Japan's World Heritage Sites. John Dougill

archipelago was first settled by a group of Westerners and Pacific Islanders, some of whose descendants remain to this day. At one point, Britain and the United States were arguing over ownership, and only after the Meiji Restoration of 1868 did the islands become officially part of Japan. There is something of the charm of the southern seas about them. Perhaps it was the enchantment of distance, or perhaps it was simply because my journey was drawing to an end. Whatever the reason, Japan’s most remote World Heritage Site turned out to be the nearest to my heart. You could say it was the one site that truly ‘registered’.

       Postscript

      With the registration of Mount Fuji as a World Heritage site in the spring of 2013, I found myself adding an important postscript to my travels. Although I’d climbed the mountain in my younger days, I was unfamiliar with the many listed properties included by UNESCO as part of the site (25 in all). These concern the cultural and spiritual heritage of the mountain, involving some out-of-the-way places. So I rented a car and embarked on a two-day drive around the base of Fuji, which took me deep into rural Yamanashi with a side trip to the Shizuoka seaside for a celebrated view of the volcano. It was just a month after the official acceptance by UNESCO and there was a celebratory feel, with flags happily proclaiming the new status at all the key spots, indicative of a well-run campaign.

      June and July are said to be the worst times of the year for Fuji-viewing because of the cloud cover, but I was lucky to see the sacred mountain basking in sunshine from several different angles. The inspiration Fuji provided for artists is one of the two pillars on which registration rested, the other being its religious aspect. Among the listed properties are shrines, springs, pathways and lodging houses for pilgrims. Religious rites were also carried out in lava caves formed around tree trunks which subsequently rotted away. The variety of Fuji’s listed properties typify the wide-ranging appeal of Japan’s World Heritage Sites as a whole, for while some are popular tourist sights, others involve exploration of little-known and rarely visited places. It was with a desire to communicate the wealth and diversity of such sites that I had set out on my journey in the first place. Japan has long had a reputation as the treasure house of Asia. My hope is that this book will not only help further awareness of its exceptional cultural heritage but also of the need for conservation of its remarkable natural heritage.

      

      Shinkyo Bridge at Nikko has mythological origins but took its present form in 1636. Once reserved for imperial messengers, it is now a popular place for wedding photos.

      Nara’s Kasuga Shrine has some 2,000 stone lanterns as well as a further 1,000 hanging lanterns. Twice a year, at Setsubun (February) and Obon (August), the lanterns are lit in a spectacular display.

      The UNESCO World Heritage Sites Program

      In 1972, UNESCO ratified a convention to further preservation of places of ‘outstanding universal value’ by awarding them the status of World Heritage. At the time of writing, there are 1092 such sites, a number that is growing year by year. They are located in 160 countries and include some of the most famous places on earth, such as the Taj Mahal, the Statue of Liberty, the Tower of London, the Great Wall of China and the Galapagos Islands.

      Nominations are put forward by signatory countries to the convention, and the sites are expected to meet a set of demanding criteria. There are two main categories: Cultural and Natural (some sites fall into both types and others are considered ‘cultural landscapes’). A vetting process takes into consideration such matters as authenticity, management, accessibility and protection measures. Registration brings rewards in terms of pride, prestige and publicity, resulting in an increase in visitors.

      The vermilion color of Japan’s shrines, here seen at Kyoto’s Shimogamo Jinja, originated in China and was transmitted via Buddhism to Japan.

      Hiking on Yakushima Island takes one deep into pristine forests with ancient cedar trees, some of which are thousands of years old.

      Interest in World Heritage Sites is enormous in Japan, with specialist tours and television programs: TBS has shown a weekly documentary since 1996 and NHK has a partnership arrangement to co-produce videos for UNESCO’s archives. It’s surprising, then, that Japan has relatively few sites compared with its peers. As of 2019, it has a total of 23 compared to 19 for Australia, 23 for the USA, 31 for the UK, 44 for Germany and France, 47 for Spain and 53 for China.

      The numbers are misleading, however, for what defines a site can vary from a single building to a whole region. Several of Japan’s sites boast multiple ‘properties’, some of which could easily stand as World Heritage Sites in their own right. Take Kyoto, for instance, which lists world-famous temples, gardens and even a castle amongst its 17 properties.

      MOUNT FUJI

      JAPAN’S TALLEST MOUNTAIN AND SACRED SYMBOL OF THE NATION

      MOUNT FUJI AT A GLANCE

      REGISTRATION 2013, as ‘Mt Fuji: Object of Worship, Wellspring of Art’.

      FEATURES 25 properties in Shizuoka and Yamanashi Prefectures, including the summit (12,389 feet/3,776 meters), ascent routes, 8 shrines, purification springs, 5 lakes, pilgrim lodging houses, caves, a viewpoint and a waterfall.

      ACCESS From Tokyo by train to Fujisan Station (90 mins). The town of Fujiyoshida is a good starting point.

      DURATION There are 4 ascent routes, and one can drive up to the 5th station (there are 10 in all). Ascents take 4–8 hours (typically with an overnight stay to see the sunrise). Allow at least 2 days to drive round Fuji to view the properties. Rental car recommended.

      FEES Most properties are free (a charge is being considered for ascent of Mt Fuji).

      INFORMATION Shizuoka World Heritage division tel. [phone]. Yamanashi World Heritage division tel. [phone]. Volunteer guide for Lake Kawaguchi area: [email protected]. Wikitravel has a comprehensive webpage. For a self-guided tour from Tokyo, see the Fuji page of www.go-japango.com.travel.

      Symmetrical and snow-capped, Mt Fuji is an iconic symbol of Japan. Since ancient times it’s been held in awe, and many Japanese harbor the desire to climb it at least once in their life. It was previously nominated as a Natural Heritage site but environmental problems necessitated rethinking the application as a Cultural Heritage site based on its religious and artistic significance.

      Fuji’s religious role stems from the country’s animist tradition of mountain worship, prompted not only by its dominating presence but by its volcanic activity. Since 781 there have been 17 recorded eruptions, the last being in 1707, and to appease the mountain deity Sengen shrines were built around the base.

      Of the eight shrines in the World Heritage registration, Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha is the most important. Established at its present location in 806, it boasts an unusual two-storey sanctuary as well as ponds fed by underground water from Mt Fuji. It stands at the head of some 1,300 Sengen shrines nationwide.

      From the twelfth century, as volcanic activity lessened, the mountain became a base for mountain asceticism (shugendo), which mixes esoteric Buddhism with Taoism and worship of kami (divine spirits or Shino deities). ‘Entering the mountain’ is seen as a form of death and rebirth, by which the old self is killed off and the practitioner returns spiritually enhanced. After the fifteenth century, ordinary people became involved, led on pilgrimages by a shugendo practitioner. Around this time, the mountain deity became conflated with a mythological princess called Konohanasakuya-hime because of her association with beauty.