Cultural Property (Japan)

Any alteration to Important Cultural Properties and National Treasures requires governmental permission and exportation is forbidden, except when authorized.

Special grants of two million yen a year are given to individual holders (the so-called National Living Treasures[2]) to help protect these properties.

The government also contributes part of the expenses incurred either by the holder of the Intangible Cultural Property during training of his successor, or by a recognized group for public performances.

The government through the Japan Arts Council also holds training workshops and other activities to educate future generations of noh, bunraku, and kabuki personnel.

[2] In the case of Important Intangible Folk Cultural Properties, public subsidies help local governments and other entities fund projects to train successors, restore or acquire props, tools and other objects.

[1][2] The government designates "significant" items 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).

Alterations to the existing state of a site or activities affecting its preservation require permission from the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs.

[2] Municipalities can designate items of particular importance as Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings and approve measures to protect them.

[6] The techniques protected by the law applied to Tangible and Intangible Cultural Properties and included the mounting of paintings and calligraphy on scrolls, the repair of lacquerware and wooden sculptures, and the production of Noh masks, costumes and instruments.

[8] On the other side, the owner is eligible for low interest loans for maintenance and repairs, subsidies for an architect and tax reductions of up to 50 percent.

[2][3] Most cultural properties in Japan used to belong to Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, or were handed down in aristocratic and samurai families.

[9] Feudal Japan came to an abrupt end in 1867/68 when the Tokugawa shogunate was replaced by a new system of government with the so-called Meiji Restoration.

[10] Largely because of the official policy of separation of Shinto and Buddhism and of the anti-Buddhist movements that advocated the return to Shinto, a large number of Buddhist buildings and artwork were destroyed in an event known as haibutsu kishaku (literally "abolish Buddhism and destroy Shākyamuni").

[10][11][12] In 1871 the government confiscated the lands of temples, which were seen as a symbol of the previous ruling elite, and expropriated the properties of the feudal lords, causing the loss of historic castles and residences.

[12] Another factor that had a big influence on the cultural heritage was the increased industrialization and westernization, which accompanied the restoration and led to the impoverishment of Buddhist and Shinto institutions, the decay of temples and the export of valuable objects.

[13][14][15] On recommendation of universities, in 1871 the Department of State (Dajō-kan) issued a decree for the protection of antiquities, the Plan for the Preservation of Ancient Artifacts (古器旧物保存方, koki kyūbutsu hozonkata), ordering prefectures, temples and shrines to compile lists of suitable important buildings and art treasures.

[15] In a survey carried out under guidance of Okakura Kakuzō and Ernest Fenollosa from 1888 to 1897 all over Japan, about 210,000 objects of artistic or historic merit were evaluated and catalogued.

[10][15] This law was formulated under the guidance of the architectural historian and architect Itō Chūta and established in 20 articles a system of governmental financial support for the preservation of buildings and the restoration of artworks.

[18] Designated artworks could be from any of the following categories: painting, sculpture, calligraphy, books and handicrafts; subsequently swords were added.

However the law was limited to items held by religious institutions, leaving privately owned articles unprotected.

Owners had to register designated objects with newly created museums, which were granted first option in case of sale.

Eventually, this led to the 1919 Historical Sites, Places of Scenic Beauty, and Natural Monuments Preservation Law (史蹟名勝天然紀念物保存法, shiseki meishō tennenkinenbutsu hozonhō), giving the same protection and cataloging to these properties as temples, shrines and pieces of art had received in 1897.

[10] In 1929, the National Treasures Preservation Law (国宝保存法, kokuhō hozonhō) was passed and came into force on July 1 of the same year.

[10] By 1939, 8282 items in nine categories (painting, sculpture, architecture, documents, books, calligraphy, swords, crafts and archaeological resources) had been designated National Treasures and were forbidden to be exported.

[7] During World War II many of the designated buildings were camouflaged, and water tanks and fire walls installed for their protection.

[10] The 9th century Buddhist text Tōdaiji Fujumonkō, designated as National Treasure in 1938, was destroyed in 1945 by fire as a result of the war.

[21] On January 26, 1949, the kon-dō of Hōryū-ji, one of the oldest extant wooden buildings in the world and the first to be protected under the "Ancient Temples and Shrines Preservation Law", caught fire, resulting in the serious damage of valuable 7th century wall paintings.

[20] Following a decision by the National Diet, properties to be nominated as World Heritage Site are required to be protected under the 1950 law.

[1] A large number of mainly industrial and historic residential from the late Edo to the Shōwa period were registered under this system.

[8] Since the end of the 20th century, the Agency for Cultural Affairs has been focusing on the designation of structures built between 1868 and 1930 or in underrepresented regions.