UNESCO Heritage "Snubs" Japan

[Mulboyne]

Asahi: UNESCO snub upsets Japan
Japanese officials expressed disappointment Monday with UNESCO's rejection of Hiraizumi, Iwate Prefecture, as a World Heritage site, the first nominated Japanese site that has failed to make the list...Toshiya Naito, who heads the Agency for Cultural Affairs' Monuments and Sites Division, told reporters Monday, "We felt how difficult it is to have people abroad understand Japanese traditions and thoughts, such as Pure Land Buddhist philosophy"... In May, the nomination was dealt a setback when the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), an advisory panel for the UNESCO committee, said the registration of Hiraizumi should be postponed because of insufficient proof that the site was of universal value. Japanese government officials tried to persuade the 21 member countries of the World Heritage Committee to endorse Hiraizumi, emphasizing its "quest for peace" and "harmony with nature." But the committee agreed with its advisory panel's recommendation...So far, 14 cultural and natural sites in Japan have made it to the World Heritage list...more...

UNESCO added 27 new sites to their list including 19 cultural properties and 8 natural properties. They were selected from 43 submissions by 41 different states and parties and there are now 878 sites on the list. Japan may have thought Hiraizumi would get the nod because one of the main committee members is UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura who was also Chairperson of their World Heritage Committee before he took up his current post. This list has become something of a political football: it seems the inclusion of one Cambodian site has sparked a political dispute in Thailand.

[Behan]

Funny thing is, that Pure Land Buddhism came from China before it got here. Maybe it's originally from India or Sri Lanka. But it's not originally Japanese.

True Pure Land Buddhism was founded here, I think. It was kind of like the Protestant Reformation, done so the priests or monks could marry.
(ducking the flying bricks from angry FG Buddhists...)

Just joking about that. But Pure Land isn't originally Japanese.

I don't think Pure Land is all that deep, as far as my liquor-sotted, low IQ, agnostic mind understands, anyway. The whole idea was that people are incapable saving themselves so they need to call on the help of others and if they do that they will be reborn in the Pure Land. In that paradise they will be able to tread the path to enlightenment.

Pure Land appealed to the dumb plebes like me.

Hey, I wonder if they expect to get they wafu style toilets registered, too?

[Mike Oxlong]

Japan wants cuisine listed as UNESCO heritage

Japan said Friday it was applying to UNESCO to have its cuisine listed as a global cultural treasure as part of a bid to restore global confidence in its food after the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Tokyo is to ask the UN's educational, scientific and cultural arm to register "Washoku: Traditional dietary cultures of the Japanese" as part of the intangible heritage of humanity, the foreign and agriculture ministries said.

"Washoku" or the Japanese diet, is traditionally based on rice, fish and vegetables, but the varied and highly seasonal cuisine of the country has won it plaudits around the world.

The government said washoku was characterised by respect for nature and the importance placed on the way in which dishes are served as well as the quality of ingredients used.

The nation also "needs to restore confidence in Japanese food, which has been adversely affected by rumours due to the nuclear accident" at Fukushima, the government said.

The accident sent poisonous radioactive particles into the air and water, blanketing crops grown near the power station and polluting waters where seafood is harvested.

A number of products were taken off shelves, with government bans on beef, milk, mushrooms and some green vegetables. Several countries banned the import of some Japanese produce amid fears for its safety.

Japan would apply for the listing "as a symbol of Japan's reconstruction from the disaster," the government said...

[Doctor Stop]

Next year's headline: Japan wants its four seasons listed as UNESCO heritage

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

Hey, I wonder if they expect to get they wafu style toilets registered, too?

I would definitely vote in favor of that.

[matsuki]

Next year's headline: Japan wants its four seasons listed as UNESCO heritage

LOL

"This is Japaneeeeeze [insert anything here]. It is so unique and the best quality in the world!....although I admit I've never been outside Japan or tried [] from another country so I'm just repeating what WE JAPANEEEZE all say"