Located at the center of Ehime prefecture, the town of Uchiko developed as an important stopping point on the Shikoku O-henro (Buddhist pilgrimage) route and the Old Ozu Highway. It thrived as a center of washi paper and mokuro (Japan wax) production. The town used to hold markets starting in the Middle Ages, and the names of the Muikaichi* and Yokaichi* districts are derived from these historical markets. There are many historic properties in Uchiko, including the Yokaichi Gokoku Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings and the Uchiko-za theater, which is an important cultural asset. Making the most of these historic resources, the town is now being transformed despite the dwindling population due to an aging society.

* muika means “the sixth of the month,” yoka means “the eighth of the month,” and ichi means “old-time market.” Muikaichi thus means “market on the sixth of every month,” and yokaichi means the “market on the eighth of every month.”

The Uchiko Historic Town Project was launched in 2017 to draw up “Plans for the Maintenance and Improvement of Historic Landscapes,” aiming to further promote historic town planning. With the Urban Design Lab at the School of Engineering at the University of Tokyo joining the project to offer detailed suggestions, the next-generation town planning project was approved by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism in 2019 and was started in the same year.

Jun Okada, a second-year doctoral student in the Department of Socio-Cultural Environmental Studies, has been working on the remodeling and reuse project of the former Mori Residence, which is vacant but highly valuable as a historic property. Okada became interested in the project because he loves old town streets and buildings: “The Mori Residence has seven big and small buildings and three yards, but they are gradually decaying. Preserving the house requires a lot of money, so we need to balance the legacy of its historical value with sustainable cost-effectiveness to remodel and use the residence,” Okada points out.

“It is definitely important to satisfy local needs. But as a young researcher, I also want to suggest something new from a long-term perspective. I don’t want the town to just be a day-trip sightseeing spot. I want people to return to Uchiko repeatedly or make a longer stay to enjoy the village scape and interact with the local community. ‘Active preservation’ is what I’m aiming for—that is, improving the town through activities and time shared by the local people and visitors, rather than simply preserving buildings and the townscape,” notes Okada, whose exploration continues.

(Original Japanese text by Mayuko Araragi)