Monuments of Japan


Monuments is a collective term used by the Japanese government's Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties to denote Cultural Properties of Japan as 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.

Designated monuments of Japan

The government designates "significant" items of this kind as Cultural Properties and classifies them in one of three categories:
Items of particularly high significance may receive a higher classification as:
As of February 2019, there were 3,154 nationally designated Monuments: 1,823 Historic Sites, 415 Places of Scenic Beauty, and 1,030 Natural Monuments. Since a single property can be included within more than one of these classes, the total number of properties is less than the sum of designations: for example Hamarikyu Gardens are both a Special Historic Site and a Special Place of Scenic Beauty.
As of 1 May 2013, there were a further 2,961 Historic Sites, 266 Places of Scenic Beauty, and 2,985 Natural Monuments designated at a prefectural level and 12,840 Historic Sites, 845 Places of Scenic Beauty, and 11,020 Natural Monuments designated at a municipal level.
Alterations to the existing state of a site or activities affecting its preservation require permission from the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs. Financial support for purchasing and conserving designated land and for the utilization of the site is available through local governments.

Designation criteria

The Agency for Cultural Affairs designates monuments based on a number of. A monument can be designated based on multiple criteria.

Historic Sites and Special Historic Sites

  1. Shell mounds, settlement ruins, kofun, other historic ruins of this type
  2. Ruins of fortified towns, castles, government administration offices, old battlefields and other historic ruins related to politics or government
  3. Remains of shrines and temples, former compound grounds and other historic ruins related to religion
  4. Schools, research institutions, cultural facilities and other historic ruins related to education, learning or culture
  5. Medical care and welfare facilities, life related institution, other society and life related historic ruins
  6. Transport and communication facilities, forest conservation and flood control facilities, manufacture facilities and other historic sites related to finance or manufacture activities
  7. Graves and stone monuments with inscriptions
  8. Former residences, gardens, ponds and other areas of particular historical significance
  9. Ruins related to foreign countries or foreigners

    Places of Scenic Beauty and Special Places of Scenic Beauty

  10. Parks and gardens
  11. Bridges and embankments
  12. Flowering trees, flowering grass, autumn colors, green trees and other places of dense growth
  13. Places inhabited by birds and wild animals, fish/insects and others
  14. Rocks, caves
  15. Ravines, gorges, waterfalls, mountain streams, abysses
  16. Lakes, marshes, wetlands, floating islands, springs
  17. Sand dunes, spits, seasides, islands
  18. Volcanoes, onsen
  19. Mountains, hills, plateaus, plains, rivers
  20. Viewpoints

    Natural Monuments and Special Natural Monuments

  21. Animals
  22. # Well-known animals peculiar to Japan and their habitat
  23. # Animals which are not peculiar to Japan, but need to be preserved as well-known characteristic Japanese animals, and their habitat
  24. # Animals or animal groups peculiar to Japan within their natural environment
  25. # Domestic animals peculiar to Japan
  26. # Well-known imported animals presently in a wild state, with the exception of domestic animals; their habitat
  27. # Particularly valuable animal specimen
  28. Plants, vegetation
  29. # Old trees of historic interest, gigantic trees, old trees, deformed trees, cultivated pulpwood, roadside trees, shrine forests
  30. # Representative primeval forests, rare forest flora
  31. # Representative alpine plants, special clusters of plants on rock ground
  32. # Representative clusters of waste land plants
  33. # Representative examples of coastal and sand ground vegetation
  34. # Representative examples of areas of peat forming plants
  35. # Clusters of plants growing in caves or grottoes
  36. # Rare water plants in garden ponds, onsen, lakes, marshes, streams, sea, etc.; algae, moss, microbes, etc.
  37. # Remarkable occurrence of epiphytic plants on rocks, trees or shrubs
  38. # Remarkable plant growth on marginal land
  39. # Remarkable growth in the wild of crop plants
  40. # Wild habitat of rare or near extinct plants
  41. 　Geological and mineralogical features
  42. # Rocks, mineral and fossil producing sites
  43. # Conformable and unconformable strata
  44. # Fold and thrust strata
  45. # Geological features caused by the work of living creatures
  46. # Phenomena related to earthquake dislocation and landmass motion
  47. # Caves, grottoes
  48. # Examples of rock organization
  49. # Onsen and their sediments
  50. # Erosion and weathering related phenomena
  51. # Fumaroles and other items related to volcanic activity
  52. # Ice and frost related phenomena
  53. # Particularly precious rock, mineral and fossil specimen
  54. Representative territories rich in natural monuments to be protected

    Registered Monuments

A separate system of "registration" has been established for modern edifices threatened by urban sprawl or other factors. Monuments from the Meiji period onward which require preservation can be registered as Registered Monuments. Members of this class of Cultural Property receive more limited assistance and protection based mostly on governmental notification and guidance. As of April 2012, 61 monuments were registered under this system.

Some monuments of Japan