PORTRAITS OF JAPANThe Aikawa-Tsurushi Gold and Silver Mine.
The artificial V-shaped crack running
through the top of the mountain was dug 74
meters deep and 30 meters across. Experts
speculate that during the Edo period, fromthe early 17th to the mid-19th century,
miners extracted some 40 tons of gold.

SADO ISLAND
Aikawa-Tsurushi
Gold and Silver MineNISHIYAMA HOICHISADO ISLANDGOLDMINES:
A PRECIOUS HERITAGE

Nishimikawa Placer
Gold Mine

FOR JAPAN AND THE WORLD

The gold mines on Sado Island once made Japan the “land of gold.” With the aim of having them inscribed on theWorld Heritage List, the Government of Japan has nominated the mines to UNESCO. This nomination has
drawn attention to their Outstanding Universal Value (OUV).
Once upon a time, Japan wasknown in the Western world as
the “land of gold.” Gold mining
in Japan actually dates back toat least the 8th century, and thecountry produced about 20%of the world’s gold output inthe mid-17th century. The Sado
Island Gold Mines, in particular,
were central to Japanese gold
production for many years. Withits OUV, it is anticipated thatthe site will be inscribed on theUNESCO World Heritage List.
In June 2022, a symposium
was held at the International
University of Japan in Niigata
Prefecture, where Sado Island islocated, to publicize the culturalvalue of the gold mines. Sado
Island, 40 km off the coast of theprefecture and covering 855 km2in the Sea of Japan, has two typesof gold deposits. The Nishimikawa
area has a placer gold mine where
sandy gold is found in the layersof sediment. The Aikawa-Tsurushi
area, on the other hand, has lodedeposits where gold lies in theveins that penetrate through therocks. The different characteristicsof these gold mines led todifferent mining techniques. InNishimikawa, miners used waterflowing from artificial reservoirs
to extract the placer gold, whilein Aikawa-Tsurushi, advanced
techniques were developed for
efficient mining, such as digging
drainage or ventilation tunnels
separately from the main tunnel.
The two mines were adapted totheir different mining methods,
not only in regard to their technicalsystems, but also their production
systems. The Nishimikawa Mine
had an unspecialized small-scale
production system, in contrast
to Aikawa-Tsurushi, which had aspecialized large-scale production
system. In addition, the entire
production process from mining
to dressing, smelting, refining,and coin minting, was conductedon the island. Barry Gamble, aninternational World Heritage
consultant with a special interest
in industrial sites and a panelist
at the symposium, pointed out,
“It is the gold-mining heritage
and the socio-technical systemsof the Edo period that make theheritage of Sado Island Gold
Mines unparalleled in any othercountry in the world.” Gamble
went on to say, “Organized by
the government at the time on amassive scale, Sado Island becamethe largest gold mine in the world.

Historical material in the form of picture scrolls depicting a seriesof gold production processes, from extraction to dressing,smelting, refining, and coin minting. On Sado Island, large
quantities of the purest gold in the world were produced entirely
by hand, rather than through the mechanized production that
was advancing in the world’s mines at the time. SADO CITY
The International Symposium on the Cultural
Value of the “Sado Island Gold Mines” was heldin June 2022 at the International University ofJapan in Niigata Prefecture. Students fromvarious countries participated in a vibrant Q&A
discussion with three panelists.

Top: This coin was minted on Sado Islandaround the year 1720. COLBASE
Right: A traditional performing arts ritual
offering prayers to mountain deities so as todiscover soft ore containing gold and silver.
SADO PERFORMING ARTS ARCHIVE

It was important nationally, to thegovernment, and globally, in termsof the role it played within trade.”
Human resources for theisland’s gold production wererecruited from all over thecountry. Their ability to produce
goldusingunmechanizedhandicraft methods with a purityof 99.54%, higher than that ofWestern European gold mines ofthe same era that used machinesand chemicals, was due to thecombination and revolutionary
development of traditional techniques.
Settlements were built near eachmine, and these also had different
characteristics depending on
the mine—a fact that is known
thanks to their comprehensive
preservation. At the symposium,
OKADA Yasuyoshi, presidentof ICOMOS Japan, theJapanese national committee of
the International Council on
Monuments and Sites, explainedthat over 100 colorful picture
scrolls depicting the mining
processes from extraction to
currency production are stillin existence. He stated, “Thesescrolls are among the numerous
precious materials that give us

an insight into the gold minesof that time.” Another panelist,MIYATA Ryohei, a metal craftartist and former Commissionerof the Agency for Cultural Affairs,
Government of Japan, from Sado
Island, noted that more than 30
stages used for Noh, a traditional
Japanese performing art, remainon the island. “Cultural values
have spread around the island as amatter of course,” he said proudly.
On the island, with cultural
practices that developed aroundthe mining industry alive to thisday, people are able to witness
scenes that are largely unchanged
from drawings created several
hundred years ago.
Today, organizations of landowners
and the local community, actively
participate in the preservationof the cultural heritage. The
Sado Island Gold Mines provide
near-complete evidence of theaccomplishments of those who
lived during the pinnacle of agold production system thatwas founded on traditional
handicrafts. There is nothing like it
anywhere else. It is an exceptional
cultural heritage for Japan as wellas the world.