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 usi ...

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: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

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 on Kintetsu Yoshino Line train line. Although it's outside Asuka, Kashiharajingū-mae Station in neighboring Kashihara has service on the Kintetsu Kashihara Line, Minami Osaka Line 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: , ''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 metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...

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. 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 are megalithic tombs or tumuli in Northeast Asia. ''Kofun'' were mainly constructed in the Japanese archipelago between the middle of the 3rd century to the early 7th century CE.岡田裕之「前方後円墳」『日本古代史大辞典� ...

''s or tombs including the

Ishibutai Kofun is a stone ''kofun'' or tumulus of the Asuka period in the east of Shimanoshō, Asuka, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The kofun is believed to be the tomb of Soga no Umako. It occupies an area of , and is the largest known megalithic structure in Japan ...

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 g ...

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, Wakaya ...

** Kashihara ** Sakurai ** Takatori ** Yoshino

Places of interest

* Temples ** Asuka-dera ** Oka-dera, aka Ryūgai-ji - Kansai Kannon Pilgrimage No.7 **

Tachibana-dera Tachibana-dera (橘寺) is a Buddhist temple in Asuka, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It is affiliated with Tendai , also known as the Tendai Lotus School (天台法華宗 ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just "''hokke shū''") is a Mahāyāna ...

* Kameishi (Turtle Rock) *

* Kitora Kofun *

Takamatsuzuka Kofun 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 ...

* Amakashinooka

Sister cities

* Buyeo County, South Korea

References

External links

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