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7. The Absurdity of the Demolition
of Structures at Taiseki-ji |
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Prof.
Kiyotaka Kawase on Demolition of The Grand Reception Hall
Kiyotaka Kawase, professor of the University of Niigata
engineering department, contributed his thoughts on the
demolition of Daikyakuden (The Grand Reception Hall).
Professor Kawase, who has previously published commentary
on the Sho-Hondo (Grand Main Temple), maintains that a
number of Taiseki-ji facilities, the Daikyakuden and Sho-Hondo
among them, remain the pride of Japan's concrete engineering
circles.
Professor Kiyotaka Kawase, department of engineering,
University of Niigata
I happened to watch Taiseki-ji’s Daikyakuden being
demolished on video when a friend of mine, who is a member
of the Soka Gakkai, showed it to me the other day. I felt
astonished and angry.
I specialize in architectural concrete engineering. In
the editor's PostScript for an article I supervised for
The Concrete Journal (since renamed as Concrete Engineering),
which commemorated the completion of Sho-Hondo at Taiseki-ji
25 years ago, a time when concrete engineering was still
in its infancy in Japan, I wrote the following:
.... I sat down with those who were directly involved
in the construction work at the site as well as at the
research institute [which supported the project] and asked
them to write an article from the perspective of concrete.
One can see that extraordinary efforts were made on the
design and construction of the historic structure that
required eight years to complete. Experiences of the difficulties
that they encountered were shared one after another, but
the joy of surmounting them was also expressed, and the
conversations were carried on in a relaxed atmosphere.
I believe that the confidence gained from the completion
of the Sho-Hondo will greatly contribute to the future
development of architectural technologies...
This was immediately before the first oil crisis back
in 1973 when prices soared, and concrete of poor quality
became prevalent afterwards. In response, efforts to set
standards for superior-grade concrete were launched through
projects which sought to improve quality. Yet we did not
have a good idea of what high-quality concrete should
really be like. So concrete engineers like myself would
often speak of he concrete used at Taiseki-ji whenever
we referred to the highest grade of concrete.
Although Japan's concrete engineering field has undergone
a variety of experiences and advances over the past quarter-century,
Taiseki-ji's Sho-Hondo undeniably served as a key starting
point. More simply, the field owes its origins to that
project.
Daikyakuden was erected prior to the Sho-Hondo. Its demolition
leads me to think that Sho-Hondo could follow the same
path.
I say this because the demolition was carried out in contradiction
to the results of earthquake resistance inspections, although
the very justification given to tear the structure down
was its alleged vulnerability to tremors. Augmenting this
is the fact that a request to preserve the Daikyakuden,
submitted by the Japan Institute of Architects, was ignored.
I am not well versed in religious matters. But I feel
indignation at Mr. Nikken Abe for his wanton rejection
of a desire shared by many to preserve architecture which,
as winner of the Japan Architecture Society Award, should
be recognized for its obvious historical import. Daikyakuden
was expected to last for several hundred years as the
pride of Japanese concrete engineering.
I was compelled to write because I wanted you to know
that there is a non-member like myself who is feeling
this way about the matter.
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| (Originally published as an
editorial in the Soka Shimpo, Dec. 3, 1997) |
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