PEOPLE

■We Were Told That “If We Do Not Have a Record of It, It Would Not Be Considered a World Heritage Site,” So We Began Our Research!

－－Following this, in 1999, you established “the Society for Considering the Culture and Literature of Misumi West Port,” and you became the chairman of this group.

Saito:　The aim of this group was to have Misumi West Port designated as a National Important Cultural Property. Thanks to the efforts of Professor Kiyoharu Horiuchi of Kumamoto University and others, in December 2002—the same year the Volunteer Guide Group was established—the National Council for Cultural Properties designated 765-meter-long stone-made wharf, three drainage channels, and four stone-built bridges of the West Port as National Important Cultural Property. At the time, there was some talk revolving around how it would be difficult to designate the site as a heritage site for the modernization of the Meiji period, so we were secretly relieved to hear that. Based on this, we applied to the Kyushu Governors’ Association to be on a tentative list of World Heritage Sites in 2006, which led to the present day.

－－At that time, the fact that Misumi West Port was nominated as a new World Heritage Site must have caused a lot of excitement in the local area.

Saito:　To tell you the truth, people did not really have much interest, at least in the private sector. Especially since it was the government that took the initiative in promoting the project. It was only after it was listed as a candidate on the domestic tentative list that it started to be taken more seriously and was executed in full-scale. We held symposia and events to liven up the local area and to build up the local momentum.

－－I see. It was probably around that time that Mr. Saito, who was one of the local standard-bearers, met Koko Kato, executive director of the National Congress of Industrial Heritage. I heard that they suddenly got into a quarrel as they met (laugh out loud).

Saito:　(Hahaha). In 2007, there was a ceremony to commemorate the 120^th anniversary of the opening of Misumi West Port, and that is where I met with Ms. Koko Kato. She told me, “Well, although the West Port is a National Important Cultural Property, it would not be able to become a World Heritage Site unless there is a record of coal being shipped out,” and I thought, “Well, that is just great!” (laughs out loud).

That comment inspired me to go to the libraries of Arao City and Omuta City to look into documents and materials in regard to coal. I also went to the National Archives of Japan and went around used bookstores. Around that time, the Fukuoka Prefecture and Kumamoto Prefecture collaborated to release documents from the Mitsui Bunko. Then that is when they discovered that from 1890 to 1901, coal was exported from Misumi West Port to Shanghai, China, on ships called the Hideyoshi-maru and the Yoritomo-maru.

－－That is how you came to put Executive Director Kato’s nose out of joint then, is it not (laughs out loud)?

Saito:　No, no, no, it is not like that, I am just saying that everyone made an effort. Ms. Kato and I have continued to develop our friendship since then, and we are not a bad match (laughs). It was myself and Shigetaka Ito, Professor of Graduate School of Management at Kumamoto University, who guided the late Mr. Steuart Smith, Sir Neil Cossons, Mr. Michael Pearson, Mr. Barry Gamble, and four other foreign experts who came with Ms. Kato to conduct the survey. Ms. Kato and Mr. Kimiyasu Shimazu were the first to start this movement, and they worked passionately on it and motivated all the people involved, so I think the biggest contribution is Ms. Kato. I have nothing but gratitude for that.

－－For such longtime activities of Mr. Saito, “Industrial Revolutionary Heritage of Meiji Japan: World Heritage Council to Promote Routes” presented a letter of appreciation at the 2018 Annual Meeting.

Saito:　It was a great honor, and I was surprised. However, we have done what we needed to do. I have been involved with Misumi West Port for more than 30 years and have done what we needed to do, including guiding, creating all the manuals for that purpose, and continued to support comprehensive learning for local elementary schools since 2005. I believe that was what we have been recognized for. If we do not plant the seeds, we would not be able to pass them on to the next generation. That is the only reason we have continued to do what we have done.