한국일본학회

This study aims to investigate the concrete effects of regional revitalization plans by utilizing cultural arts in communities through the Naoshima case. In particular, the study is concerned with the continuous increase in the number of vacant houses and amount of vacant land in Naoshima, even after attempts to achieve regional revitalization through the art project. The field survey identified at least 100 cases in which a house remained unoccupied or land remained vacant. The population of Naoshima continued to decrease, even after the art project was implemented, to the extent that the current population is less than 25% of the population in 1995, which was before the art project was promoted in earnest. It is true that Naoshima has become an international tourist destination because of the art project, with many tourists visiting Naoshima as a result. However, as the economic profits have largely flown out of the region, it is clear that a structure based on a virtuous circle in which the profits would be distributed among or reinvested in local residents and the local communities could not be established. Therefore, fundamental improvement of the stable settlement conditions of the region and the enhancement of the sustainability of the local community was limited. This can be regarded to be the fundamental cause of the decrease in the population and increase in vacant houses in Naoshima.