order that is decidedly
not festive, and which makes its own preemptive demands upon
the citizenry, i.e. the economic logic that ties students to juku,
salarymen to desks, and everyone else to long hours of low-wage arbaito.
Karoshi (death from overwork) is only the final stage of a longer,
cultural death that results from too many hours spent pursuingeconomic
ends and neglecting everything else. Now, if everyone in Kyoto had an
extra 300 or 400 free hours a year...
53. Make free space
(indoor and outdoor) available to community for music, lectures, public
meetings, exhibitions, film & video showings, spontaneous events,
butoh, syntheses of all of the above. (Kabuki originated with
one free spirit, Okuni, beside the Kamo!) Seibu Kodo, Honyarado, the
park where the rivers meet at Demachi-yanagi, university festivals,
and the Kyoto Connection all clearly illustrate the on-going need for
such creative opportunity. No bureaucracy, no fancy extravaganzas. Spontaneity.
Public space. Free.
54. Reclaim the Moon!
On fourfull moon nights of the year, ban all traffic from 5pm to 5am.
Let citizens wander throught Kyoto all night, visiting friends, eating
from street stalls, attending outdoor shakuhachi concerts and
incense & tea ceremonies. Revive giant paper lanterns. Open temple
gardens all night.
55. Set a national
example by setting up safe houses for abused women, guaranteeing employment
equality for womwn, encouraging women's cooperatives, and establishing
retraining centers. Kyoto also needs a women's health center, and informal
meeting space for women, especially in new town developments. Also more
daycare centers.
56. Kyoto has over
30 universities, 1,600 temples, and a long history of craft: utilize
these resources for life-long learning. Set up an open city university
for all citizens. Use some of the 17 empty schools downtown for space.
57. Viewing Kyoto's
temples simply as the city's top scenic attractions misses the point
entirely. Renewed awareness of Buddhist ethics and meditation practice
could transform society. Expand opportunities for students, citizens
and tourists to experience and benefit from this essential Kyoto legacy.
58. Replace hyojungo
(the national dialect) with Kyoto dialect in all official events and
broadcasts.
59. If "internationalizatism"
is the buzzword in Kyoto today, why does Kyoto International School
receive such little support from the city and community. The school
has been forced to look abroad for funding. Also, given Kyoto's illustrious
cinematic past, Japan's International Film Festival (now staged in Tokyo)
should be held here at least every other year.
60. Introduce referendums
and citizen initiatives into city government, giving city residents
a more direct say in their own future. This fundamental democratic principle
is essential in getting suggestions such as these above onto the city
agenda.
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