Intangible Cultural Property (Japan)
An Intangible Cultural Property, as defined by the Japanese government's Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, is a part of the Cultural Properties of high historical or artistic value such as drama, music, and craft techniques. The term refers exclusively to human skills possessed by individuals or groups which are indispensable to produce Cultural Properties.
Items of particular importance can be designated as Important Intangible Cultural Properties. Recognition is also given to the owners of an item to encourage its 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 to help protect their properties. The government also contributes part of the expenses incurred either by the holder of an Intangible Cultural Property during training of his successor, or by a recognized group for public performances.
To promote the understanding, and therefore the transmission across generations, of 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,, and kabuki personnel.
Important Intangible Cultural Properties
Crafts
| Medium | Name | Comments | Region | Registered | Image |
| Ceramics | Bizen-yaki | High-fired, unglazed stoneware; one of the six ancient kilns; production in and around Imbe village from the twelfth century | Okayama Prefecture | 2004 | |
| Ceramics | Hakuji | Undecorated white porcelain; influenced by Chinese examples; production began in the Arita area in the first half of the seventeenth century | 1995 | ||
| Ceramics | Iro-Nabeshima | A type of iro-e overglaze enamel, often with a blue under-glaze; from the domain of the Nabeshima clan; production from the second half of the seventeenth century | Saga Prefecture | 1976 | |
| Ceramics | Kakiemon | A type of iro-e overglaze enamel; created by Sakaida Kakiemon in the 1640s; nigoshide, the white ground against which the enamels are applied, was revived by Sakaida Kakiemon XII in the 1950s | Saga Prefecture | 1971 | |
| Ceramics | Mumyōi-yaki | Mumyōi is the red ferrous clay of Sado island; production in Aikawa from the early nineteenth century | Niigata Prefecture | 2003 | |
| Ceramics | Onta ware | Thick slipware; production in Hita from the early eighteenth century; one of the 100 Soundscapes of Japan | Ōita Prefecture | 1995 | |
| Ceramics | Seto-guro | Black Seto; the colour is obtained by removing the glazed vessel from the kiln at the height of firing and cooling it rapidly; production in Mino Province from the late sixteenth century | Gifu Prefecture | ||
| Ceramics | Celadon | The pale-green colour of celadon is obtained from a feldspathic glaze and reduction firing; introduced from the continent | 2007 | ||
| Ceramics | Shino ware | Stoneware with a white feldspathic glaze; production in Mino Province from the late sixteenth century | Gifu Prefecture | 1994 | |
| Ceramics | Tetsuyū-tōki | Iron-glaze stoneware | 2005 | ||
| Ceramics | Yūri-kinsai | Gold leaf or gold enamel is applied to a glazed surface which is then glazed and fired again, enhancing the durability of the decoration | 2001 | ||
| Textiles | Ise-katagami | Paper stencils | Mie Prefecture | 1993 | |
| Textiles | Kijōka-bashōfu | banana fibre cloth | Okinawa Prefecture | 1974 | |
| Textiles | Kumejima-tsumugi | pongee/kasuri | Okinawa Prefecture | 2004 | |
| Textiles | Kurume, Fukuoka | Fukuoka Prefecture | 1957 | ||
| Textiles | Miyako-jima | Okinawa Prefecture | 1978 | ||
| Textiles | Tate-nishiki | Vertical brocade of ancient origin, revived by Kitamura Takeshi | 2000 | ||
| Textiles | Yūki-tsumugi | Inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010 | 1956 | ||
| Textiles | Kenjō Hakata-ku, Fukuoka | Fukuoka Prefecture | 2003 | ||
| Textiles | Edo komon | Edo fine pattern; stencil resist dyeing technique popular in the Edo period | 1978 | ||
| Textiles | Bingata | Stencil or resist paste weave; in the eighteenth century its use by commoners was restricted | Okinawa Prefecture | 1996 | |
| Textiles | Saga Nishiki | Brocade that developed in the early nineteenth century and was widespread by the early twentieth | Saga Prefecture | 1994 | |
| Textiles | Embroidery | 1997 | |||
| Textiles | Shuri, Okinawa | Okinawa Prefecture | 1998 | ||
| Textiles | Ojiya, Niigata | Inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009 | Niigata Prefecture | 1955 | |
| Textiles | Seigō Sendai-Sendai-hira | Miyagi Prefecture | 2002 | ||
| Textiles | Tsumugi | Woven from hand-spun silk floss | 1990 | ||
| Textiles | Bashōfu | Bashō-fibre cloth | Okinawa Prefecture | 2000 | |
| Textiles | Mokuhanzuri-sarasa | 2008 | |||
| Textiles | Monsha | Figured gauze weave silk | |||
| Textiles | Yūzen | Paste-resist dyeing; perfected around 1700 by Miyazaki Yūzen | 1955 | ||
| Textiles | Yūsoku weave | 1999 | |||
| Textiles | Ra | A form of gauze weave; examples are found in the Shōsōin | 1995 | ||
| Lacquerware | Chinkin | Incised and filled with gold leaf or powder applied over wet lacquer; popular in China from the Song dynasty and particularly associated with Wajima ware | 1999 | ||
| Lacquerware | Kinma | Incised and colour-filled; introduced from the continent, prized in the Muromachi period, and perfected around Takamatsu in the Edo period | 1985 | ||
| Lacquerware | Kyūshitsu | Sequential lacquering technique with four main phases: substrate, priming, intermediate coating, and top coating | 1974 | ||
| Lacquerware | Maki-e | Sprinkled picture decoration using metallic powder or pigment; dates to the Heian period | 1955 | ||
| Lacquerware | Raden | Shell inlay | 1999 | ||
| Lacquerware | Wajima, Ishikawa | A mixture of burned diatomaceous earth, rice paste, and lacquer is used for the layers of undercoat; the earliest example, the doors of Juzo Jinja, date to 1524 | Ishikawa Prefecture | 1977 | |
| Metalwork | Repoussé and chasing | Several engraving techniques have been practised since the dōtaku of the Yayoi period | 1978 | ||
| Metalwork | Metal casting | Several casting techniques have been practised since the dōtaku of the Yayoi period, including lost-wax casting | 1993 | ||
| Metalwork | Japanese sword polishing | 1975 | |||
| Metalwork | Dora | Gongs | 2002 | ||
| Metalwork | Repoussé and chasing | 1995 | |||
| Woodworking | Bambooworking | 1982 | |||
| Woodworking | Japanese carpentry | 1984 | |||
| Dolls | Ishō-Japanese traditional dolls | Costume dolls, dressed in tailored clothing made from dyed and woven textiles | 1986 | ||
| Dolls | Tōso-Japanese traditional dolls | Paulownia sawdust, mixed with wheat starch and plum paste, is used to form a plaster for casting; once dry it is hard enough to be sculpted | 2002 | ||
| Washi | Echizen Province | High-quality paper, used for official orders since the Muromachi period; paper-making in the region is known from the Engishiki | Fukui Prefecture | 2000 | |
| Washi | Mino washi | Mulberry paper from Mino Province; records in the Shōsō-in refer to three paper-making regions: Chikuzen Province, Buzen Province, and Mino Province | Gifu Prefecture | 1969 | |
| Washi | Hosokawa-shi | 1978 | |||
| Washi | Nishinomiya | Made from the ganpi plant | Hyōgo Prefecture | 2002 | |
| Washi | Sekishū-banshi | The strongest paper produced in Japan; used for shōji, calligraphy, and conservation-restoration; inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009 | Shimane Prefecture | 1969 | |
| Washi | Tosa Province | A very fine, strong paper developed around 1900 by Genta Yoshii | Kōchi Prefecture | 2001 |