To protect Japan's cultural heritage, the country's government selects through the
Agency for Cultural Affairs important items and designates them as
Cultural Properties under the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties. Designated items are classified in a number of categories, one of which is Monuments (記念物, kinenbutsu). This category includes historic locations such as
shell mounds, ancient tombs, sites of palaces, sites of forts or
castles, monumental dwelling houses and other sites of high historical or scientific value; gardens, bridges, gorges, mountains, and other places of great scenic beauty; and natural features such as animals, plants, and geological or mineral formations of high scientific value.[1][2]
The government further designates "significant" monuments classifying them in three categories: Historic Sites (史跡, shiseki), Places of Scenic Beauty (名勝, meishō), and Natural Monuments (天然記念物, tennen kinenbutsu). Items of particularly high significance receive higher classifications: Special Historic Sites (特別史跡, tokubetsu shiseki), Special Places of Scenic Beauty (特別名勝, tokubetsu meishō), and Special Natural Monuments (特別天然記念物, tokubetsu tennen kinenbutsu) respectively. As of October 24, 2023 there are 1,040 Natural Monuments, 1895 Historic Sites, 429 Places of Scenic Beauty, 75 Special Natural Monuments, 36 Special Places of Scenic Beauty and 63 Special Historic Sites.[3]
Since a single item can fall under more than one of these categories, the total number of sites is less than the sum of designations.
Criteria
The Agency for Cultural Affairs designates monuments based on a number of criteria. A monument can be designated based on more than one of these criteria:[4]
Places of Scenic Beauty and Special Places of Scenic Beauty
Parks and gardens
Bridges and embankments
Flowering trees, flowering grass, autumn colors, green trees and other places of dense growth
Places inhabited by birds and wild animals, fish/insects and others
Shell mounds, settlement ruins,
kofun, other historic ruins of this type
Ruins of fortified towns, castles, government administration offices, old battlefields and other historic ruins related to politics or government
Remains of shrines and temples, former compound grounds and other historic ruins related to religion
Schools, research institutions, cultural facilities and other historic ruins related to education, learning or culture
Medical care and welfare facilities, life related institution, other society and life related historic ruins
Transport and communication facilities, forest conservation and flood control facilities, manufacture facilities and other historic sites related to finance or manufacture activities
Graves and stone monuments with inscriptions
Former residences, gardens, ponds and other areas of particular historical significance
Ruins related to foreign countries or foreigners
Natural Monuments and Special Natural Monuments
Animals
Well-known animals peculiar to Japan and their habitat
Animals which are not peculiar to Japan, but need to be preserved as well-known characteristic Japanese animals, and their habitat
Animals or animal groups peculiar to Japan within their natural environment
Domestic animals peculiar to Japan
Well-known imported animals presently in a wild state, with the exception of domestic animals; their habitat
Particularly valuable animal specimen
Plants, vegetation
Old trees of historic interest, gigantic trees, old trees, deformed trees, cultivated pulpwood, roadside trees, shrine forests
Fumaroles and other items related to volcanic activity
Ice and frost related phenomena
Particularly precious rock, mineral and fossil specimen
Representative territories rich in natural monuments to be protected (Natural Protected Areas)
Usage
The table's columns (except for Remarks and Photo) are sortable pressing the arrows symbols. The following gives an overview of what is included in the table and how the sorting works.
Former
Shizutani School with Camelia mound, stone gate, site of the residence of
Tsuda Nagatada and
tea house (旧閑谷学校 附 椿山石門津田永忠宅跡および黄葉亭, kyūshizutanigakkō tsuketari tsubakiyama sekimon tsudanagatadatakuato oyobi kōyōtei)[59][60]
Usuki Stone Buddhas with five-storied stone pagoda and two
gorintō with inscriptions from 1170 and 1172 (臼杵磨崖仏 附 日吉塔、嘉応二年在銘五輪塔 承安二年在銘五輪塔, usuki magaibutsu tsuketari hiyoshitō kaōninenzaimei gorintō jōanninenzaimei gorintō)[71][72]
^昭和二十六年文化財保護委員会告示第二号(国宝及び重要文化財指定基準並びに特別史跡名勝天然記念物及び史跡名勝天然記念物指定基準) [Bulletin of the Association for the rehabilitation of cultural properties, number 2 from 1951 (Designation criteria for National Treasures, Important Cultural Properties, Special Historic Sites, Places of Scenic Beauty, Natural Monuments)] (in Japanese). Tokyo:
MEXT. Archived from
the original on 2018-01-11. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
To protect Japan's cultural heritage, the country's government selects through the
Agency for Cultural Affairs important items and designates them as
Cultural Properties under the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties. Designated items are classified in a number of categories, one of which is Monuments (記念物, kinenbutsu). This category includes historic locations such as
shell mounds, ancient tombs, sites of palaces, sites of forts or
castles, monumental dwelling houses and other sites of high historical or scientific value; gardens, bridges, gorges, mountains, and other places of great scenic beauty; and natural features such as animals, plants, and geological or mineral formations of high scientific value.[1][2]
The government further designates "significant" monuments classifying them in three categories: Historic Sites (史跡, shiseki), Places of Scenic Beauty (名勝, meishō), and Natural Monuments (天然記念物, tennen kinenbutsu). Items of particularly high significance receive higher classifications: Special Historic Sites (特別史跡, tokubetsu shiseki), Special Places of Scenic Beauty (特別名勝, tokubetsu meishō), and Special Natural Monuments (特別天然記念物, tokubetsu tennen kinenbutsu) respectively. As of October 24, 2023 there are 1,040 Natural Monuments, 1895 Historic Sites, 429 Places of Scenic Beauty, 75 Special Natural Monuments, 36 Special Places of Scenic Beauty and 63 Special Historic Sites.[3]
Since a single item can fall under more than one of these categories, the total number of sites is less than the sum of designations.
Criteria
The Agency for Cultural Affairs designates monuments based on a number of criteria. A monument can be designated based on more than one of these criteria:[4]
Places of Scenic Beauty and Special Places of Scenic Beauty
Parks and gardens
Bridges and embankments
Flowering trees, flowering grass, autumn colors, green trees and other places of dense growth
Places inhabited by birds and wild animals, fish/insects and others
Shell mounds, settlement ruins,
kofun, other historic ruins of this type
Ruins of fortified towns, castles, government administration offices, old battlefields and other historic ruins related to politics or government
Remains of shrines and temples, former compound grounds and other historic ruins related to religion
Schools, research institutions, cultural facilities and other historic ruins related to education, learning or culture
Medical care and welfare facilities, life related institution, other society and life related historic ruins
Transport and communication facilities, forest conservation and flood control facilities, manufacture facilities and other historic sites related to finance or manufacture activities
Graves and stone monuments with inscriptions
Former residences, gardens, ponds and other areas of particular historical significance
Ruins related to foreign countries or foreigners
Natural Monuments and Special Natural Monuments
Animals
Well-known animals peculiar to Japan and their habitat
Animals which are not peculiar to Japan, but need to be preserved as well-known characteristic Japanese animals, and their habitat
Animals or animal groups peculiar to Japan within their natural environment
Domestic animals peculiar to Japan
Well-known imported animals presently in a wild state, with the exception of domestic animals; their habitat
Particularly valuable animal specimen
Plants, vegetation
Old trees of historic interest, gigantic trees, old trees, deformed trees, cultivated pulpwood, roadside trees, shrine forests
Fumaroles and other items related to volcanic activity
Ice and frost related phenomena
Particularly precious rock, mineral and fossil specimen
Representative territories rich in natural monuments to be protected (Natural Protected Areas)
Usage
The table's columns (except for Remarks and Photo) are sortable pressing the arrows symbols. The following gives an overview of what is included in the table and how the sorting works.
Former
Shizutani School with Camelia mound, stone gate, site of the residence of
Tsuda Nagatada and
tea house (旧閑谷学校 附 椿山石門津田永忠宅跡および黄葉亭, kyūshizutanigakkō tsuketari tsubakiyama sekimon tsudanagatadatakuato oyobi kōyōtei)[59][60]
Usuki Stone Buddhas with five-storied stone pagoda and two
gorintō with inscriptions from 1170 and 1172 (臼杵磨崖仏 附 日吉塔、嘉応二年在銘五輪塔 承安二年在銘五輪塔, usuki magaibutsu tsuketari hiyoshitō kaōninenzaimei gorintō jōanninenzaimei gorintō)[71][72]
^昭和二十六年文化財保護委員会告示第二号(国宝及び重要文化財指定基準並びに特別史跡名勝天然記念物及び史跡名勝天然記念物指定基準) [Bulletin of the Association for the rehabilitation of cultural properties, number 2 from 1951 (Designation criteria for National Treasures, Important Cultural Properties, Special Historic Sites, Places of Scenic Beauty, Natural Monuments)] (in Japanese). Tokyo:
MEXT. Archived from
the original on 2018-01-11. Retrieved 2010-01-01.