“Mt. Tsukuba Renaissance” is a project of the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences that began in 2005 with financial support from the University of Tsukuba. The aim of this project is to promote cooperation and exchange with local residents, to study, excavate, and organize Mt. Tsukuba’s cultural resources and historical assets, and to contribute to the development of residents’ cultural and historical identity through the creation of intellectual value, networking, and teaching materials.
Mt. Tsukuba, Mt. Hokyo, and the surrounding area are endowed with great natural beauty and rich historical and cultural resources. From ancient times and the Middle Ages to modern times, Tsukuba’s historical/cultural heritage has had charm, value, and a potential to attract visitors that equal those of Nikko and Kamakura. However, it cannot be said that this has yet been linked to effective image-building, or to readily-available information about the area’s natural beauty, history, tradition, and culture. One of the reasons for this may be that, in the past, the university has tended to focus on central Japan and on other countries, rather than on the region just outside its door. Over the years, shopping districts that used to support the local way of life fell into a decline, fields and forests became overgrown, and natural beauty and historical buildings were destroyed. This decline progressed so far as to make restoration difficult. Neither Ibaraki Prefecture nor Japan can be beautiful without the sparkle of local agriculture, forestry, business, and cultural assets. People all over Japan have recently realized this and are working hard to rebuild towns and revitalize local areas. True love of one’s country cannot be created by school textbooks. What is important is to get to know the natural beauty of one’s own hometown, its temples and shrines, its folk arts and the history of its relics, and to interact with the people who live there. Education that fosters deep affection for one’s own community is necessary in order to get to know the real Japan, to raise awareness of one’s Japanese identity, and to create a basis for becoming a world citizen.
Our university has recently realized the importance of these things. Even though it is human nature to be amazed at the great value of things that have been lost, it is very difficult to regain what has once been ruined or destroyed. It is especially difficult in the case of natural or historical/cultural heritage. However, we now know that there are many non-profit organizations and volunteers taking up the challenge of this next-to-impossible task. If we work with them, it will be possible to restore and preserve the natural beauty and the historical/cultural assets of Mt. Tsukuba and its surrounding area. This will also trigger new development of the natural environment, agriculture, and business—in other words, regional revitalization.