The

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara encompasses eight places in the old capital

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 ...

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 ...

, Japan. Five are Buddhist temples, one is a Shinto shrine, one is a Palace and one a

primeval forest An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...

. The properties include 26 buildings designated by the Japanese Government as National Treasures as well as 53 designated as Important Cultural Properties. All compounds have been recognized as

Historic Sites History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

. The Nara Palace Site was designated as Special Historic Site and the Kasugayama Primeval Forest as Special

Natural Monument A natural monument is a natural or natural/cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities or cultural significance. Under World Commission on Protected Areas guidelines, na ...

. Tōdai-ji, Kōfuku-ji and the Kasugayama Primeval Forest overlap with

Nara Park is a public park located in the city of Nara, Japan, at the foot of Mount Wakakusa. Established in 1880, it is one of the oldest parks in Japan. Administratively, the park is under the control of Nara Prefecture. The park is one of the "Places of ...

, a park designated as one of the "Places of Scenic Beauty" by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). UNESCO listed the site as World Heritage in 1998.

List of sites

The table lists information about each of the 8 listed properties of the World Heritage Site listing for the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara: :Name: in English and Japanese :Type: Purpose of the site. The list includes five Buddhist temples ("-ji"), one Shinto shrine ("-jinja"), one palace and one primeval forest. :Period: time period of significance, typically of construction :Location: the site's location (by ward) and by geographic coordinates :Description: brief description of the site

References

External links

Nara's World Heritage, from The Official Nara Travel Guide
World Heritage Sites in Japan Tourist attractions in Nara Prefecture History of Nara Prefecture Buildings and structures in Nara Prefecture {{nara-geo-stub

List of sites

See also

References

External links