The term is often shortened into just are items officially already classified as Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan

Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan

as defined by the Japanese government's Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties are Cultural PropertiesIn this article, capitals indicate an official designation as opposed to a simple definition, e.g "Cultural Properties" as opposed to "cultural properties"...

 by the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs

Agency for Cultural Affairs

The is a special body of the Japanese Ministry of Education . It was set up in 1968 to promote Japanese arts and culture. As of April 2007, it is led by the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs, Tamotsu Aoki....

 and judged to be of particular importance to the Japanese people.

Classification of Cultural Properties

To protect Japan's cultural heritage, the country's government has established with the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties a under which it selects important items and designates them as Cultural PropertiesIn this article, capitals indicate an official designation as opposed to a simple, unofficial definition, e.g "Cultural Properties" as opposed to "cultural properties"., imposing restrictions to their alteration, repair and export.

Besides the "designation system", there exists a , which guarantees a lower level of protection and support to Registered Cultural Properties. For details, see the article Cultural Properties of Japan

Cultural Properties of Japan

As defined by the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs, the are tangible properties and intangible properties created or developed in JapanDespite the official definition, some Cultural Properties of Japan were created in China, Korea or other...

.

Cultural Properties are classified according to their nature. Items designated as Tangible Cultural Properties (as opposed to for example Intangible Cultural Properties), for example cultural products of high historical or artistic value such as structures, paintings, sculptures, handicrafts, calligraphic works, ancient books, historic documents, archeological artifacts and other such items, can later, if they satisfy certain criteria, be designated either Important Cultural Properties or , for especially valuable items.

The designation can take place at a , or level. In this last case the designating agency is often not specified.

Designations of a different level can coexist. For example, Sankei-en, a traditional Japanese-style garden

Japanese garden

, that is, gardens in traditional Japanese style, can be found at private homes, in neighborhood or city parks, and at historical landmarks such as Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and old castles....

 in Naka

Naka-ku, Yokohama

is one of the 18 wards of the city of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the ward had an estimated population of 146,563and a density of 7,080 persons per km². The total area was 20.86 km².-Geography:...

 Ward

Wards of Japan

A is a subdivision of one of the cities of Japan that is large enough to have been designated by government ordinance. Wards are used to subdivide each city designated by government ordinance...

, Yokohama

Yokohama

is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...

, owns both city designated and nationally designated Important Cultural Properties.