UNESCO adds six Japanese traditions to Intangible Heritage List
A U.N. intergovernmental committee has endorsed six cultural traditions from Japan, adding them to categories already inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list. The decision was made Thursday at a meeting in New Delhi, Qazinform News Agency cites Kyodo.
The newly recognized items include festivals from Ibaraki, Niigata, Shiga, and Toyama prefectures, along with two forms of craftsmanship related to handmade paper and tatami mat making.
Four local celebrations were added to the “Yama, Hoko, Yatai, float festivals in Japan” category, bringing the total to 37, particularly, Ofune Festival of Hitachi Otsu (Ibaraki), Murakami Yatai Festival (Niigata), Hojozu Hachimangu Shrine Hikiyama Tsukiyama Festival (Toyama) and Otsu Hikiyama Festival (Shiga).
The manufacturing of Echizen “torinoko-shi” handmade paper in Fukui Prefecture has become the fourth entry under “Washi, craftsmanship of traditional Japanese handmade paper.”
Crafting handwoven “nakatsugi-omote” tatami mat surfaces was added as the 18th item under “Traditional skills, techniques and knowledge for the conservation and transmission of wooden architecture in Japan.”
Japan nominated the six items in March 2024. Normally, submissions are reviewed every two years due to UNESCO’s annual limit of 60 nominations. However, these were treated as extensions of existing categories, allowing them to be reviewed this year. Japan’s total number of entries remains at 23.
Japan has also requested that shodo calligraphy be considered as a new entry, with screening expected in 2026. Plans are in place to submit the traditional performing art kagura in 2028 and onsen hot spring culture in 2030.
It should be noted, Italian cuisine receives UNESCO intangible cultural heritage status.
