A UNESCO intergovernmental committee decided on Thursday to add six Japanese items, including the Murakami Festival in Niigata Prefecture, to the agency's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. This marks the first registration of a Japanese intangible asset since traditional sake brewing was added last year.
The UNESCO intergovernmental committee decided on Thursday to add six items from Japan to the U.N. agency's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Four of these—the Murakami Festival in the city of Murakami, Niigata Prefecture; the Ofune Festival of Hitachi Otsu in the city of Kitaibaraki, Ibaraki Prefecture; the Hojozu Hachimangu Shrine Hikiyama Tsukiyama Festival in the city of Imizu, Toyama Prefecture; and the Otsu Hikiyama Festival in the city of Otsu, Shiga Prefecture—will be registered under the category of "Yama, Hoko, Yatai, float festivals in Japan."
Echizen Torinoko-type handmade ganpi fiber paper from the city of Echizen in Fukui Prefecture will be inscribed under the "Washi" category, while techniques of crafting handwoven Nakatsugi-omote for tatami mats fall under "traditional skills, techniques and knowledge for the conservation and transmission of wooden architecture."
These six items were recommended as extended nominations for three already-inscribed Japanese categories, so the total number of Japanese items on the list remains at 23. Japan undergoes screening every two years in principle, but extended nominations are exempt from this rule. The country has proposed inscribing shodō traditional calligraphy, with a decision expected around autumn 2026. Japan has also decided to nominate kagura ritual ceremonial dance for 2028 and onsen bunka hot spring culture for 2030.
