World Heritage Identification Number: 1246
World Heritage since: 2007
Category: Cultural Heritage
Transboundary Heritage: No
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan
Continent: Asia
UNESCO World Region: Asia and the Pacific
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The Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and Its Cultural Landscape: A Historical Perspective on Mining and Trade in Japan
The Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its Cultural Landscape, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007, offers a unique insight into the historical development of Japan's economy and trade relations with neighboring countries such as Korea and China. Located in the southwestern part of Honshu Island, this extensive mining area spans across mountains, deep river valleys, and coastal towns, providing a rich tapestry of archaeological remains that chronicle over four centuries of mining activities.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
The Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine in the south-west of Honshu Island is a cluster of mountains, rising to 600 m and interspersed by deep river valleys featuring the archaeological remains of large-scale mines, smelting and refining sites and mining settlements worked between the 16th and 20th centuries. The site also features routes used to transport silver ore to the coast, and port towns from where it was shipped to Korea and China. The mines contributed substantially to the overall economic development of Japan and south-east Asia in the 16th and 17th centuries, prompting the mass production of silver and gold in Japan. The mining area is now heavily wooded. Included in the site are fortresses, shrines, parts of Kaidô transport routes to the coast, and three port towns, Tomogaura, Okidomari and Yunotsu, from where the ore was shipped.
Encyclopedia Record: Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine
The Iwami Ginzan (石見銀山) was an underground silver mine in the city of Ōda, in Shimane Prefecture on the main island of Honshu, Japan. It was the largest silver mine in Japanese history. It was active for almost four hundred years, from its discovery in 1526 to its closing in 1923.Additional Site Details
Area: 529.17 hectares
(iii) — Unique or exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition
(v) — Outstanding example of traditional human settlement
Coordinates: 35.1127777777 , 132.435
Image
© Naokijp, CC BY-SA 4.0 Resized from original. (This derivative is under the same CC BY-SA license.)
