World Heritage in Japan

For World Heritage in Japan include (as of 2019) 23 UNESCO World Heritage sites , including 19 sites of World Heritage sites and four of World Natural Heritage. Japan acceded to the World Heritage Convention in 1992, and the first four World Heritage sites were added to the World Heritage List in 1993. The last World Heritage site to date was registered in 2019.

World heritage sites

The following table lists the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Japan in chronological order according to the year of their inclusion on the World Heritage List (K - cultural heritage, N - natural heritage, K / N - mixed, (R) - on the Red List of World Heritage in Danger ).

 Map with all coordinates of World Heritage Sites: OSM

image	designation	year	Type	Ref.	description
(more pictures)	Buddhist shrines of Horyu-ji ( location )	1993	K	660	Buddhist temple in Ikaruga city
(more pictures)	Aristocratic seat Himeji-jō ( location )	1993	K	661	17th century castle in Himeji City .
	Yakushima cedar forest	1993	N	662	Forest of crescent fir ( Cryptomeria japonica , also called Japanese cedar ) on the island of Yakushima .
(more pictures)	Shirakami beech forest	1993	N	663	mountainous, pristine forest landscape in Akita and Aomori prefectures .
(more pictures)	Monuments and gardens of the Imperial City of Kyoto	1994	K	688	The world heritage site comprises 17 locations in Japan, which are located in the three cities of Kyoto , Uji and Ōtsu .
(more pictures)	Historical villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama	1995	K	734	three historical villages in the Shogawa river valley .
(more pictures)	Peace Memorial in Hiroshima ( location )	1996	K	775	a memorial for the first military use of an atomic bomb in Hiroshima Peace Park .
(more pictures)	Itsukushima Shinto Shrine ( location )	1996	K	776	Shinto shrine on Miyajima Island with structures built over the water of a bay.
	Architectural monuments and gardens of the imperial city of Nara	1998	K	870	These include: Gangō-ji , Heijō Palace , Kasuga-Taisha , Kasugayama Primeval Forest, Kōfuku-ji , Tōdai-ji , Tōshōdai-ji and Yakushi-ji in Nara
	Shrines and Temples of Nikko	1999	K	913	These include: Toshogu , Futarasan Shrine, and Rinnō-ji in Nikkō
	Archaeological Sites of the Kingdom of the Ryukyu Islands	2000	K	972	on the Ryūkyū Islands
	Sacred sites and pilgrimage routes in the Kii Mountains	2004	K	1142	in the Kii Mountains
	Shiretoko	2005	N	1193
	Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and Cultural Landscape	2007	K	1246
	Hiraizumi - temples, gardens and archaeological sites of Pure Land Buddhism	2011	K	1277	in the city of Hiraizumi Other temples, gardens and archaeological sites have been on the tentative list since 2012 (Ref. 5760 )
	Ogasawara Islands	2011	N	1362
	Mount Fuji	2013	K	1418	includes 25 sites around Mount Fuji, including Mount Fuji itself.
	Silk mill sites in Tomioka	2014	K	1449	The silk spinning mill and silk factory in Tomioka was built in 1872 by the Japanese government using machines imported from France, making it the oldest Japanese factory producing silk using industrial methods.
	Sites of the industrial revolution in the Meiji period	2015	K	1484	23 sites in Kyūshū and Yamaguchi : Hashima coal mines, Former Glover house , Shūseikan , Miike coal mine , Yawata Steel Works , Mutsurejima lighthouse , Hagi furnace , Shōkasonjuku academy, Hagi castle town, etc.
	The architectural work of Le Corbusier - an outstanding contribution to the "Modern Movement"	2016	K	1321	17 buildings by the architect Le Corbusier were included in the World Heritage List. In Japan, this includes the main building of the National Museum of Western Art ; the other sites are in France , Argentina , Belgium , Germany , India and Switzerland . The buildings show the solutions that modernity offered in the 20th century for the challenges of inventing new architectural techniques in order to meet the needs of society.
	Sacred Okinoshima Island and related sites in Munakata region	2017	K	1535	Okinoshima is an island between Japan and Korea that belongs to the Munakata municipality . It had a special religious meaning for seamen of the 1st millennium.
	Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region	2018	K	1495	Christianity came to Japan through missionaries in the 17th century. Soon afterwards, Christianity was banned and persecuted, forcing Christians to practice secretly in remote places. The ten villages, the cathedral and the castle that comprise this World Heritage site bear witness to the various phases of Christianity, even after the ban was lifted. The World Heritage Site symbolizes the special Christian culture that developed in Japan and has been preserved over the next two centuries.
	Kofun group from Mozu-Foruichi: Barrows from ancient Japan	2019	K	1593	The heritage site includes the Kofun group of Mozu-Furuichi. 49 barrows in the prefecture of Osaka which illustrate the Kofun period between the 3rd and 6th centuries in an outstanding way.

Tentative list

The sites that are intended for nomination for inclusion in the World Heritage List are entered in the tentative list .

Current World Heritage candidates

Currently (2019) seven sites are entered in the tentative list of Japan, the last entry was made in 2016. The following table lists the sites in chronological order according to the year of their inclusion in the tentative list.

 Map with all coordinates of current World Heritage candidates: OSM

image	designation	year	Type	Ref.	description
	Temples, shrines and other structures of ancient Kamakura	1992	K	370	Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū , Jufuku-ji , Kenchō-ji , Zuisen-ji , Kōtoku-in , Kakuon-ji , ruins of Buppō-ji, ruins of Yōfuku-ji, ruins of Hokkedō, ruins of the Hōjō-Tokiwa residence, Kamegayatsuzaka -Pass, Kehaizaka Pass, Daibutsu Pass, Gokuraku-ji , Engaku-ji , Egara Tenjin Shrine, Jōkōmyō-ji, Asaina Pass, Tōshō-ji Ruins , Nagoshi Pass, Shōmyō-ji, Wakae-jima
	Hikone-jō	1992	K	374
	Asuka-Fujiwara: Archaeological sites of the ancient capitals of Japan and related sites	2007	K	5097	Clusters of archaeological sites of old capitals in the Asuka area , including u. a. Ishibutai-Kofun , Takamatsuzuka Kofun , Kitora Kofun , Kawara-dera , Asuka-dera , Oka-dera , Yamada-dera , Fujiwara-kyō and Yamato Sanzan
	Jōmon archaeological sites in Hokkaidō, North Tōhoku and other regions	2009	K	5398	z. B. Sannai-Maruyama and Odai Yamamoto I.
	Former Sado mining complex, mainly gold mines	2010	K	5572	Former mining complex in Sado
	Hiraizumi - Representative temples, gardens and archaeological sites of Pure Land Buddhism	2012	K	5760	planned expansion of the world heritage site "Hiraizumi - temples, gardens and archaeological sites of Pure Land Buddhism" (Ref. 1277 )
	Amami-Ōshima, Tokunoshima, the northern part of Okinawa Hontō and the Iriomote Island	2016	N	6160	Islands from the archipelago of the Ryūkyū Islands in southern Japan, includes the two islands belonging to the Amami Islands Amami-Ōshima and Tokunoshima in the prefecture of Kagoshima as well as the northern part of the Okinawa Islands belonging to the Okinawa Hontō and the Yaeyama -Islands belonging to Iriomote Island in Okinawa Prefecture

Former World Heritage candidates

These sites were previously on the tentative list, but were withdrawn or rejected by UNESCO. Sites that are included in other entries on the tentative list or that are part of world heritage sites are not taken into account here.

image	designation	year	Type	Ref.	description
Urakami Cathedral (further pictures)	Churches and Christian sites in Nagasaki	2007–?	K	5096	Of the sites originally included in this proposal, which was still on the tentative list, fifteen were withdrawn, and thirteen remain on the list. The retired sites include: Former Catholic Seminary, Aosagaura Church, Mementos of Father Marc Marie de Rotz, Former Shitsu Help Center, Dōzaki Church, Hōki Church, Christian gravestones, site of the martyrs of Nagasaki , St. Dominik's Church , Urakami Cathedral , Former Archbishop's Residence, Kaminoshima Church, Kurosaki Church, Himosashi Church and Ōso Church.

Web links

Commons : World Heritage Sites in Japan  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• Japan on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Japan. In: whc.unesco.org. UNESCO World Heritage Center, accessed July 11, 2019 . 
2. ↑ German names according to the World Heritage List. In: www.unesco.de. German UNESCO Commission, accessed on July 11, 2019 .  , occasionally with adaptation of the transcription
3. ^ Tentative list of Japan. In: whc.unesco.org. UNESCO World Heritage Center, accessed July 11, 2019 . 

 Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap