Whose Home? Cultural Pluralism and Preservation of Japanese Colonial Heritage in Taipei City

Abstract

The government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) used to state that the purpose of cultural heritage preservation was to promote Chinese civilization. Today, however, it is said that the purpose of the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act is to promote the multicultural environment of the country. The aim of this paper is to examine how examples of Japanese colonial heritage are preserved and reused against the backdrop of recent trends of cultural pluralism and consumerism in contemporary Taiwan. None of the Japanese-style architecture was officially recognized as part of the cultural heritage until the early 1990s in Taiwan. However, in recent years, Japanese-style residential houses dominate officially recognized cultural heritage in Taipei City. With a particular focus on Japanese-style residential homes located on Qing-tian Street in Taipei City, the paper explores how residents of the street came to recognize that the old wooden houses, some still in use, are worth preserving and developed the movement for preserving both the houses and their surrounding scenery. Through analyzing the transition of Japanese colonial heritage in Taipei City, the paper demonstrates how interpretations of Japanese colonial heritage in the city are negotiated among the varied interests of heritage owners, neighbors, local governments, and private enterprises that repurpose historical buildings for commercial uses. I argue that contemporary cultural pluralism and consumerism not only recognize diverse cultural heritages left by various ethnic groups in Taiwan’s history, but also allow people to maintain flexible interpretations of particular historical buildings.