TOKYO — On December 11, a UN intergovernmental committee officially inscribed six Japanese traditions onto UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list, covering festivals and craftsmanship. Festivals from Ibaraki, Niigata, Shiga, and Toyama, along with two types of handmade paper and tatami mat making, were recognized for their cultural diversity and safeguarding practices.
The Ofune Festival, Murakami Yatai Festival, Hojozu Hachimangu Shrine Hikiyama Tsukiyama Festival, and Otsu Hikiyama Festival were added to the “Yama, Hoko, Yatai, float festivals in Japan” category, raising the total to 37. Echizen “torinoko-shi” handmade paper from Fukui became the fourth item in the “Washi, craftsmanship of traditional Japanese handmade paper” group. The crafting of “nakatsugi-omote” tatami mat surfaces was included as the 18th entry in the “Traditional skills, techniques and knowledge for the conservation and transmission of wooden architecture in Japan” list.
Japan submitted these nominations in March 2024. As UNESCO reviews only 60 nominations annually, Japanese entries are typically assessed every two years. However, these six were reviewed in 2025 as extensions of existing categories, keeping Japan’s total entries at 23.