Rethinking the 1950 Law for the Protection of Cultural Property

The 1950 Law for the Protection of Cultural Property was neither the beginning nor the end of Japan's endeavors to protect its cultural heritage. As previously described, at least since the 19th century the nation had started to undertake preservation efforts, in the modern interpretation we give to this. Indeed, from the very early stages of the Meiji Restoration, Japan's young government and many intellectuals and even ordinary citizens had been concerned enough about possible losses to national cultural heritage – losses brought about by the breakneck speed of Westernization – that they sought to put in place a series of legislative measures to ensure protection. The list is long (edited here for clarity):

In 1968, the lead entity in charge of cultural protection, the Cultural Properties Protection Committee, became the Agency for Cultural Affairs (Bunkachō), thus fulfilling the wish of many early advocates of the Law (including the remarkable Yamamoto Yūzō, of whom more will be said later) to see a secretariat of true experts servicing the country's cultural heritage. Since that time there have been numerous additions and amendments to the Law, but the foundations of 1950 have persevered.

The most profound accomplishment of the 1950 Law, at a time when so much else was demanding the limited resources and attention of the nation, was to ensure – earlier than anyone could have ever anticipated or dreamt of, and before more damage was inflicted on the country's treasures – that cultural property protection had a place within the legislative and executive priorities of Japan and received the resources it deserved.