考古遺跡の活用による観光創造と地域活性化 : 世界遺産登録を目指す「北の縄文」広域連携

In the 1990s, nationwide discovery and excavation of many fascinating Jomon ruins including Sannai-Maruyama Ruins has generated "Jomon Boom" in Japan. Heated attention was raised among Japanese people by the restored ancient houses and architecture and periodical events at these sites. The Jomon pottery and the remains of ancient architectures were exhibited as they had been there but they used to be merely the objects for sight-seeing. The Jomon Ruins, however, should be treated in a different way in recent years when there has been a drastic change in a sense of values from the aspiration for material ownership to mental happiness or subjective well-being. What we can see at the Jomon Ruins is the Jomonism, under which people co-exist and co-prosper with nature. Such sustainable lifestyle of Jomon people can be enjoyed through tourism using all five senses of human being. In December 2008, the ruins in Jomon Period, which were widely spread across Hokkaido, Aomori, Iwate and Akita prefectures, were registered in a tentative list of World Heritage as "Jomon Ruins around Hokkaido and Northern Tohoku Region"; that is to say "Northern Jomon Ruins". Now, the Jomon Ruins, including surrounding landscape and regional life culture, should be able to provide visitors with emotional impacts and certain space where the visitors can get a clear hint to construct new social system. In the 1950s, Taro Okamoto, Japanese artist, encountered "Flame Pottery" of Jomon Period. It is said that Okamoto developed his own vital arts fascinated by the Jomon's figurative beauty and internal energy. He, then, created various art works and influenced Japanese architecture and other fields as well. What is expected these days is the outbreak of the innovative things in the tourism field, in other words, "Tourism Innovation" which enlighten regional lives and revitalize regional economy. The theme of "Northern Jomon Ruins" is actually to re-evaluate Jomon culture, which existed even much before the Four Great Ancient Civilization, as the way of sustainable and happy life of human being and to appeal its significance to the world. This "Way of Life" (i.e. culture), as a matter of fact, could be the hope to overcome various crises we are encountering on a global scale. In this thesis, it was verified that Jomon culture has the significance worthwhile for the World Heritage. Then, the various measures to combine the value with regional revitalization efforts were discussed through the necessity and possibility of wide area alliance among Hokkaido, Aomori, Iwate and Akita prefectures in relation to tourism innovation. In addition, by focusing on northern Jomon ruins and paying an attention to the inter-communication among the people in Okhotsk in the north-east Asia and Ainu in Hokkaido, the possibility of those four prefectures was identified to be located as a Northern Gateway for north-east Asia.