Author(s)

HIROSHI KATO

Abstract

This paper aims to reveal what kinds of elements have been fostering friendly atmosphere between ports and towns. In 2003 Cabinet declared a policy to build up a tourism-based nation, saying that “Japan both good for living and good for visiting”. To find elements generating the friendly atmosphere of port towns is one of the key issues for the success of the policy because there are more than 1,000 ports in Japan. Ports are situated on the boundary where natural and cultural resources are rich. People’s mind for value has been shifting from material affluence to spiritual richness. However, it seems that ports are still left on the outskirts of people’s consciousness. Continuous efforts are needed to find ways to fully utilize our valuable resources. Photos of port towns of three countries are collected and analysed: Fiji, Japan and the UK. The author visited all the sites mentioned above by himself to examine and confirm. In addition, digital archives of museums and libraries constitute the major data resources of this study. The photos utilized in this study covered three centuries: 19th, 20th, 21th, and were examined to reveal what kinds of activities and facilities/equipment were focused and taken in the photos at ports, hinterland towns and beach areas. This study indicated that continuity of port related facilities and equipment set between a port and an immediate hinterland town fostered friendly atmosphere with each other. Lamps and railway sidings can be listed as examples of this category. In addition, it was found that time continuity in the form of heritage had played a major role to foster the friendly atmosphere between the two. These results show that both physical continuity and time continuity are important elements to be considered at the planning stage as well as design stage in port and town planning.

Keywords

heritage, continuity, harbour, lamp, sidings, photo, archive, Fiji, Japan, UK