A is administered by the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology), and includes tangible properties (structures and works of art or craft); intangible properties (performing arts and craft techniques); folk properties both tangible and intangible; monuments historic, scenic and natural; cultural landscapes; and groups of traditional buildings. Buried properties and conservation techniques are also protected. Together these cultural properties are to be preserved and utilized as the heritage of the Japanese people. Not all Cultural Properties of Japan were created in Japan; some are from China, Korea or other countries. See for example the letter from Duarte de Menezez to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, pictured above, a National Treasure originating in India. In total, some 857 Important Cultural Properties are Chinese in origin, 96 from Korea, 27 from the West, and three from elsewhere.
To protect Japan's cultural heritage, the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties contains a under which selected important items are designated as Cultural Properties,For the purpose of this article, the term Cultural Properties is an official designation which imposes restrictions on the alteration, repair, and export of such designated objects. Designation can occur at a , or level. As of 2026, there are approximately 17,000 nationally designated, 23,000 prefecturally designated, and 100,000 municipally designated properties (one property may include more than one item). Besides the designation system there also exists a , which guarantees a lower level of protection and support.
Categories of designated Cultural Properties The Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties 1950 classifies items designated as Cultural Properties in the following categories:
Tangible Cultural Properties
are cultural products of high historical or artistic value whether structures (shrines, temples, other buildings), works of art (paintings, sculpture), craft works, calligraphic works, ancient documents, archaeological materials, historic materials and other such items. All objects which are not structures are termed "works of fine arts and crafts".
Items designated Tangible Cultural Properties can then, if they satisfy certain criteria, be designated The term is often shortened into just . or for especially valuable items.
Any alteration to Important Cultural Properties and National Treasures requires governmental permission and exportation is forbidden, except when authorized. The National Treasury supports the conservation and restoration of these items, and the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs provides technical assistance for their administration, restoration, public display and other activities. Conservation work is performed by an item's owner, with financial support available for large expenses. Because many items are made of wood, bark and other flammable materials, they are often extremely susceptible to fires. Owners are therefore given subsidies to install fire and other disaster prevention systems.
As of 2 July 2026, there were 13,558 Important Cultural Properties (including 1,149 National Treasures), of which approximately one fifth were structures. By class, there were 2,070 (167) paintings;The number between brackets represents National Treasures, included in the total 2,743 (142) sculptures; 2,486 (254) crafts; 1,937 (236) calligraphic works; 799 (63) ancient documents; 675 (51) archaeological materials; 243 (3) historical materials; and 2,605 (233) structural designations, including 5,597 (303) individual structures. As of 1 May 2025, there were a further 13,526 designations at prefectural and 62,376 at municipal level.
Intangible Cultural Properties
are cultural products of high historical or artistic value such as drama, music, and craft techniques.
Items of particular importance can be designated as . Recognition is also given to the 'holders' of the necessary techniques, to encourage their transmission. There are three types of recognition: individual recognition, collective recognition, and group recognition. Special grants of two million yen a year are given to individual holders (the so-called National Living Treasures) 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.
To promote understanding, and therefore the transmission across generations, of these Cultural Properties, exhibitions concerning them are organized. The government through the Japan Arts Council also holds training workshops and other activities to educate future generations of noh, bunraku, and kabuki personnel.
As of 2 July 2026, there were 70 Important Intangible Cultural Properties, with, as of 1 May 2025, a further 164 designations at prefectural and 607 at municipal level.
Folk Cultural Properties Folk Cultural Properties are items indispensable to understand the role and influence of tradition in the daily life of the Japanese, such as manners and customs related to food, clothing, work, religion; folk performing arts; and folk techniques used to produce the mentioned Folk Cultural Properties.
Folk Cultural Properties can be classified as Intangible or Tangible.
are items such as manners and customs related to food, clothing and housing, occupation, religion, and annual events; folk performing arts; and folk techniques used in connection with the mentioned items.
Clothes, tools and implements, houses and other objects used together with Intangible Folk Cultural Properties are classified as .
Folk Cultural Properties can then, if they satisfy certain criteria, be designated or .
The government subsidizes projects for the restoration, administration, preservation, utilization, disaster prevention, etc. of Important Tangible Folk Cultural Properties. 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.
As of 2 July 2026, there were 229 Important Tangible and 342 Important Intangible Folk Cultural Properties, with, as of 1 May 2025, a further 779/1732 designations at prefectural and 5,198/6,523 at municipal level.
Monuments
include 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.
The government designates "significant" items classifying them in three categories: , , and . Items of particularly high significance receive higher classifications: , , and respectively.
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.
As of 2 July 2026, there were 1,923 (66) Historic Sites; 433 (36) Places of Scenic Beauty; and 1,042 (75) Natural Monuments (including Special Natural Monuments). As of 1 May 2025, there were a further 6,321 designations at prefectural and 24,730 at municipal level. A single designation can be classed under more than one of these categories; the number is for primary classification (for instance Hamarikyū Gardens in Tokyo are classed as a Special Place of Scenic Beauty, with a secondary classification as a Special Historic Site; for the purpose of these counts it would be a Special Place of Scenic Beauty).
Cultural Landscapes
are landscapes which have evolved together with the people who inhabit them and with the geocultural features of a region, and which are indispensable to understand the lifestyle of the Japanese. They can be terraced rice fields, mountain villages, waterways and the like. Items of particular importance can be designated as Important Cultural Landscapes.
As of 2 July 2026, 74 areas in Japan have been designated Important Cultural Landscapes, with, as of 1 May 2025, a further 10 designations at prefectural and 20 at municipal level.
Groups of Traditional Buildings
is a category introduced by a 1975 amendment of the law which mandates the protection of groups of traditional buildings which, together with their environment, form a beautiful scenery. They can be post towns, castle towns, mining towns, merchant quarters, ports, farming or fishing villages, etc.
Municipalities can designate items of particular importance as Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings and approve measures to protect them. Items of even higher importance are then designated Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings by the central government. The government's Agency for Cultural Affairs then provides guidance, advice, and funds for repairs and other work. Additional support is given in the form of preferential tax treatment.
As of 2 July 2026, 129 Groups of Traditional Buildings have been nationally designated, with, as of 1 May 2025, a further 1 designation at prefectural and 130 at municipal level.
Buried Cultural Properties are Cultural Properties, such as tombs, caves, and ruins, which are buried into the ground.
About 460,000 ruin locations are presently known to exist in Japan. The protective measures taken include restrictions on their excavation. Any investigative excavation and construction work in the vicinity of a known site requires a notification. If preservation of the site is impossible, developers are required to cover expenses necessary to carry out an excavation, record any data and preserve what is possible. In cases when charging these expenses is not possible, local public organizations carry out the investigation with public funds.
Any object found under the ground must be given to police, except when its owner is known. The object is then investigated to determine if it qualifies as a Cultural Property. Any Cultural Property whose owner is not known becomes as a rule property of the prefecture.
Conservation Techniques for Cultural Properties
Techniques for the production of materials necessary for restoration and conservation, and the techniques of restoration and conservation themselves are not Cultural Properties, and are classified as Conservation Techniques for Cultural Properties.
This form of protection was approved in 1975 (see below) and was made necessary by the disappearance of skilled craftsmen as a result of the industrialization. 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. The minister of education can designate techniques indispensable for conservation as Selected Conservation Techniques. Examples of nominated entities in the field of architecture are the Japanese Association for Conservation of Architectural Monuments (for repairs and woodwork), the National Association for the Preservation of Roofing Techniques for Shrines and Temples (techniques for organic roofing materials: cypress bark, shingles, thatch) and the Association for the Conservation of Cultural Properties (paintings and lacquering of architectural monuments) In addition to the prestige associated with the nomination, the government provides subsidies for training, courses and documentation.
As of 2 July 2026, there were 87 Conservation Techniques at a national level, with, as of 1 May 2025, a further 12 at prefectural and 18 at municipal level.