01684nas a2200241   4500000000100000008004100001653003900042653003300081653003700114653001500151653004000166653003400206653002100240653004800261653003700309100002300346700001600369700001700385245011500402856007300517300001000590520084200600                                       d10aCommunity participation (THE\_204)10aDegraded habitat (ICH\_1300)10aEmergency situations (ICH\_1333)10aJapan (JP)10aLoss of cultural spaces (ICH\_1240)10aNatural disasters (ICH\_1239)10aNew Zealand (NZ)10aOral traditions and expressions (ICH\_1227)10aSDG 15: Life on Land (ICH\_1392)1 aKatsuhiko Takizawa1 aS. Bouterey1 aL.E. Marceau00aResilience of communities affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and restoration of their local festivals  uhttps://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-13-0244-2_4#citeas  a41-573 aAfter the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Northeast Asian Studies Centre at Tohoku University conducted an extensive project titled, “Investigation into Damage to Folk Cultural Assets from the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in Miyagi.” The project focused on “intangible folk cultural assets,” such as local festivals and folk performing arts. In this chapter, Takizawa introduces some of the challenges faced by researchers in attempting to measure the degree of damage to, and recovery of, cultural assets that are essentially “intangible” and for which, in many cases, there were no earlier written records. Issues illuminated by the project and their practical significance to society are discussed with particular reference to the reconstruction of local communities and revival of their traditional festivals.