Important Cultural Properties of Japan

Important Cultural Properties of Japan (重要文化財, jūyō bunkazai, important cultural properties)^{[note 1]} is a list of items made by the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs. These are places and things that are especially important to the Japanese people.^[1]

Types of Cultural Properties

Japan's government made a Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties a "designation system" (指定制度) to protect its culture. It chooses important items and names them as Cultural Properties^{[note 2]} The law sets rules about changing, repairing, or exporting these items.^[1]

There is also "registration system" (登録制度), which sets a lower level of protection and support for Registered Cultural Properties than for Designated Cultural Properties.

There are different levels of designation. Designation can be at a city (市定重要文化財, city designated Important Cultural Property), prefectural (県定重要文化財, prefecturally designated Important Cultural Property) or national (国定重要文化財, nationally designated Important Cultural Property) level.

Designations of a different level can coexist. For example, Sankei-en, a traditional Japanese-style garden in Naka Ward, Yokohama, owns both city designated and nationally designated Important Cultural Properties.^[2]

Some Important Cultural Properties of Japan

Seiganto-ji, Wakayama Prefecture
Kōchi Castle, Kōchi Prefecture
Tsūjun Bridge, Kumamoto Prefecture
Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Tokyo
The Former Hokkaidō government office building
Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū in Kamakura, Kanagawa prefecture

Notes

↑ The term is often shortened into just jūbun (重文)
↑ In this article, capitals indicate an official designation as opposed to a simple, unofficial definition, e.g. "Cultural Properties" as opposed to "cultural properties".

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 "Cultural Properties for Future Generations" (PDF). Administration of Cultural Affairs in Japan ― Fiscal 2009. Agency for Cultural Affairs. June 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-27. Retrieved 2012-04-22.
↑ Yokohama Sankei Garden Archived 2017-04-30 at the Wayback Machine, Sankei-en's official site accessed on November 3, 2009 (in Japanese)

[1] The term is often shortened into just jūbun (重文)

[3] In this article, capitals indicate an official designation as opposed to a simple, unofficial definition, e.g. "Cultural Properties" as opposed to "cultural properties".

[ACA-2] 1.0 ^1.1 "Cultural Properties for Future Generations" (PDF). Administration of Cultural Affairs in Japan ― Fiscal 2009. Agency for Cultural Affairs. June 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-27. Retrieved 2012-04-22.

[officialsite-4] Yokohama Sankei Garden Archived 2017-04-30 at the Wayback Machine, Sankei-en's official site accessed on November 3, 2009 (in Japanese)

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