Connecting Experts on History, Architecture, Art, and TheologyThe field survey was conducted as part of the Rethinking World Heritage Authenticity by Building Archives on Historical European Religious Monuments project, funded by Sophia University grants for Research in Priority Areas and for Research on Optional Subjects.“Once a restoration policy is decided on in France, there is lit-tle room for discussing alternative perspectives,” Sakano said. He therefore moved swiftly to hold a symposium at Sophia in October 2019 just after the fire. In 2021, he published insights gained from this symposium as a collection of essays titled “The Tradition and Restoration of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.” Further, he established the Religious Monument Research Group with re-searchers in the fields of history, architecture, art, and theology, who participated in the symposium. These activities led him to launch a project to archive knowledge related to the historical context and transformation of religious architecture, ultimately leading to the survey of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in 2025.“In the years following the project launch, we tried to explore various approaches but were unable to touch a field survey until November 2024, when I participated as a speaker in the Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage symposium in Tokyo related to the Nara Document on Authenticity. The relationships established through this consor-tium network put everything into motion.”The Nara Document is an international declaration adopted in 1994 addressing the need for broader emphasis on cultural di-versity related to heritage and regional sites, rather than on stone structures. The document recognizing the restoration of tradi-tional Japanese wooden structures spurred conservation efforts for cultural heritage sites around the world. Sakano’s field survey aimed to approach the Notre-Dame Cathedral’s restoration from its perspective.In 2025, with the Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage serving as point of contact, Sakano ap-proached the French ICOMOS Committee and the office of Philippe Villeneuve, Notre-Dame Cathedral’s chief restoration architect, to propose his team’s field survey. Villeneuve’s office ul-timately granted permission.Restoration in the Manner of the Nara DocumentResearchSakano surveyed the restoration site on March 18, 2025, from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and interviewed Villeneuve, chief archi-tect of the restoration effort.“I was surprised that Mr. Villeneuve accompanied us and explained everything, despite restoration work still being underway. We walked on scaffolding, allowing us to see dozens of meters below. Climbing on ladders, we were able to see the spire, the wooden framework of the ceiling, and even the bell tower. Only a limited number of people, even including those involved in the restoration, were granted this level of access. It was an extraordinary experience to hear the bells ring as we moved around the bell tower.”14 SOPHIA MAGAZINE Vol. 20Professor, Department of HistoryMASANORI SAKANO
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