A DVD produced in order to enhance the knowledge of the eleven properties in Japan currently included in the World Heritage List.

These properties are:

Natural Heritage
- Shirakami-Sanchi (Shirakami Mountains): possesses the world's largest primeval beech-tree forest, virtually unaffected by human contact
- Yakushima: possesses Japanese cedar trees over a thousand years old

Cultural Heritage

- Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area: the oldest wooden structures in the world

- Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto: the shrines and temples that have been places of worship in the ancient capital of Kyoto, which has a history of over 1,200 years

- Himeji-jo (Himeji Castle): a beautiful castle admired as the white egret castle

- The Historic Villages, Shirakawa-go and Gokayama: the Gassho-style Farmhouses constructed in conformity with the natural conditions of the region - which is subject to deep accumulations of heavy snow

- Itsukushima Shinto Shrine: a shrine that extends out over the ocean and is beautifully integrated with the form of the mountains behind it

- Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome or Atomic Bomb Dome): conveys the horror of nuclear war to people today

- Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara: the magnificent shrines and temples, Mount Kasuga's primeval forests and the historic ruins of the Heijyo-kyo ancient capital in Nara, which was the capital of Japan before Kyoto and has a 1,300-year history

- Shrines and Temples of Nikko: the Shrines and Temples in Nikko, a sacred site for those who religiously worshiped mountains, with a history of approximately 1,200 years

- Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu: the group of historic sites that show the characteristics of the unique Ryukyu culture that developed from the latter 14th century, when the Ryukyus began moving toward a unified state, to the late 18th century after the establishment of the Kingdom of Ryukyu

The DVD also contains 2 minutes-long documentaries about each site

This material cannot be posted online in full. It is available for consultation in our Reading Room or, when indicated, via Video on Demand (VOD)

on this subject: Japan in the World Heritage