# Intangible Cultural Property (Japan)

An Intangible Cultural Property (無形文化財, mukei bunkazai), as defined by the Japanese government's Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties (1950), is a part of the Cultural Properties of high historical or artistic value such as drama, music, and craft techniques. The term refers exclusively to human skills possessed by individuals or groups which are indispensable to produce Cultural Properties.
Items of particular importance can be designated as Important Intangible Cultural Properties (重要無形文化財, jūyō mukei bunkazai). Recognition is also given to the owners of an item to encourage its transmission. There are three types of recognition: individual recognition, collective recognition, and group recognition. Special grants of two million yen a year are given to individual holders (the so-called Living National Treasures) to help protect their properties. The government also contributes part of the expenses incurred either by the holder of an Intangible Cultural Property during training of his successor, or by a recognized group for public performances.
To promote the understanding, and therefore the transmission across generations, of Cultural Properties, exhibitions concerning them are organized. The government through the Japan Arts Council also holds training workshops and other activities to educate future generations of Noh, bunraku, and kabuki personnel.

## Important Intangible Cultural Properties
### Performance Traditions

| Type | Name | Comments | Registered |
| Ko-ryū | Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū (天真正伝香取神道流) | | 1960 |
| Gagaku | Gagaku (雅楽) | Inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009 | 1955 |
| Noh | Kyōgen (狂言) | | 1967 |
| Noh | Shite-kata (能シテ方) | | 1955 |
| Noh | Waki-kata (能ワキ方) | | 1994 |
| Noh | Nōgaku (能楽) | Inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008 | 1957 |
| Noh | Hayashi-kata: kotsuzumi (能囃子方小鼓) | | 1998 |
| Noh | Hayashi-kata: taiko (能囃子方太鼓) | | 1992 |
| Noh | Hayashi-kata: ōtsuzumi (能囃子方大鼓) | | 1998 |
| Noh | Hayashi-kata: fue (能囃子方笛) | | 2009 |
| Bunraku | Ningyō jōruri bunraku (人形浄瑠璃文楽) | Inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008 | 1955 |
| Bunraku | Shamisen (人形浄瑠璃文楽三味線) | | 1985 |
| Bunraku | Ningyō (人形浄瑠璃文楽人形) | | 1977 |
| Bunraku | Tayū (人形浄瑠璃文楽太夫) | | 1971 |
| Kabuki | Kabuki (歌舞伎) | Inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008 | 1965 |
| Kabuki | Nagauta (歌舞伎音楽長唄) | | 1998 |
| Kabuki | Hayashi (歌舞伎音楽囃子) | | 1998 |
| Kabuki | Tachiyaku (歌舞伎立役) | | 1960 |
| Kabuki | Wakiyaku (歌舞伎脇役) | | 1997 |
| Kumiodori | Kumiodori (組踊) | Inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010 | 1972 |
| Kumiodori | Uta - sanshin (組踊音楽歌三線) | | 2005 |
| Kumiodori | Tachikata (組踊立方) | | 2006 |
| Music | Itchū-bushi (一中節) | | 1993 |
| Music | Itchū-bushi shamisen (一中節三味線) | | 2001 |
| Music | Itchū-bushi jōruri (一中節浄瑠璃) | | 1999 |
| Music | Ogie-bushi (荻江節) | | 1993 |
| Music | Katō-bushi (河東節) | | 1993 |
| Music | Katō-bushi shamisen (河東節三味線) | | 2009 |
| Music | Katō-bushi jōruri (河東節三味線) | | 1994 |
| Music | Gidayū-bushi (義太夫節) | | 1980 |
| Music | Gidayū-bushi shamisen (義太夫節三味線) | | 1998 |
| Music | Gidayū-bushi jōruri (義太夫節浄瑠璃) | | 1999 |
| Music | Miyazono-bushi (宮薗節) | | 1993 |
| Music | Miyazono-bushi jōruri (宮薗節浄瑠璃) | | 2007 |
| Music | Shakuhachi (尺八) | | 1982 |
| Music | Tokiwazu-bushi (常磐津節) | | 2007 |
| Music | Tokiwazu-bushi shamisen (常磐津節三味線) | | 1992 |
| Music | Tokiwazu-bushi jōruri (常磐津節浄瑠璃) | | 1995 |
| Music | Shinnai-bushi shamisen (新内節三味線) | | 2001 |
| Music | Shinnai-bushi jōruri (新内節浄瑠璃) | | 2001 |
| Music | Kiyomoto-bushi shamisen (清元節三味線) | | 2003 |
| Music | Kiyomoto-bushi jōruri (清元節浄瑠璃) | | 2003 |
| Music | Jiuta (地歌) | | 2009 |
| Music | Nagauta (長唄唄) | | 1974 |
| Music | Nagauta shamisen (長唄三味線) | | 1987 |
| Music | Nagauta narimono (長唄鳴物) | | 1993 |
| Music | Ryūkyū's classical music (琉球古典音楽) | | 2000 |
| Music | Sōkyoku (箏曲) | | 1993 |
| Buyō | Kabuki-buyō (歌舞伎舞踊) | | 1955 |
| Buyō | Kyō-buyō (京舞) | | 2015 |
| Buyō | Ryūkyū-buyō (琉球舞踊) | | 2009 |
| Entertainment | Classic Rakugo (古典落語) | | 1995 |
| Entertainment | Kōdan (講談) | | 2002 |

### Crafts

| Medium | Name | Comments | Region | Registered |
| Ceramics | Bizen-yaki (備前焼) | High-fired, unglazed stoneware; one of the six ancient kilns; production in and around Imbe village from the twelfth century | Okayama Prefecture | 2004 |
| Ceramics | Hakuji (白磁) | Undecorated white porcelain; influenced by Chinese examples; production began in the Arita area in the first half of the seventeenth century | | 1995 |
| Ceramics | Iro-Nabeshima (色鍋島) | A type of iro-e overglaze enamel, often with a blue under-glaze; from the domain of the Nabeshima clan; production from the second half of the seventeenth century | Saga Prefecture | 1976 |
| Ceramics | Kakiemon (nigoshide) (柿右衛門 (濁手)) | A type of iro-e overglaze enamel; created by Sakaida Kakiemon in the 1640s; nigoshide, the white ground against which the enamels are applied, was revived by Sakaida Kakiemon XII in the 1950s | Saga Prefecture | 1971 |
| Ceramics | Mumyōi-yaki (無名異焼) | Mumyōi is the red ferrous clay of Sado island; production in Aikawa from the early nineteenth century | Niigata Prefecture | 2003 |
| Ceramics | Onta ware (小鹿田焼) | Thick slipware; production in Hita from the early eighteenth century; one of the 100 Soundscapes of Japan | Ōita Prefecture | 1995 |
| Ceramics | Seto-guro (瀬戸黒) | Black Seto; the colour is obtained by removing the glazed vessel from the kiln at the height of firing and cooling it rapidly; production in Mino Province from the late sixteenth century | Gifu Prefecture | |
| Ceramics | Seiji (青磁) | The pale-green colour of celadon is obtained from a feldspathic glaze and reduction firing; introduced from the continent | | 2007 |
| Ceramics | Shino (志野) | Stoneware with a white feldspathic glaze; production in Mino Province from the late sixteenth century | Gifu Prefecture | 1994 |
| Ceramics | Tetsuyū-tōki (鉄釉陶器) | Iron-glaze stoneware | | 2005 |
| Ceramics | Yūri-kinsai (釉裏金彩) | Gold leaf or gold enamel is applied to a glazed surface which is then glazed and fired again, enhancing the durability of the decoration | | 2001 |
| Textiles | Ise-katagami (伊勢型紙) | Paper stencils | Mie Prefecture | 1993 |
| Textiles | Kijōka-bashōfu (喜如嘉の芭蕉布) | banana fibre cloth | Okinawa Prefecture | 1974 |
| Textiles | Kumejima-tsumugi (久米島紬) | pongee/kasuri | Okinawa Prefecture | 2004 |
| Textiles | Kurume-kasuri (久留米絣) | | Fukuoka Prefecture | 1957 |
| Textiles | Miyako-jōfu (宮古上布) | | Okinawa Prefecture | 1978 |
| Textiles | Tate-nishiki (経錦) | Vertical brocade of ancient origin, revived by Kitamura Takeshi | | 2000 |
| Textiles | Yūki-tsumugi (結城紬) | Inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010 | | 1956 |
| Textiles | Kenjō Hakata weave (献上博多織) | | Fukuoka Prefecture | 2003 |
| Textiles | Edo komon (江戸小紋) | Edo fine pattern; stencil resist dyeing technique popular in the Edo period | | 1978 |
| Textiles | Bingata (紅型) | Stencil or resist paste weave; in the eighteenth century its use by commoners was restricted | Okinawa Prefecture | 1996 |
| Textiles | Saga-nishiki (佐賀錦) | Brocade that developed in the early nineteenth century and was widespread by the early twentieth | Saga Prefecture | 1994 |
| Textiles | Embroidery (刺繍, Shishū) | | | 1997 |
| Textiles | Shuri weave (首里の織物) | | Okinawa Prefecture | 1998 |
| Textiles | Ojiya-chijimi - Echigo-jōfu (小千谷縮・越後上布) | Inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009 | Niigata Prefecture | 1955 |
| Textiles | Seigō Sendai-hira (精好仙台平) | | Miyagi Prefecture | 2002 |
| Textiles | Tsumugi weave (紬織) | Woven from hand-spun silk floss | | 1990 |
| Textiles | Bashōfu (芭蕉布) | Bashō-fibre cloth | Okinawa Prefecture | 2000 |
| Textiles | Mokuhanzuri-sarasa (木版摺更紗) | | | 2008 |
| Textiles | Monsha (紋紗) | Figured gauze weave silk | | |
| Textiles | Yūzen (友禅) | Paste-resist dyeing; perfected around 1700 by Miyazaki Yūzen | | 1955 |
| Textiles | Yūsoku weave (有職織物) | | | 1999 |
| Textiles | Ra (羅) | A form of gauze weave; examples are found in the Shōsōin | | 1995 |
| Lacquerware | Chinkin (沈金) | Incised and filled with gold leaf or powder applied over wet lacquer; popular in China from the Song dynasty and particularly associated with Wajima ware | | 1999 |
| Lacquerware | Kinma (蒟醤) | Incised and colour-filled; introduced from the continent, prized in the Muromachi period, and perfected around Takamatsu in the Edo period | | 1985 |
| Lacquerware | Kyūshitsu (髹漆) | Sequential lacquering technique with four main phases: substrate, priming, intermediate coating, and top coating | | 1974 |
| Lacquerware | Maki-e (蒔絵) | Sprinkled picture decoration using metallic powder or pigment; dates to the Heian period | | 1955 |
| Lacquerware | Raden (螺鈿) | Shell (Mother-of-pearl, abalone, nautilus) inlay | | 1999 |
| Lacquerware | Wajima-nuri (輪島塗) | A mixture of burned diatomaceous earth, rice paste, and lacquer is used for the layers of undercoat; the earliest example, the doors of Juzo Jinja, date to 1524 | Ishikawa Prefecture | 1977 |
| Metalwork | Metal chasing (彫金, chōkin) | Several engraving techniques have been practised since the dōtaku of the Yayoi period | | 1978 |
| Metalwork | Metal casting (鋳金, chūkin) | Several casting techniques have been practised since the dōtaku of the Yayoi period, including lost-wax casting | | 1993 |
| Metalwork | Sword Polishing (刀剣研磨, tōken kenma) | | | 1975 |
| Metalwork | Dora (銅鑼) | Gongs | | 2002 |
| Metalwork | Repoussé (鍛金, tankin) | | | 1995 |
| Woodworking | Bamboo-work (竹工芸 ちくこうげい) | | | 1982 |
| Woodworking | Wood-work (木工芸 もくこうげい) | | | 1984 |
| Dolls | Ishō-ningyō (衣裳人形) | Costume dolls, dressed in tailored clothing made from dyed and woven textiles | | 1986 |
| Dolls | Tōso-ningyō (桐塑人形) | Paulownia sawdust, mixed with wheat starch and plum paste, is used to form a plaster for casting; once dry it is hard enough to be sculpted | | 2002 |
| Washi | Echizen-hōsho (越前奉書) | High-quality paper, used for official orders since the Muromachi period; paper-making in the region is known from the Engishiki | Fukui Prefecture | 2000 |
| Washi | Hon-Minogami (本美濃紙) | Mulberry paper from Mino Province; records in the Shōsō-in refer to three paper-making regions: Chikuzen Province, Buzen Province, and Mino Province | Gifu Prefecture | 1969 |
| Washi | Hosokawa-shi (細川紙) | | | 1978 |
| Washi | Najio-ganpishi (名塩雁皮紙) | Made from the ganpi plant | Hyōgo Prefecture | 2002 |
| Washi | Sekishū-banshi (石州半紙) | The strongest paper produced in Japan; used for shōji, calligraphy, and conservation-restoration; inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009 | Shimane Prefecture | 1969 |
| Washi | Tosa-tengujōshi (土佐典具帖紙) | A very fine, strong paper developed around 1900 by Genta Yoshii | Kōchi Prefecture | 2001 |