is a village located in Takaichi District, Nara Prefecture, Japan. As of April 1, 2017, the village has an estimated

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 5,681, with 2,170

household A household consists of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is i ...

s, and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

of . The total area is . Asuka is the land where ancient palaces were located. There are strict rules governing construction in this historic town. Asuka can be reached from Okadera or

Asuka Station is a railway station located in Asuka, Takaichi, Nara, Japan, on the Kintetsu Railway Yoshino Line. Lines * Kintetsu Railway ** Yoshino Line Platforms and tracks Surroundings * *Takamatsuzuka Tomb *Ishibutai Kofun *Oni no Manaita, On ...

Kintetsu ''Kintetsu'' is the abbreviation of , or Kintetsu Railway, a Japanese railway corporation. It may also refer to: Companies * Kintetsu Group Holdings, the holding corporation of the Kintetsu Railway ** Kintetsu Bus, a bus company and a subsidiary ...

Yoshino Line train line. Although it's outside Asuka,

Kashiharajingū-mae Station is a train station located in Kashihara, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It is on Kintetsu Kashihara Line, Minami Osaka Line and Yoshino Lines. It is one of the major stations on the Kintetsu lines and all trains in service stop at this station. Th ...

in neighboring

Kashihara is a city located in Nara Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 124,829, with 52,034 households. Population density is around 3,176.79 persons per km2, and the total area is 39.52 km2. The city was founded on Februa ...

has service on the Kintetsu

Kashihara Line The is a north-south bound railway line in Nara Prefecture, Japan, owned and operated by the Kintetsu Railway, a private railway operator. It connects Yamato-Saidaiji Station and Kashiharajingu-mae Station. Service outline Most Express and L ...

Minami Osaka Line is a railway line operated by Kintetsu Railway connecting in Osaka and in Kashihara, Nara Prefecture via Osaka's southern suburb cities of Matsubara, Fujiidera and Habikino in Osaka Prefecture, and Katsuragi and Yamato-Takada in Nara Pref ...

and Yoshino Lines. By car, Asuka is on Route 169.

History

''For the ancient Asuka, see

Asuka period The was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710 (or 592 to 645), although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period. The Yamato polity evolved greatly during the Asuka period, which is named after ...

and

Asuka, Yamato was the Imperial capital of Japan during the Asuka period (538 – 710 AD), which takes its name from this place. It is located in the present-day village of Asuka, Nara Prefecture. Etymology Some of the many theories of what the place was nam ...

.'' In 1956, the village of Asuka (明日香) was founded as a result of a merger of three villages, Sakaai, Takechi and Asuka (飛鳥村). In 1966, Asuka was proclaimed a "historic town", as defined by the national Special Arrangement for Preservation of Historic Sites La

as well as

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...

and Kamakura. The law restricts constructions and other civil engineering operations in the designated areas due preservation of the historic sites. In 1967, a part of Asuka, around 391ha in area, was designated as a historic site for preservation. Along with this decision, the government planned to build Asuka National Historic Park, for which construction was launched in 1966 and finished in 1994. In 1972, a site with colorfully painted murals from the late Asuka period was found in the

Takamatsuzuka Tomb The or "Tall Pine Tree Ancient Burial Mound" in Japanese is an ancient circular tomb in Asuka village, Nara Prefecture, Japan. History The tomb is thought to have been built at some time between the end of the 7th century and the beginning of t ...

. Since the Special Arrangement for Preservation of Historic Sites Law (1966) restricts any visual changes in the areas which it concerns, it has directly affected the daily life of residents. To preserve the site, they have had to give up some elements of modern life. As compensation, the Asuka Law, which aims to preserve the site effectively and give economic support for Asuka residents, was settled in 1980.

Asuka stones and kofun

In various parts of the Asuka region are unusual carved granite stones the largest of which is ''Masuda no iwafune''. This is a large stone structure approximately in length, in width, and in height. The upper surface is flat, with a shallow trough and two square holes. This is located on top of a hill just a few hundred meters west of Okadera Station. How or why this colossal stone and others was carved remains a mystery. They appear to be a different style than later Buddhist sculptures. There are also several nearby '' kofun''s or tombs including the Ishibutai Kofun which is built from massive boulders including one that weighs an estimated 75 tons. This may have been the tomb of

Soga no Umako was the son of Soga no Iname and a member of the powerful Soga clan of Japan. Umako conducted political reforms with Prince Shōtoku during the rules of Emperor Bidatsu and Empress Suiko and established the Soga clan's stronghold in the go ...

Surrounding municipalities

Nara Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the northwest, Wakayam ...

** Sakurai ** Takatori **

Yoshino Yoshino may refer to: * Yoshino cherry, another name for ''Prunus × yedoensis'', a flowering cherry tree * Japanese cruiser Yoshino, Japanese cruiser ''Yoshino'', a protected cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy Places * Yoshino, Nara, a town ...

Places of interest

Temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

Asuka-dera , also known as , is a Buddhist temple in Asuka, Nara. Asuka-dera is regarded as one of the oldest temples in Japan. Temple complex A number of records refer to the origin of the temple, such as the '' Nihongi'' and ''Fusō-ryakuki''. The o ...

Oka-dera is a major Buddhist temple in the historic Asuka area of Nara Prefecture, Japan. Its formal name is and is associated with the Shingon- Buzan sect. It was founded by Priest during the 7th century, and is the 7th temple on the Kansai Kannon ...

, aka Ryūgai-ji -

Kansai Kannon Pilgrimage The is a pilgrimage of thirty-three Buddhist temples throughout the Kansai region of Japan, similar to the Shikoku Pilgrimage. In addition to the official thirty-three temples, there are an additional three known as . The principal image in each ...

No.7 ** Tachibana-dera * Kameishi (Turtle Rock) * Ishibutai Kofun * Kitora Kofun *

Takamatsuzuka Kofun The or "Tall Pine Tree Ancient Burial Mound" in Japanese language, Japanese is an ancient circular tomb in Asuka, Nara, Asuka village, Nara Prefecture, Japan. History The tomb is thought to have been built at some time between the end of the 7th ...

* Amakashinooka

Sister cities

Buyeo County Buyeo County (''Buyeo-gun'') is a county in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. Buyeo-eup, the county's capital, was the site of the capital of Baekje from 538-660 AD, during which it was called Sabi Fortress. Famous people associated with B ...

, South Korea

References

External links

Village of Asuka
* {{Authority control Villages in Nara Prefecture