An The term is often shortened into just is an item officially classified as Tangible Cultural Property by the

Japanese government The Government of Japan is the central government of Japan. It consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and functions under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan. Japan is a unitary state, containing forty- ...

Agency for Cultural Affairs The is a special body of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). It was set up in 1968 to promote Japanese arts and culture. The agency's budget for FY 2018 rose to ¥107.7 billion. Overview The age ...

(

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology The , also known as MEXT, is one of the eleven ministries of Japan that compose part of the executive branch of the government of Japan. History The Meiji period, Meiji government created the first Ministry of Education in 1871. In January 2001 ...

) and judged to be of particular importance to the history, arts, and culture of the

Japanese people are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Japanese archipelago. Japanese people constitute 97.4% of the population of the country of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 125 million people are of Japanese descent, making them list of contempora ...

Classification of Cultural Properties

To protect the

cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by socie ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties was created as a under which important items are appropriated as Cultural Properties,In this article, capitals indicate an official designation as opposed to a simple, unofficial definition, e.g "Cultural Properties" as opposed to "cultural properties". thus imposing restrictions to their alteration, repair and export. Besides the "designation system", there exists a , which guarantees a lower level of protection and support to Registered Cultural Properties. Cultural Properties are classified according to their nature. Items designated as Tangible Cultural Properties (as opposed to Intangible Cultural Properties), cultural products of high historical or artistic value such as structures, paintings, sculptures, handicrafts, calligraphic works, ancient books, historic documents, archeological artifacts and other such items, can later, if they satisfy certain criteria, be designated either Important Cultural Properties or , for especially valuable items. The designation can take place at the , or level. In this last case the designating agency is often not specified. Varying levels of designation can coexist. For example,

Sankei-en is a traditional Japanese-style garden in Naka Ward, Yokohama, Japan, which opened in 1906.Yok ...

, a traditional Japanese-style garden in Naka Ward,

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

, is both city and nationally designated as an Important Cultural Properties.Yokohama Sankei Garden
, Sankei-en's official site accessed on November 3, 2009 (in Japanese)

Examples

File:Seigantoji05s1920.jpg,

Seiganto-ji , Temple of Crossing the Blue Shore, is a Tendai Buddhist temple in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004 as part of Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range. According to a legend, ...

Wakayama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Wakayama Prefecture has a population of 876,030 () and a geographic area of . Wakayama Prefecture borders Osaka Prefecture to the north, and Mie Prefecture and Nara Prefecture to ...

File:Horyu-ji15s3200.jpg, A

Nio Nio or NIO may refer to: * NI Opera, Opera company * Nio (Buddhism), guardians of the Buddha * Nio Inc., a Chinese electric automobile manufacturer * Nicaraguan córdoba, currency by ISO 4217 currency code * National Institute of Oceanography (d ...

Hōryū-ji is a Buddhist temple that was once one of the powerful Nanto Shichi Daiji, Seven Great Temples, located in Ikaruga, Nara, Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture, Japan. Built shortly after Buddhism was introduced to Japan, it is also one of the oldest Buddh ...

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 ...

File:Kochi Castle04s3872.jpg,

Kōchi Castle is an Edo Period Japanese castle in the city of Kōchi, Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. It is located at Otakayama hill, at the center of Kōchi city, which in turn is located at the center of the Kōchi Plain, the most prosperous area of former ...

Kōchi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kōchi Prefecture has a population of 669,516 (1 April 2023) and has a geographic area of 7,103 km2 (2,742 sq mi). Kōchi Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the northwest and Tok ...

File:Nihonbashi 12.jpg, Nihon Bridge in

Nihonbashi is a business district of Chūō, Tokyo, Japan, which sprung up around the bridge of the same name that has linked two sides of the Nihonbashi River at this site since the 17th century. The first wooden bridge was completed in 1603. The curre ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

File:Tsujyunkyo.jpg,

Tsūjun Bridge Tsūjun Bridge (通潤橋 ''-kyō'') is an aqueduct in Yamato, Kumamoto, Japan. It is an arch bridge completed in 1854 and is 84.0m long. The arch spans 27.3m. It is the largest stone aqueduct in Japan. The Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs ...

Kumamoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture t ...

File:Nikolai-do.jpg,

Holy Resurrection Cathedral The , also known as , is the main cathedral of the Japanese Orthodox Church, located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. History Archbishop Ivan Dmitrievich Kasatkin (1836–1912), later St. Nicholas of Japan, was the founder of the Japanese Orthodo ...

in Tokyo File:Hokkaido Prefectural Office02s5s4272.jpg, The

Former Hokkaidō government office building A former is an object, such as a template, gauge or cutting die, which is used to form something such as a boat's hull. Typically, a former gives shape to a structure that may have complex curvature. A former may become an integral part of the ...

File:TsurugaokaHachiman4226.jpg,

Tsurugaoka Hachimangū is the most important Shinto shrine in the city of Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The shrine is a cultural center of the city of Kamakura and serves as the venue of many of its most important festivals with two museum ...

Kamakura, Kanagawa , officially , is a Cities of Japan, 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 k ...

prefecture File:Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company Head Office 2009.jpg,

Meiji Seimei Kan ''Meiji Seimei Kan'' (明治生命館) is a building in Marunouchi, Tokyo, Japan. History The building was designed by Shinichiro Okada and completed in March 1934, two years after his death. It survived the bombing of Tokyo during World Wa ...

in Tokyo File:Hatsuhana Katatsuki, front view (black and white).jpg, ''Hatsuhana'' tea caddy, one of the

special tea utensils The Special utensils (名物 ''meibutsu'') are historic and precious Japanese tea utensils (茶道具). They consisted of important tea bowls, kettles, spoons, whisks, etc. The classification came not only from value of the tool itself but also ...

, kept at the Tokugawa Memorial Foundation

Lists of Important Cultural Properties of Japan

* List of Important Cultural Properties of Japan (Asuka period: structures) * List of Important Cultural Properties of Japan (Nara period: structures) * List of Important Cultural Properties of Japan (Heian period: structures) * List of Important Cultural Properties of Japan (Kamakura period: structures) * List of Important Cultural Properties of Japan (Taishō period: structures) * List of Important Cultural Properties of Japan (Shōwa period: structures) * List of Cultural Properties of Japan – structures (Okinawa)

Explanatory notes

References

External links