What is World Heritage?

掲載日：2018年7月9日

What is World Heritage?

World Heritage includes "cultural heritage" (monuments, buildings, archeaological sites, etc.) and "natural heritage" (natural environment).To become a World Heritage site, the properties must have "outstanding universal value" and be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List,based on the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage of 1972(the World Heritage Convention).

The purpose of the "World Heritage Convention" is to protect cultural/natural heritage with outstanding universal value from such threats as damage and destruction and to preserve them as the world heritage of all humankind with international cooperation.Registered World Heritage sites are passed on to the future generations by international support.

In 1992, Japan signed the convention and properties in Japan gradually registered as World Heritage. As of July 2018, there are 1092 World Heritage properties in the world. These properties include 845 cultural, 209 natural, and 38 mixed properties.Japan has 22 World Heritage properties, including 18 cultural and 4 natural properties.

The World Heritage List of Japan(as of July 2018)

Property Name	Location(Pref.)	Date of Inscription	Classification
Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area	Nara	Dec.1993	Cultural
Himeji-jo	Hyogo	Dec.1993	Cultural
Yakushima	Kagoshima	Dec.1993	Natural
Shirakami-Sanchi	Aomori, Akita	Dec.1993	Natural
Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto	Kyoto, Shiga	Dec.1994	Cultural
Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama	Gifu, Toyama	Dec.1995	Cultural
Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome)	Hiroshima	Dec.1996	Cultural
Itsukushima Shinto Shrine	Hiroshima	Dec.1996	Cultural
Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara	Nara	Dec.1998	Cultural
Shrines and Temples of Nikko	Tochigi	Dec.1999	Cultural
Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu	Okinawa	Dec.2000	Cultural
Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range	Mie, Nara, Wakayama	Jul.2004	Cultural
Shiretoko	Hokkaido	Jul.2005	Natural
Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its Cultural Landscape	Shimane	Jul.2007	Cultural
Ogasawara Islands	Tokyo	Jun.2011	Natural
Hiraizumi - Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land	Iwate	Jun.2011	Cultural
Fujisan, sacred place and source of artistic inspiration	Yamanashi, Shizuoka	Jun.2013	Cultural
Tomioka Silk Mill and Related Sites	Gunma	Jun.2014	Cultural
Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution:Iron and Steel,Shipbuilding and Coal Mining	Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Kagoshima, Yamaguchi, Iwate, Sizuoka	Jul.2015	Cultural
The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement	Tokyo (National Museum of Western Art, Main Building) *Argentina, Belgium, France, Germany, India, Japan, Switzerland	Jul.2016	Cultural
Sacred Island of Okinoshima and Associated Sites in the Munakata Region	Fukuoka	Jul.2017	Cultural
Hidden Cristian Sites in the Nagasaki Region	Nagasaki, Kumamoto	Jun.2018	Cultural

Nominated Properties in Japan /World Heritage Candidates(as of July 2018)

Property Name	Location(Pref.)	Classification
Mozu-Furuichi Kofungun, Ancient Tumulus Clusters	Osaka	Cultural

Properties in Japan/Tentative List (as of July 2018)

Property Name	Location(Pref.)	Classification
Temples, Shrines and other structures of Ancient Kamakura	Kanagawa	Cultural
Hikone-Jo (castle)	Shiga	Cultural
Asuka-Fujiwara: Archaeological sites of Japan’s Ancient Capitals and Related Properties	Nara	Cultural
Jômon Archaeological Sites in Hokkaidô, Northern Tôhoku, and other regions	Hokkaido, Aomori, Iwate, Akita	Cultural
The Sado complex of heritage mines, primarily gold mines	Niigata	Cultural
Mozu-Furuichi Kofungun, Ancient Tumulus Clusters	Osaka	Cultural
Hiraizumi - Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land - (extension)	Iwate	Cultural
Amami-Oshima Island, Tokunoshima Island, the northern part of Okinawa Island and Iriomote Island	Kagoshima, Okinawa	Natural