List of World Heritage Sites in Japan

Hōryū-ji

Himeji

Yakushima

Shirakami-Sanchi

Kyoto

Shirakawa-gō and Gokayama

Hiroshima Peace Memorial

Itsukushima Shrine

Nara

Nikkō

Ryukyu

Kii Mountain Range

Shiretoko

Iwami Ginzan

Hiraizumi

Ogasawara

Mount Fuji

Tomioka

Meiji Industrial Sites

National Museum of Western Art

Okinoshima

Kofun

Amami Ōshima

Jōmon Prehistoric Sites

Location of World Heritage Sites within Japan

Japan accepted the UNESCO World Heritage Convention on 30 June 1992.^[1] As of July 2021, twenty-five properties have been inscribed on the World Heritage List: twenty cultural sites and five natural sites.^[1] A further five sites and one site extension have been submitted for future inscription and are currently on the Tentative List as of 2017.^[1]

World Heritage Sites

Name	Image	Location	UNESCO data	Area:	Monuments
Buddhist Monuments in the Hōryū-ji Area		Nara Prefecture	660 (1993) i, ii, iv, vi	586 ha; (570.7 ha)	Hōryū-ji, Hokki-ji
Himeji-jō		Hyōgo Prefecture	661 (1993) i, iv	107 ha; (143 ha)	Himeji Castle
Yakushima		Kagoshima Prefecture	662 (1993) vii, ix	10,747 ha	Natural Site: warm temperate ancient forest
Shirakami-Sanchi		Aomori/Akita Prefecture	663 (1993) ix	16,939 ha	Natural Site: Siebold's beech forest, mountains
Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto		Kyoto/Shiga Prefecture	688 (1994) ii, iv	1056 ha; (3,579 ha)	Kamigamo Jinja, Shimogamo Jinja, Tō-ji, Kiyomizu-dera, Enryaku-ji, Daigo-ji, Ninna-ji, Byōdō-in, Ujigami Jinja, Kōzan-ji, Saihō-ji, Tenryū-ji, Kinkaku-ji, Ginkaku-ji, Ryōan-ji, Nishi Hongan-ji, Nijō-jō
Historic Villages of Shirakawa-gō and Gokayama		Gifu/Toyama Prefecture	734 (1995) iv, v	68 ha; (58,873 ha)	Shirakawa-go, Gokayama
Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome)		Hiroshima Prefecture	775 (1996) vi	0.4 ha; (43 ha)	Atomic bomb Dome
Itsukushima Shrine		Hiroshima Prefecture	776 (1996) i, ii, iv, vi	431 ha; (2,634 ha)	Itsukushima Jinja
Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara		Nara Prefecture	870 (1998) ii, iii, iv, vi	617 ha; (2,502 ha)	Tōdai-ji, Kōfuku-ji, Kasuga Taisha, Gangō-ji, Yakushi-ji, Tōshōdai-ji, Heijō Palace, Kasugayama Primeval Forest
Shrines and Temples of Nikkō		Tochigi Prefecture	913 (1999) i, iv, vi	51 ha; (373 ha)	Futarasan Jinja, Rinnō-ji, Nikkō Tōshō-gū
Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu		Okinawa Prefecture	972 (2000) ii, iii, vi	55 ha; (560 ha)	Tamaudun, Sonohyan-utaki Ishimon, Nakijin Castle, Zakimi Castle, Katsuren Castle, Nakagusuku Castle, Shuri Castle, Shikinaen, Seifa-utaki
Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range		Wakayama/Nara/Mie Prefecture	1142 (2004) ii, iii, iv, vi	495 ha; (1,137 ha)	Seiganto-ji, Kumano Hayatama Taisha, Kongōbu-ji, Niukanshōfu Jinja, Kumano Hongū Taisha, Niutsuhime Jinja, Mount Yoshino, Ōminesan-ji, Kōyasan chōishi-michi, Jison-in, Yoshino Mikumari Jinja, Kinbu Jinja, Kimpusen-ji, Yoshimizu Jinja, Kumano Nachi Taisha, Nachi Falls, Nachi primaeval forest, Fudarakusan-ji, Kumano Kodō
Shiretoko		Hokkaidō	1193 (2005) ix, x	71,100 ha	Natural Site: peninsula and marine area
Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its Cultural Landscape		Shimane Prefecture	1246 (2010) ii, iii, v	529 ha; (3,134 ha)	Yunotsu, Iwami Ginzan Kaidō Yunotsu-Okidomaridō, Site of Daikansho, Okidomari, Ginzan Sakunouchi, Site of Yataki-jō, Ōmori Ginzan, Miya-no-mae, Iwami Ginzan Kaidō Tomogauradō, Site of Yahazu-jō, Site of Iwami-jō, Kumagaika residence, Rakan-ji Gohyakurakan, Tomogaura
Hiraizumi – Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land		Iwate Prefecture	1277 (2011) ii, vi	187 ha; (5,998 ha)	Chūson-ji, Mōtsū-ji, Kanjizaiō-in, Muryōkō-in, Kinkeizan
Ogasawara Islands		Tokyo	1362 (2011) ix	7,939 ha	Natural Site: Chichi-jima, Haha-jima, Muko-jima, Iwo-jima
Fujisan, sacred place and source of artistic inspiration		Shizuoka/Yamanashi Prefecture	1418 (2013) iii, vi	20,638 ha; (49,376 ha)	Mount Fuji, Fuji Five Lakes, Fujisan Hongū Sengen Shrine, Kitaguchi Hongū Fuji Sengen Shrine, Yamamiya Sengen Shrine, Murayama Sengen Shrine, Suyama Sengen Shrine, Higashiguchi Hongū Fuji Sengen Shrine, Kawaguchi Sengen Shrine, Fuji Omuro Sengen Shrine, Oshino Hakkai, Miho no Matsubara
Tomioka Silk Mill and Related Sites		Gunma Prefecture	1149 (2014) ii, iv	7.20 ha; (415 ha)	Tomioka Silk Mill
Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining		Kyūshū, and Yamaguchi, Shizuoka and Iwate prefectures	1484 (2015) ii, iii, iv	307 ha; (2,408 ha)	Hashima Coal Mine, Former Glover House, Shūseikan, Miike Coal Mine, Yawata Steel Works, Mutsurejima Lighthouse, Hagi reverberatory furnace, Shōkasonjuku Academy, Hagi castle town
The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement		Tokyo	1321 (2016) i, ii, vi	0.93 ha; (116.17 ha)	National Museum of Western Art
Sacred Island of Okinoshima and Associated Sites in the Munakata Region		Fukuoka Prefecture	1535 (2017) ii, iii	98.93 ha; (79,363.48 ha)	Okinoshima, Munakata Taisha
Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region		Nagasaki Prefecture and Kumamoto Prefecture	1495 (2018) iii	5,566.55 ha (12,252.52 ha)	Ōura Cathedral, Hara Castle,  Hirado Island
Mozu-Furuichi Kofungun, Ancient Tumulus Clusters		Osaka Prefecture	1593 (2019) iii, iv	166.66 ha (890 ha)	Mozu kofungun, Furuichi kofungun
Amami-Ōshima Island, Tokunoshima Island, northern part of Okinawa Island, and Iriomote Island		Kagoshima Prefecture, Okinawa Prefecture	1574 (2021) x	42,698 ha (24,467 ha)	Amami Ōshima, Tokunoshima, Yanbaru, Iriomote
Jōmon Prehistoric Sites in Northern Japan		Hokkaidō, Aomori/Iwate/Akita Prefecture	1632 (2021) iii, v	141.9 ha (984.8 ha)	Sannai-Maruyama Site, Ōdai Yamamoto I site

Tentative list

The Tentative List consists of sites previously nominated, but not yet inscribed.

Name	Image	Location	UNESCO data	Monuments (incomplete listing)
Temples, Shrines and other structures of Ancient Kamakura		Kanagawa Prefecture	370 (1992) iii, iv	Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū, Jufuku-ji, Kenchō-ji, Zuisen-ji, Kōtoku-in, Kakuon-ji, Ruins of Buppō-ji, Ruins of Yōfuku-ji, Ruins of the Hokkedō, Ruins of the Hōjō Tokiwa Residence, Kamegayatsuzaka Pass, Kehaizaka Pass, Daibutsu Pass, Gokuraku-ji, Engaku-ji, Egara Tenjin Shrine, Jōkōmyō-ji, Asaina Pass, Ruins of Tōshō-ji, Nagoshi Pass, Shōmyō-ji, Wakae Island
Hikone-jō		Shiga Prefecture	374 (1992) i, ii, iii, iv	Hikone Castle
Asuka-Fujiwara: Archaeological Sites of Japan's Ancient Capitals and Related Properties		Nara Prefecture	5097 (2007) ii, iii, iv, v, vi	Ishibutai Kofun, Takamatsuzuka Tomb, Kitora Tomb, Kawara-dera, Asuka-dera, Oka-dera, Yamada-dera, Fujiwara-kyō, Yamato Sanzan
The Sado complex of heritage mines, primarily gold mines		Niigata Prefecture	5572 (2010) ii, iii, iv	Sado mines
Hiraizumi - Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land (extension)		Iwate Prefecture	5760 (2012) ii, iii, vi	Shirotori-tate Site, Takkoku-no-Iwaya, Yanagi-no-Gosho Site, Chojagahara Haiji Site, Honedera-mura Shoen Site

Other UNESCO heritage lists

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to World Heritage Sites in Japan.

• Cultural Properties of Japan
• National Treasures of Japan
• Cultural Landscapes of Japan
• National parks of Japan
• Kashimagari Tunnel

References

External links

• (in Japanese) World Heritage Sites in Japan
• (in Japanese) Database of National Cultural Properties - World Heritage (世界遺産)

This page was last edited on 16 January 2024, at 00:12