* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Cultural Properties Protection Law and the National Treasure / Important Cultural Property Designation System for Swords
文化財保護法と刀剣の国宝・重要文化財指定制度
Under the Cultural Properties Protection Law, enacted in Shōwa 25 (1950), the system for designating National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties among tangible cultural properties, including swords, was established. Former National Treasures were all once reclassified as Important Cultural Properties, and those of especially high cultural-historical value were re-designated as National Treasures, and so on, laying the foundation for the official evaluation of swords.
Description
Background of Enactment
The Cultural Properties Protection Law was enacted in Shōwa 25 (1950). This law was prompted in part by the devastating fire of the previous year that damaged the wall paintings of the Kondō at Hōryūji, a grave incident for the protection of cultural properties. It was established in a form that integrated and developed prewar laws such as the Ancient Shrines and Temples Preservation Law and the National Treasures Preservation Law, and it clearly defined a system under which the state designates and protects tangible cultural properties, including Japanese swords.
Designation Categories and Reorganization
Among tangible cultural properties, swords, which are classified as crafts (kōgeihin), are designated as "Important Cultural Properties" when the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (at the time of enactment, the Cultural Properties Protection Commission) recognizes them as especially important. Among these, those of especially high cultural-historical value from a global perspective are further designated as "National Treasures," forming a two-tier structure. With the enactment of the law, all National Treasures designated under the old National Treasures Preservation Law were once reclassified as Important Cultural Properties. After renewed review, those of especially high value were designated National Treasures as of June 9, Shōwa 26 (1951).
Application to Swords
Under this system, many renowned famous swords were designated Important Cultural Properties or National Treasures. While owners were subject to certain obligations regarding preservation and public display, their value as cultural properties received official backing. A key feature is that this is a designation by the state based on legal authority, separate from the appraisal system for Hozon Tōken, Jūyō Tōken and the like operated by the private organization Nihon Bijutsu Tōken Hozon Kyōkai (NBTHK, Society for the Preservation of Japanese Art Swords).
Historical Significance
The designation system under the Cultural Properties Protection Law also played a role in preventing the outflow and dispersal of swords overseas during the chaotic postwar period, and to this day it forms the framework of official evaluation for art and craft objects, including swords. Designation as National Treasures or Important Cultural Properties continues to function as an evaluation standard in the trading, exhibition, and study of swords.
Characteristics of This Era
- Two-tier designation structure of National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties
- Blanket reclassification of former National Treasures as Important Cultural Properties, and re-designation of National Treasures from among them
- Legal designation separate from the NBTHK's private appraisal system