January 26 is Fire Prevention Day for Cultural Properties.
Fire Prevention Day for Cultural Properties was established after the fire that destroyed the Kondo of Horyuji Temple, the oldest wooden building in existence (Ikaruga, Nara) and damaged its mural on January 26, 1949.
This accident shocked people intensely and created deep concern over the challenges of cultural property protection, including from fire and disasters. In the following year (1950), the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties was introduced as a governing law for the protection of cultural properties.
After that, repair work on the Kondo was completed on November 3, 1954 and the foundation for public administration in protecting cultural properties was established. At the same time, awareness-raising programs were carried out to further reinforce and solidify the concept of protecting cultural properties. As part of this effort, in 1955 the National Commission for the Protection of Cultural Properties (currently the Agency for Cultural Affairs) and the National Fire Defense Headquarters (currently the Fire Defense Agency) decided that January 26 would be Fire Prevention Day for Cultural Properties, to commemorate the damage done to the Kondo of Horyuji Temple and to be aware that January and February are the time of year when fires occur the most. The day helps to protect cultural properties from fire, earthquakes and other types of disasters, as well as raising public awareness of protecting cultural properties by organizing campaigns.
Since the first Fire Prevention Day for Cultural Properties in 1955, the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the Fire Defense Agency, prefectural and municipal Boards of Education, fire departments, owners of cultural properties, and local communities have worked closely together to organize such campaigns throughout Japan every year on and around January 26.
On the 62nd Fire Prevention Day for Cultural Properties in January 2016, massive fire drills were held at Negoro-ji Temple (Iwade, Wakayama) and Daihonzan Gokoku-ji Temple (Bunkyo, Tokyo), and various other locations with cultural properties throughout Japan also held fire drills.
Scenes from the 62nd Fire Prevention Day for Cultural Properties (FY2015)
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Negoro-ji Temple (Iwade, Wakayama),
January 26, 2016 -
Daihonzan Gokoku-ji Temple (Bunkyo,Tokyo),
January 26, 2016 -
Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple (Oota, Tokyo),
January 15, 2016 -
Rinno-ji Temple (Nikko, Tochigi),
January 26, 2016
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