Ancient Capitals of Asuka and Fujiwara

Lore & Background

Since 2011, the Cultural Landscape of the Asuka Hinterland has been protected as one of the Cultural Landscapes of Japan. The serial nomination remains on Japan's Tentative List as of 2025 and has not yet been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Previously, in 2007, twenty-eight sites were submitted jointly for future inscription as 'Asuka-Fujiwara: Archaeological sites of Japan's Ancient Capitals and Related Properties' under criteria ii, iii, iv, v, and vi, but the number was later reduced to nineteen in a revised proposal.

Reader's Guide

The Ancient Capitals of Asuka and Fujiwara are significant as a serial UNESCO World Heritage site inscribed in 2026 under criteria ii and iii, reflecting the interchange of human values and a unique testimony to a cultural tradition. The nineteen archaeological sites, located in Nara Prefecture, Japan, date from the late sixth to early eighth centuries and represent the political and ceremonial centers of early Japanese state formation. Seventeen of these sites are protected as Historic Sites or Special Historic Sites under Japanese law, and the Cultural Landscape of the Asuka Hinterland has been a protected Cultural Landscape since 2011. The 60-hectare area within the Asuka Historical National Government Park further safeguards the physical remains.

The Asuka Historical Museum houses related artefacts. The original 2007 nomination included twenty-eight sites under broader criteria, but the final serial nomination was refined to nineteen. The legacy of these capitals lies in their archaeological evidence of early Japanese governance, urban planning, and cultural exchange, preserved through national and international heritage frameworks.