Japan: History vs. Technology
"Young people may take historic buildings for granted."
—Nana
Nana Appreciates Historic Buildings
Nana (left) and her fellow student, listening to a lecture in Tokyo.
Nana is trying to change her country's attitude toward historic preservation. Although it may seem that America is more advanced in the way that we preserve historic buildings, Nana says we can't compare "which is better or not. Each country has its own beautiful architecture.”
Nana says she thinks "young people in America may be more independent than young people in Japan."
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Nana appreciates old buildings
The integration of the history of Japan into everyday life is wonderful, but Nana says "it may make young people take historic buildings for granted."
She defines important old buildings as those that "have a long history and unique features of architecture."
These are the buildings that have influenced the new architecture.
Nana says her friends who do not study architecture "don't understand the importance of architecture. They think they are just old buildings."
She laments that teenagers in Japan are much more interested in new and trendy things—like fashion and technology than old historic ones.
Fashion and Technology are Hot
The students we met in Japan love fashion and technology. They have the most advanced cell phones, listen to new music, and are fascinated with America.
They text-message their friends, listen to mp3 players and ride the train to and from school. Some of the students we met even go to school in a skyscraper!
In many ways Japanese students are just like us. They also love t-shirts with English words on them, and experiment with fashion.
Even though Japanese teenagers like American movies and baseball, they're into traditional Japanese comic books and cartoons called Anime.
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Yuko appreciates previous generations
"American young people are so powerful!"
—Yuko
American Teenagers are so Powerful!
Yuko (right) and her fellow student, listening to a lecture in Tokyo.
Japanese teenagers view themselves differently than American teens.
Yuko says, "American young people are powerful! They are interested in many things. They do not hesitate to ask anything."
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Yuko attends Wakayama University. Her school doesn't offer any classes on preserving buildings.
About the Japanese, she says, "Older generations take care of everything they have or see." Unlike young people, they also "tend to know how and why historic buildings were built."
"It is very important to know how they were built. We can learn about historical background and previous generations' ways of living from old buildings," Yuko adds.
She also said that, apart from their university classes, "we individually are working to preserve old schools at Wakayama." One such school is Koyaguchi Elementary School, a traditional Japanese school in Wakayama.
Koyaguchi Elementary School
Japanese students play outside after school.
These students from Koyaguchi elementary school are playing outside after school. Koyaguchi is in the city of Wakayama.
The city of Wakayama is famous throughout Japan for its umeboshi (pickled plums) and for mikan, small tangerine-like oranges, commonly known to Westerners as mandarin oranges.
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Teahouses and castles
Yuko, Nana, and their classmates are trying to find ways to keep using historic buildings and meet the needs of the young students.
Yuko says, "America has a lot of marvelous buildings; but I think it has nothing to do with the length of history. We should preserve old buildings which we regard as good."
In Japan there are many kinds of buildings that we do not have in the United States. One example is the teahouse.
Teahouses
The hostess of a teahouse in Wakayama.
We went to a teahouse in Wakayama. The hostess brought us very strong, frothy green tea and small cakes filled with sweet red bean paste.
The tea ceremony is a symbol of respect and tradition. It is very important to the history of Japan.
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The woman who runs a teahouse will perform a traditional Japanese tea ceremony in a kimono (a traditional Japanese dress).
Another type of building is the castle. Japan was once divided up into prefects. Prefects are like American states.
The Himeji castle is a national treasure in Japan, and a heritage to the world.
Japan's National Treasure
Himeji Castle.
Himeji Castle, near Osaka, is made of wood, stone, and plaster. Built over a nine-year period starting in 1601, the castle today has incomparable worth. The whole structure—including towers, stone ramparts, and earthen walls—are extremely well preserved.
Himeji Castle was never destroyed in wars, earthquakes or fires. It is one of only about a dozen castles in Japan that survives in its original form.
Castles in Japan date from the feudal era, when thousands of castles protected their small territories.
The architecture of Himeji Castle is uniquely Japanese. It was not influenced by either Chinese or Western culture.
Himeji Castle is a Japanese National Cultural Treasure and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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In old Japan, each prefect had a ruler who was sort of like the governor of the state. Each ruler had a castle for defense. Some of those castles are still around.
My favorite is Himeji castle, which is one of the biggest castles in Japan.
The future?
The struggle between preserving the past and leaping forward with technology may be a problem in Japan.
But trips like this are important so that we can learn from each other about how best to save and use important parts of history.
The students I met are trying to turn the struggle into a positive force. And if students like Yuko and Nana have their way, Japan will continue to use historic building in ways that meet the needs of today's population. 
True or False: Franklin walked across the state of New Jersey.
Click Ben's head for the answer.
TRUE: Even though it was illegal to run away, when he was 17, Franklin left Boston and took a boat to New York. He walked across New Jersey, finally arriving in Philadelphia via a boat ride.
Chicago, IL
WRITTEN BY:
Cassandra
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