An
[The term is often shortened into just ] is an item officially classified as
Tangible Cultural Property
Tangibility is the property of being able to be perceived by touch. A commonplace understanding of "tangibility" renders it as an attribute allowing something to be perceptible to the senses.
In criminal law, one of the elements of an offense of ...
by the
Japanese government
The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary state, c ...
's
Agency for Cultural Affairs
The is a special body of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). It was set up in 1968 to promote Japanese arts and culture.
The agency's budget for FY 2018 rose to ¥107.7 billion.
Overview
The ag ...
(
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
The , also known as MEXT or Monka-shō, is one of the eleven Ministries of Japan that composes part of the executive branch of the Government of Japan. Its goal is to improve the development of Japan in relation with the international community ...
) and judged to be of particular importance to the history, arts, and culture of the
Japanese people.
Classification of Cultural Properties
To protect the
cultural heritage
Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by soci ...
of
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties was created as a under which important items are appropriated as Cultural Properties,
[In this article, capitals indicate an official designation as opposed to a simple, unofficial definition, e.g "Cultural Properties" as opposed to "cultural properties".] thus imposing restrictions to their alteration, repair and export.
Besides the "designation system", there exists a , which guarantees a lower level of protection and support to
Registered Cultural Properties.
Cultural Properties are classified according to their nature. Items designated as Tangible Cultural Properties (as opposed to
Intangible Cultural Properties), cultural products of high historical or artistic value such as structures, paintings, sculptures, handicrafts, calligraphic works, ancient books, historic documents, archeological artifacts and other such items, can later, if they satisfy certain criteria, be designated either Important Cultural Properties or , for especially valuable items. The designation can take place at the , or level. In this last case the designating agency is often not specified. Varying levels of designation can coexist. For example,
Sankei-en, a traditional
Japanese-style garden in
Naka Ward,
Yokohama, is both city and nationally designated as an Important Cultural Properties.
[Yokohama Sankei Garden](_blank)
Sankei-en's official site accessed on November 3, 2009 (in Japanese)
Examples
File:Seigantoji05s1920.jpg, Seiganto-ji, Wakayama Prefecture
File:Horyu-ji15s3200.jpg, A Nio at Hōryū-ji, Nara
File:Kochi Castle04s3872.jpg, Kōchi Castle
is an Edo Period Japanese castle in the city of Kōchi, Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. It is located at Otakayama hill, at the center of Kōchi city, which in turn is located at the center of the Kōchi Plain, the most prosperous area of former ...
, Kōchi Prefecture
File:Nihonbashi 12.jpg, Nihon Bridge in Nihonbashi
is a business district of Chūō, Tokyo, Japan which grew up around the bridge of the same name which has linked two sides of the Nihonbashi River at this site since the 17th century. The first wooden bridge was completed in 1603. The current ...
, Tokyo
File:Tsujyunkyo.jpg, Tsūjun Bridge, Kumamoto Prefecture
File:Nikolai-do.jpg, Holy Resurrection Cathedral
, also known as , in Chiyoda, Tokyo, is the main cathedral of the Japanese Orthodox Church.
History
The founder of the Japanese Orthodox Church Ivan Dmitrievich Kasatkin (1836–1912), later St. Nicholas of Japan, was an archbishop who devo ...
in Tokyo
File:Hokkaido Prefectural Office02s5s4272.jpg, The Former Hokkaidō government office building
File:TsurugaokaHachiman4226.jpg, Tsurugaoka Hachimangū in Kamakura, Kanagawa
is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939.
Kamak ...
prefecture
File:Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company Head Office 2009.jpg, Meiji Seimei Kan in Tokyo
File:Hatsuhana Katatsuki, front view (black and white).jpg, ''Hatsuhana'' tea caddy, one of the special tea utensils, kept at the Tokugawa Memorial Foundation
Lists of Important Cultural Properties of Japan
*
List of Important Cultural Properties of Japan (Asuka period: structures)
*
List of Important Cultural Properties of Japan (Nara period: structures)
*
List of Important Cultural Properties of Japan (Heian period: structures)
*
List of Important Cultural Properties of Japan (Kamakura period: structures)
*
List of Important Cultural Properties of Japan (Shōwa period: structures)
*
List of Important Cultural Properties of Japan (Okinawa: structures)
See also
*
Cultural Properties of Japan
Notes
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Important Cultural Properties Of Japan
Cultural Properties of Japan
Heritage registers