Photo/Illutration A computer graphic of Takamatsu Castle’s main keep created by the Takamatsu city government in an aim to rebuild the structure (Provided by the Takamatsu city board of education)

Japan's builders and designers are about to enter previously forbidden territory due to a rule change that lets them turn to their imaginations to recreate historic structures that no longer exist.

Japan is relaxing its strict standards for rebuilding historical sites so more can be rebuilt to bring in cash to local areas from tourists that visit them.

The change permits castle main keeps and other now-defunct structures to be rebuilt even if some details of their original external and internal designs and features remain unknown.

The new standards were adopted by an Agency for Cultural Affairs advisory council on April 17.

Up until now, Japan’s historical buildings could be rebuilt on government-designated historical heritage sites only if their structural details could be confirmed through documents and findings such as design plans and excavation results, the agency said.

In recent years, however, numerous local governments eager to rebuild castle main keeps and other historical structures complained that the standards blocked them from doing so.

But in April last year, local authorities looking for a freer hand with history received a boost to their cause when the government revised the law for the protection of cultural properties prioritizing the conservation of historical sites.

The new standards for rebuilding seem certain to add momentum to local governments' efforts to actively make use of cultural properties to revitalize their economies.

Historical structures can now be rebuilt even if builders lack sufficient materials to refer to, under a newly introduced concept included in the standards that the agency calls "restorative implementation."

The sizes of buildings and some building materials may also be altered from the original structure’s design even when detailed knowledge on the structure is available in order to hasten their construction so they can be utilized by local areas.

Under the new rules, local governments are still required to exercise special care to follow a range of procedures, including paying due attention to the conservation of historical sites, conducting expert examinations of the project and providing clear explanations of how the project will be carried out.

Yoshihiro Senda, a Nara University professor specializing in castle archeology praised the agency for changing the rules, saying it was worth it in order to connect the public with Japan’s historical treasures.

"It is respectable because it shows consideration for the public who want to make use of historical resources in their communities," Senda said.

But Senda also cautioned that "it is still important to pursue efforts to faithfully recreate and protect historical sites, and there should be a checking system to prevent half-baked replicas from being built."

In 2017, the advisory council concluded that restorations of historical sites help widely promote their values and that restored buildings can contribute to the active utilization of cultural properties if they are rebuilt properly.

The decision paved the way for the latest revision to the standards.

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