Published Papers - Nishisaka Ryo

The memorialness in memorial parks from the perspective of user awareness at Okinawa Peace Memorial Park

Ryo NISHISAKA

Landscape Research Japan Online ( Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture )  18   97 - 106   2025.12 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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Examination of adaptive development and utilization of Okinawa Peace Memorial Park, from the perspective of changes in park planning

Landscape Research Japan Online ( Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture )  18   72 - 84   2025.11 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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Citizens' Perceptions of Earthquake Memorial Parks and Their Willingness to Participate in the Parks' Management and Use: Results of a Survey of Residents Living in the Coastal Areas of the Miyagi Prefecture Affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake

Ryo Nishisaka, Yuki Okano

JAPAN ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW     2025.05 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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The Interplay between Citizen Activities and Space across Different Official Memorial Landscape Construction Phases: Disaster Risk Reduction in Ishinomaki, Japan

Sihan Zhang, Ryo Nishisaka, Shixian Luo, Jing Xie, Katsunori Furuya

Land ( MDPI AG )  13 ( 7 ) 985 - 985   2024.07 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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Memorial facilities are one of the crucial places where citizens conduct activities facilitating disaster risk reduction (DRR). However, previous studies have primarily focused on the post-construction phase of official memorial facilities, neglecting the citizen activities collaborating with the official memorial construction process before and during the construction process. This research gap is important considering the urgency of disaster-affected regions to recover from spatial, social, and psychological voids while working towards the goal of DRR, including the efforts of citizens in the official efforts. This study addresses this gap by examining the case of the official memorial park in Ishinomaki, Tohoku region, following the Great East Japan Earthquake. Here, local citizens actively participated in activities before, during, and after park construction, engaging with official efforts. Data were gathered from various online sources to capture activity, space, and management information. Employing a mixed methods research approach, we conducted both quantitative analysis, counting labels of structural coding, and qualitative description of original texts. Our findings reveal that fostering mutual respect built on communication and collaborative tree-planting activities were crucial for maintaining the pre-existing citizen activities and collaborative construction during the official construction period. Additionally, the implementation of a collaborative regulation system was vital for integrating and managing spontaneous citizen activities to achieve the park's intended objectives post-opening. In conclusion, we highlighted a framework elucidating the mechanisms through which these processes contribute to DRR across key phases of disaster risk management: preparedness, prevention, response, and recovery (PPRR). These insights are important in guiding efforts to engage citizens in DRR initiatives through recovery and reconstruction facilitated by memorial facilities.

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Exploration of the value of Japanese-style gardens in incarceration camps during world war II: the case of the Amache, Colorado, U.S.

Sayaka Akayama, Bonnie Clark, Katsunori Furuya, Yusuke Mizuuchi, Ryo Nishisaka, Seiko Goto

International Journal of Heritage Studies ( Informa UK Limited )    1 - 20   2024.06 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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Evaluating the Accessibility of Networks in Earthquake Memorial Facilities for the Great East Japan Earthquake

R Nishisaka, Y Yazawa, K Furuya

IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science ( IOP Publishing )  1092 ( 1 ) 012020 - 012020   2022.10 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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Abstract In areas affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, many museums and stone monuments were established to communicate the insights obtained from the disaster. As of April 2021, more than 200 facilities have been registered as “earthquake memorial facilities" by the government. However, most of these facilities are operated without guidance from the public. A comprehensive visitor plan is required to link each facility, and to effectively share disaster lessons. Accordingly, this study analyzed visitor access to earthquake memorial facilities, and clarified the geographical network connecting these establishments. It evaluated the accessibility of transportation for visitors, and considered ways of enhancing this network. To these ends, we created a list of earthquake memorial facilities that were constructed in the affected Tohoku region; we mapped these facilities using a geographic information system. A facility's ease of access, as measured by the time taken to gain access, was analyzed on the basis of the distance between facilities, with transportation considered. The results were used to propose a network for an earthquake memorial facility. We also discussed the possibility of providing tours on the facility's network, and discussed their relationships with transportation bases and other networks. For future use, we proposed a method for improving accessibility to each facility in the network.

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Incorporation of citizens' opinions into the process of earthquake ruins maintenance: A case study of the Great East Japan earthquake ruins in Miyagi Prefecture

Ryo Nishisaka, Katsunori Furuya

JAPAN ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW ( Wiley )  4 ( 1 ) 176 - 191   2021.01 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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The Great East Japan Earthquake struck in March 2011, causing a huge tsunami on the northeastern coast of Japan. In the disaster area, there has been a movement to preserve the damaged structures as earthquake ruins. In this study, the characteristics of establishing consensus were investigated by clarifying how the earthquake ruins have been preserved and removed, and how the opinions of citizens were accounted for in the process of maintaining these sites. The study focused on 21 earthquake ruins in Miyagi Prefecture, which were the closest to the epicenter. We extracted 30 elements from the earthquake ruins maintenance process and created labels for them. From these, we prepared time-series charts and flowcharts and discussed the relation between entities and citizens' opinions regarding the maintenance process. We clarified four stages pertaining to the preserved ruins and found four types of relationships between the major opinions and treatment decisions. Furthermore, the periods following the earthquake were divided into three phases: pioneering, deliberation, and implementation. Consequently, we suggested that citizens' opinions, coupled with expert advice, could be used to help establish consensus in an incremental manner when making administrative decisions.

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ADOPTION OF CITIZEN OPINIONS IN THE PROCESS OF EARTHQUAKE RUINS MAINTENANCE Case study on the Great East Japan Earthquake ruins in Miyagi prefecture

西坂涼, 古谷勝則

日本建築学会計画系論文集 ( Architectural Institute of Japan )  84 ( 759 ) 1177‐1187(J‐STAGE) - 1187   2019 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (other science council materials etc.)

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<p> In this study, we examine the process for dealing with the earthquake ruins in Miyagi prefecture caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake, including the preservation, removal, and maintenance of the ruins. For this purpose, we analyzed 21 earthquake ruins, extracted 30 elements of the maintenance process, and created appropriate labels. We created time series charts and flowcharts, and extracted four stages of the preserved earthquake ruins: (a) the treatment decision stage, (b) the basic concepts stage, (c) the design stage, and (d) the operation stage. In cases where ruins were not preserved, they were divided into "inverted" and "exclusion" types.</p><p> Based on the events that occurred during the maintenance of the earthquake ruins, the time following the earthquake's occurrence was divided into three periods: pioneering, consideration, and implementation. During the pioneering period, it was decided that the police station in Onagawa Town would be preserved as an earthquake ruin, and that a fishing vessel in Kesennuma City would be dismantled. Toward the end of this period, the government decided to support the initial cost of earthquake ruin preservation. During the consideration period, many municipalities discussed and decided on the treatment of earthquake ruins, such as preservation or removal. During this period, municipalities held a conference with earthquake ruin experts, in which each municipality decided to preserve their ruins in accordance with the values noted by experts. Finally, during the implementation period, the municipalities performed concrete reviews of the preservation and management measures. When reviewing these cases, the opinions of citizens were considered as to whether the ruins should be preserved or not. Subsequently, we focused on the citizens' opinions in the maintenance process and organized their contents, methods, objects, dates, and so on.</p><p> Among the 37 opinions, 83% were compiled by the municipalities, while the remaining 17% were spontaneously submitted by the citizens. We created the labels "Earthquake tradition," "Candidate selection," and "Treatment of preservation/dismantlement, etc." to classify these opinions. Further, there were opinions on utilization methods based on earthquake ruin preservation plans, which we labeled as "Proposal for preservation and utilization" or "Draft policy for preservation and utilization." For the relationship between opinion content and treatment decision, we used the labels "Majority in favor of preservation" and "Preservation requested." When preservation was excluded, the labels were "Majority oppose preservation" and "Opinion unknown," which almost agree with "inverted" and "exclusion" types, respectively.</p><p> In conclusion, this study demonstrates that in the maintenance process of earthquake ruins, municipalities were the fundamental entity. We suggest that citizens' opinions and the advice provided by experts may help establish a consensus on administrative decision-making for earthquake ruin preservation in a step-by-step manner. Moreover, we clarified that the treatment decision is decided based on the intention of a majority opinion from citizens. We believe there is a possibility that citizen participation at the decision-making stage may affect the design or operation stage. Further research on the relationship between earthquake ruins and citizen opinion is required to facilitate sustainable management in cooperation with citizens.</p>

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Actual Conditions of Interest and Knowledge of the Great East Japan Earthquake by University Students Who Study Landscape and Introduction to Learning Process

西坂涼, 古谷勝則

ランドスケープ研究 ( Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture )  81 ( 5 ) 733‐738 - 738   2018.03 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (other science council materials etc.)

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<p>Sustainable human resource development is important for the landscape field to contribute to the long-term reconstruction of areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake. For this purpose, actual conditions of interest and knowledge about the disaster by students of landscape must be clar ified. In this study, a questionnaire and group work were conducted for university students specializing in the field. Then, introduction to learning process is discussed. First, the questionnaire was analyzed quantitatively to understand the degree of interest, knowledge, and motivation for action regarding the Great East Japan Earthquake. As a result, it was understood that the students have little knowledge of the disaster in sp ite of the high degree of interest. Next, information about the Great East Japan Earthquake that the students want to know and why became clear through group work. The text data was obtained and analyzed, applying a quantitative analysis method called SCAT. The interests of the students were classified into five types, and the reasons for the occurring interest were classified into four types. A large group can be formed by strongly connecting interest "interest for the consciousness of victims" and reason "interest in people".</p>

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Establishment of Kataribe-Guides and Their Activities at Remnants of the Great East Japan Earthquake

NISHISAKA Ryo, FURUYA Katsunori

The Tourism Studies ( 日本観光研究学会 )  29 ( 2 ) 17 - 28   2018 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (other science council materials etc.)

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"Kataribe-Guides" bring visitors to remnants of the Great East Japan Earthquake, and give a tour by sharing their own experience and key learning from the disaster. Two local residents, who work as "Kataribe-Guides" at the remnants of earthquake in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, have been studied as a subject in this research. Interviews were conducted with the subjects, and 49 texts have been obtained regarding the establishment and the progress of their activities. The texts have been analyzed by Steps for Coding and Theorization (SCAT). Following the SCAT procedure, descriptions of the has been extracted regarding "establishment and activities of Kataribe-Guides", "issues Kataribe-Guides face", and "the development potential of Kataribe-Guides' activities". And seven factors have been collated as "further investigation".

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Considerations for Regional Resource from Water Canals in Katsushika-Ward, Tokyo

Ryo Nishisaka, Katsunori Furuya, Shigeru Hori

Journal of Landscape Architecture in Asia     2010 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)