World Heritage and Intangible Cultural Heritage
Intangible Cultural Heritage
About Intangible Cultural Heritage
The Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Herirtage
The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage was adopted at the UNESCO General Conference in October 2003, and came into force in April 2006. Japan became the third state party to the Convention in June 2004. There are 180 States Parties to the Convention as of February 2022.
This Convention stipulates that the States Parties take measures for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in their territories, for example by identifying elements of intangible cultural heritage within their territory and making inventories of them. It also stipulates international safeguarding measures, including the establishment of the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (Representative List) and the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding (Urgent Safeguarding List) in order to increase awareness of intangible cultural heritage and promote intercultural dialogue.
Today 530 elements are inscribed on the Representative List in total, including 22 elements in Japan (as of February 2022). At the fifteenth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage held online in December 2020, “Traditional skills, techniques and knowledge for the conservation and transmission of wooden architecture in Japan”, nominated by Japan, was inscribed on the Representative List. This nomination consisted of 17 groups of skills selected by the government for preservation (along with associations certified to safeguard the skills).
Intangible Cultural Heritage List
Nogaku theatre
Ningyo Johruri Bunraku puppet theatre
Kabuki theatre
Gagaku
Ojiya-chijimi, Echigo-jofu : techniques of making ramie fabric in Uonuma region, Niigata Prefecture
Oku-noto no Aenokoto
Hayachine Kagura
Akiu no Taue Odori
Chakkirako
Dainichido Bungaku
Daimokutate
Traditional Ainu dance
Kumiodori, traditional Okinawan musical theatre
Yuki-tsumugi, silk fabric production technique
Mibu no Hana Taue, ritual of transplanting rice in Mibu, Hiroshima
Sada Shin Noh, sacred dancing at sada shrine
Nachi no Dengaku, a religious performing art held at the Nachi fire festival
Washoku, traditional dietary cultures of the Japanese, notably for the celebration of New Year
Washi : Craftsmanship of Traditional Japanese Handmade Paper
Yama/Hoko/Yatai: the Float Festivals of Japan
Raiho-shin: Ritual Visits of Deities in Masks and Costumes
Traditional skills, techniques and knowledge for the conservation and transmission of wooden architecture in Japan