ID :
180573
Sat, 05/07/2011 - 18:05
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/180573
The shortlink copeid
Iwate Pref.'s historic Hiraizumi area to be World Heritage site
TOKYO, May 7 Kyodo - An advisory panel to UNESCO has recommended registering the historic Hiraizumi area in Iwate Prefecture and the Ogasawara Islands off Tokyo as World Heritage sites, the Japanese government said Saturday.
The two sites, put forward by Japan, are expected to be formally listed in June when the World Heritage Committee of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization meets in Paris.
The registration of Hiraizumi as the 12th cultural heritage site in Japan and the first in the country's northeastern Tohoku region, if realized, would be a boon for the region devastated by the March 11 quake and tsunami disaster, as it is expected to boost tourism.
The Ogasawara Islands in the Pacific, dubbed the Galapagos of the East for its unique ecosystem with various indigenous species, would be Japan's fourth World Natural Heritage site and the first to be listed in six years since the Shiretoko area of Hokkaido in 2005.
Hiraizumi, which includes Chusonji, a Buddhist temple known for its Golden Hall, features a cluster of temples and ruins left by the Oshu Fujiwara warrior family that ruled the Tohoku region from the 11th to the 12th centuries. The temples and gardens there symbolize the Pure Land thought of Buddhism, according to Japan's Cultural Affairs Agency.
As the area suffered no major damage in the disaster, Chusonji has allowed students from quake-hit coastal areas in the prefecture on school excursions to view the Golden Hall free of charge.
''It is very encouraging as we move ahead toward reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake,'' Iwate Gov. Takuya Tasso said, referring to the disaster by its official name.
When Tokyo's first attempt to have it on the UNESCO list failed in 2008, Hiraizumi had nine component properties. But on the second attempt, six of them cleared the screening by the International Council on Monuments and Sites, or ICOMOS, on the condition the ruins of the official residence of the Oshu Fujiwara be excluded.
The Ogasawara Islands, where about 2,400 people live, have already won accreditation from the International Union for Conservation of Nature, another advisory body, with measures taken there against nonnative species from invading the natural ecosystem.
A variety of unique species have evolved on the islands. About 30 islets totaling 6,360 hectares and 1,580 hectares in surrounding waters are subject to registration, as they have never been connected to a continent.
The islands ''took a large step towards registration as a World Heritage site. I'm very glad that it was valued as one of the world's preeminent natural regions,'' Environment Minister Ryu Matsumoto said, adding that Japan will continue with efforts to conserve nature on the islands.
ICOMOS, meanwhile, deferred an announcement on whether to recommend the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo be on the list. French architect Le Corbusier designed the museum and other buildings in five other countries, including France.
The two sites, put forward by Japan, are expected to be formally listed in June when the World Heritage Committee of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization meets in Paris.
The registration of Hiraizumi as the 12th cultural heritage site in Japan and the first in the country's northeastern Tohoku region, if realized, would be a boon for the region devastated by the March 11 quake and tsunami disaster, as it is expected to boost tourism.
The Ogasawara Islands in the Pacific, dubbed the Galapagos of the East for its unique ecosystem with various indigenous species, would be Japan's fourth World Natural Heritage site and the first to be listed in six years since the Shiretoko area of Hokkaido in 2005.
Hiraizumi, which includes Chusonji, a Buddhist temple known for its Golden Hall, features a cluster of temples and ruins left by the Oshu Fujiwara warrior family that ruled the Tohoku region from the 11th to the 12th centuries. The temples and gardens there symbolize the Pure Land thought of Buddhism, according to Japan's Cultural Affairs Agency.
As the area suffered no major damage in the disaster, Chusonji has allowed students from quake-hit coastal areas in the prefecture on school excursions to view the Golden Hall free of charge.
''It is very encouraging as we move ahead toward reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake,'' Iwate Gov. Takuya Tasso said, referring to the disaster by its official name.
When Tokyo's first attempt to have it on the UNESCO list failed in 2008, Hiraizumi had nine component properties. But on the second attempt, six of them cleared the screening by the International Council on Monuments and Sites, or ICOMOS, on the condition the ruins of the official residence of the Oshu Fujiwara be excluded.
The Ogasawara Islands, where about 2,400 people live, have already won accreditation from the International Union for Conservation of Nature, another advisory body, with measures taken there against nonnative species from invading the natural ecosystem.
A variety of unique species have evolved on the islands. About 30 islets totaling 6,360 hectares and 1,580 hectares in surrounding waters are subject to registration, as they have never been connected to a continent.
The islands ''took a large step towards registration as a World Heritage site. I'm very glad that it was valued as one of the world's preeminent natural regions,'' Environment Minister Ryu Matsumoto said, adding that Japan will continue with efforts to conserve nature on the islands.
ICOMOS, meanwhile, deferred an announcement on whether to recommend the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo be on the list. French architect Le Corbusier designed the museum and other buildings in five other countries, including France.
