The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun
Jomon ruins to be added to UNESCO heritage list
At long last, the Jomon archaeological sites in northern Japan, which convey the lifestyle and spiritual culture of the Jomon period (ca 10,000 B.C.-ca 300 B.C.), are expected to have their value recognized by the world.
The International Council on Monuments and Sites, or ICOMOS, has recommended Wednesday the registration of a set of ruins from the ancient Jomon period in northern Japan as a UNESCO World Heritage cultural site.
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee is expected to decide the registration at a meeting in July.
It has been more than 13 years since the prefectures of Hokkaido, Aomori, Iwate and Akita proposed to the Cultural Affairs Agency in 2007 that the ruins located in their areas be registered as a World Heritage cultural site.
The Jomon archaeological sites in Hokkaido and the northern Tohoku region would be the nation’s 20th cultural property on the World Heritage list, and the first since the Mozu-Furuichi Kofungun ancient tumulus clusters in Osaka Prefecture were inscribed in 2019.
The Jomon ruins are 17 sites in the prefectures of Hokkaido, Aomori, Iwate and Akita, comprising settlement ruins, stone circles and a cemetery.
The people involved in the proposal were delighted by ICOMOS’ recommendation.
“Finally, the registration of [the Jomon sites] as a World Heritage site is getting underway,” said Takumi Itchoda, representative of a group of local volunteer guides for the Sannai-Maruyama archaeological site in Aomori.
The ruins were discovered during excavations that began in 1992 for the construction of a baseball stadium. “I was excited by the excavation’s findings, which showed the life of the ancient people and their advanced technology, including the remains of a huge six-pillar building,” said Itchoda, 83. He was the principal of an elementary school at the time the ruins were found.
However, efforts to register the ruins as a World Heritage site ran into trouble. For five years in a row from 2013, the central government declined to nominate the sites in Hokkaido and the northern Tohoku region for the list of World Heritage sites. The government argued that there was insufficient reason to list only the Jomon remains in Hokkaido and Aomori, Iwate and Akita prefectures, despite the fact that such ruins exist across the nation.
Yasuhiro Okada, a specialist in the registration of World Heritage cultural sites for the Aomori prefectural government, was among those who rewrote the draft of the recommendation to the central government more than 100 times. They sought to have recognized the value of the region, where hunting and gathering culture continued for more than 10,000 years.
“I’m very happy. I’m so relieved,” said Okada, 63.
Shiro Kimura, 79, chairman of a citizens group aiming to have the Oyu Kanjo Resseki stone circle in Kazuno, Akita Prefecture, listed as a World Heritage site, said happily, “It’s been 90 years since the discovery
of the ruins, and now we can finally have the world’s eyes on a local treasure.”
Kaori Yamada, 43, a representative
of a citizens group for the promotion of Jomon culture based in Hakodate, Hokkaido, said, “I want to convey
the charm of the Jomon culture, such as that shown in clay figures, to the whole world.” (May 28, revised)