Hiraizumi, Ogasawara Group win World Heritage endorsement
2011/05/08
A shelter that houses Chusonji Konjikido in Hiraizumi, Iwate Prefecture, will likely be named a UNESCO World Heritage site. (Erina Ito)
Chusonji Konjikido in Hiraizumi, Iwate Prefecture, will likely be named a UNESCO World Heritage site. (Takuya Isayama)
Hahajima island in the Ogasawara chain will likely be named a World Heritage site. (Eiji Hori)
Iwate Prefecture's cultural Hiraizumi area and Tokyo's Ogasawara islands have won endorsements to be listed as World Heritage sites, sources from the Environment Ministry said May 6.
The final decision will be made at a session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Paris that gets under way June 19.
The Historic Monuments and Sites of Hiraizumi include buildings, gardens and remains that embody the Buddhist heaven. They include the Chusonji temple built by Fujiwara no Kiyohira, the first in the lineage of the Oshu Fujiwara family, and Motsuji, the remains of a temple built by Fujiwara no Motohira, the second in the lineage.
"Hiraizumi was a center of the Tohoku region's recovery from a period of wars. That historical context has made me think that it could symbolize our recovery from the disastrous earthquake and tsunami," said Iwate Governor Takuya Tasso upon hearing the news of Hiraizumi's endorsement. "The news has encouraged me to proceed with recovery efforts energetically as a matter of historical and international significance."
The Ogasawara group is a chain of about 30 islands that stretch for about 400 kilometers from north to south. The nominated area includes about 6,360 hectares of land, including part of the Chichijima group, part of the Hahajima group and the Mukojima group, as well as about 1,580 hectares of surrounding sea.
Dubbed the "Galapagos of the Orient," the Ogasawara group is home to an abundance of shellfish and plant species that underwent unique evolutionary processes. The World Heritage recommendation calls for measures to protect endemic species against alien species to be continued after the proposed inscription.
Currently, 911 properties are listed as World Heritage Sites: 704 cultural, 180 natural and 27 mixed properties. Fourteen of them are located in Japan, comprising 11 cultural sites, which include the Buddhist monuments in the Horyuji area and Himeji Castle, and three natural sites, which include Yakushima island and the Shiretoko region.
預覽尺寸：800 × 600 畫素
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