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

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 5,681, with 2,170

household A household consists of one 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 im ...

s, and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

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, although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period. The Yamato period, Yamato polity evolved greatly during the Asuka period, which is named after the ...

and Asuka, Yamato.'' 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 Law as well as

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

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

and

Kamakura , officially , is a city of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. It is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 people per km2 over the tota ...

. 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 megaliths and kofun

The Asuka region contains a number unusual carved granite stones, the largest of which has been named ''Masuda no iwafune''. This granite monolith is approximately in length, in width, and in height. The upper surface is flat, with a shallow trough and two square holes. The

megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging geographically f ...

is located on top of a hill a few hundred meters west of Okadera Station. When, how or why this and other colossal stones in Asuka were carved remains a mystery. They appear to be in a different style than later Buddhist sculptures. Nearby there are also several ''

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

''s (tombs), including the Ishibutai Kofun—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. Conflicting evidence has suggested that Soga no Umako was actually an emperor during the Asuka period. Umako conducted political reforms with Prince Shōtoku during t ...

.
File:Ishibutai-kofun Asuka Nara pref03n4592.jpg, The Ishibutai Kofun in Asuka File:Okadera Asuka Nara pref24n3900.jpg, Okadera

Surrounding municipalities

Nara Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, 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 ...

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

Places of interest

Temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

** Asuka-dera ** Oka-dera, aka Ryūgai-ji - Kansai Kannon Pilgrimage No.7 ** Tachibana-dera * Kameishi (Turtle Rock) * Ishibutai Kofun * Kitora Kofun * Takamatsuzuka Kofun * Amakashinooka

History

Asuka megaliths and kofun

Surrounding municipalities

Places of interest

Sister cities

See also

References

External links