Don’t construct apartments in the forest of a historical shrine in Kyoto, Japan
No! to the construction plan of apartments in the forest of Tadasu!!
Please sign up to oppose Shimogamo Shrine’s plan to build luxury apartments in the forest of Tadasu.
The forest of Tadasu is a sacred ancient grove which we inherited from our forefathers and has attained great age without significant disturbance.
The Shimogamo shrine, including its path through the forest of Tadasu, was designated as a World Heritage site in 1994. It speaks of our spiritual and cultural roots, and serves as a valuable indicator for ecological studies.
The shrine has already begun development in the southernmost part of the forest, within the UNESCO World Heritage Buffer Zone as designated in the heritage statement.
The Buffer Zone provides an additional layer of protection to the World Heritage site, but the construction company has started to dig away soil from the bottom of several trees.
Those acts may lead to a decrease in ground water or change in its quality, which also have a possibility to cause harm to Core Zone of the forest.
Shimogamo Shrine claims that the destruction is necessary to raise money for a shrine tradition called the “Shikinensengu”. Shikinensengu is the traditional rebuilding of the shrine carried out once every 21 years in order to purify the spirit and to ensure transmission of craftsmanship skills.
We, the local residents have never been included in the discussion of these developments, nor have been given any detailed explanations.
Their claims may sound reasonable, and many people accept the apartment construction plan as if there is no other way to resolve the lack of funds.
However, there are many questionable points about those funds, and so we requested the disclosure of the shrine’s financial situation and the estimated cost for next Shikinensengu. The shrine has shrugged off our request.
Are we really out of options? Looking back on history, the Shikinesengu had been delayed or cancelled many times due to various reasons.
In order to preserve this important site as best we could, we need to start a consistent dialogue. Time is limited. We need to show our will to Shimogamo Shrine and the city government, before a natural preserve is destroyed forever.
If you would like to support our cause, please sign up to say No to this imprudent plan.
Money……the root cause of all evil, even here
This news really stymies me. Shimogamo Jinja’s power in large part flows from the extraordinary nature around it. It’s rather like a classical guitarist selling a finger or two in order to buy a new guitar.
A shrine should draw spiritual power from two main sources: its surrounding nature and the people who worship there. It sounds as though Shimogamo has lost touch with both. Such a shame, as a renovation project *can* be the perfect opportunity for bringing community together and reaffirming what is unique and beautiful about one’s surroundings.