Initiatives Towards World Heritage Status
Steps Taken So Far Towards Kintaikyo Bridge Achieving World Heritage Status
| Month & Year | Contents |
|---|---|
| November 2006 | The proposal “Kintaikyo Bridge and the Town Division of Iwakuni” was created in collaboration with Yamaguchi Prefecture and Iwakuni City, and submitted to the Agency for Cultural Affairs via the proposal system for additional entries on the “World Heritage Tentative List”. |
| January 2007 | The result of the evaluation by the Agency for Cultural Affairs was “Continued Deliberation”. |
| March 2007 | The “Concept for the Future of Kintaikyo Bridge: Necessary Measures for the Continuation of the History of Kintaikyo Bridge” was formulated. |
| December 2007 | The “Re-proposal” and “Consideration Status Report” were written, incorporating problem-solving policies into the previous year’s proposal, and submitted again to the Agency of Cultural Affairs. |
| January 2008 | The first Kintaikyo Bridge International Symposium was held. Michel Cotte (France), an advisor for the ICOMOS, and Eric DeLony(USA), a researcher on bridges worldwide, were invited to attend, and lectures and discussions were held. The potential for Kintaikyo Bridge to become a World Heritage site was confirmed.   |
| September 2008 | The result of the evaluation by the Agency for Cultural Affairs was announced. While Iwakuni City’s proposal did not achieve entry on the “Tentative List”, it received “Category Ia” ranking as a “Tentative List Candidate Asset”. |
| June 2009 | The “Kintaikyo Bridge World Heritage Expert Committee” was established to consider the various tasks necessary for Kintaikyo Bridge to achieve inclusion on the World Heritage List. |
| November 2010 | The second Kintaikyo Bridge International Symposium was held. Professor Fang Yong of Peking University, China was invited to attend, and lectures and discussions were held. It was confirmed that no Chinese bridges were used as the original model for Kintaikyo Bridge, and together with the results of the first Kintaikyo Bridge International Symposium, the conclusion was reached that this is a wooden bridge that possesses a value that is unique worldwide. |
| March 2012 | The “Plan for the Future of Kintaikyo Bridge: Basic Policy” was formulated. |
| November 2012 | On the theme of “the Value of Kintaikyo Bridge”, the Kintaikyo Bridge Symposium in Edo was held at Waseda University Okuma Auditorium. The unparalleled value of Kintaikyo Bridge was reconfirmed. －PROGRAM－ Keynote Lectures: i) “From Kintaikyo Bridge to the Tokyo Skytree” (by Kiichi Sumikawa, former President of Tokyo University of the Arts) ii) “Kintaikyo Bridge, Connected by Arches” (by Professor Teruhiko Yoda of Waseda University) Panel Discussion “A Unique Wooden Bridge”  |
| March 2013 | “The Finest Masterpiece of a Bridge: Kintaikyo Bridge” (Collection of Academic Papers on Kintaikyo Bridge) was completed. |
| March 2014 | The “Plan for the Future of Kintaikyo Bridge (Basic Plan) – To Connect Kintaikyo Bridge to the Future” was formulated. |
| November 2016 | Kintaikyo Bridge World Heritage Registration Promotion Council was established by the Prefecture, City and involved groups. |
| November 2017 | On the theme of “Structure and Beauty: Value as World Heritage”, Kintaikyo Bridge Symposium was held. The OUV (Outstanding Universal Value) of Kintaikyo Bridge was shared, and the bridge’s value and appeal were reconfirmed. －PROGRAM－ Keynote Lecture: “Current World Heritage and Kintaikyo Bridge” (by Professor Yasuyoshi Okada of Kokushikan University) Panel Discussion: “On the OUV (Outstanding Universal Value) of Kintaikyo Bridge”    |
| February 2018 | The official logo for the Kintaikyo Bridge was announced. |
| December 2018 | Yamaguchi Prefecture and Iwakuni City submitted to the MEXT(Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) the jointly created “Proposal of a Candidate Property for Inscription on the World Heritage Tentative List, The Kintaikyo Bridge”. Governor Muraoka and Mayor Fukuda visited the MEXT and submitted the proposal to Minister Shibayama. |
| March 2019 | The International Opinion Exchange Meeting was held to promote the registration of Kintaikyo Bridge as the World Heritage. Michel Cotte, a World Heritage consultant who was invited to Iwakuni city from France for the first time in about ten years, exchanged opinions with Specially Appointed Professor Ichiro Kobayashi of Kumamoto University Graduate School and Professor Yasuyoshsi Okada of Kokushikan University on the OUV of Kintaikyo Bridge and issues toward its registration as a World Heritage Site.   |
| August 2019 | On the theme of “Preservation management of Kintaikyo Bridge: Protecting and Inheriting treasure from Iwakuni”, Kintaikyo Bridge World Heritage Seminar 2019 was held. |
| October 2019 | The public relations poster was created. The design concept is “personification of Kintaikyo Bridge”. |
| March 2020 | Published the research report on the value of Kintaikyo Bridge as a building. |
| October 2021 | Cultural landscape of Kintaikyo Bridge and Iwakuni Castle Town in the lower reaches of the Nishiki River were selected as Important Cultural Landscape. |
| December 2021 | On the theme of “Authenticity at Kintaikyo Bridge”, Kintaikyo Bridge World Heritage Seminar 2021 was held.  |
| December 2022 | The Kintaikyo Bridge World Heritage International Online Meeting was held. Participants list |
| September 2023 | At the ICOMOS General Assembly 2023 Scientific Symposium and the ICOMOS International Wood Committee Symposium held in Sydney, Australia, a presentation on the Kintaikyo Bridge was given.
Presenter: Alejandro Martínez de Arbulo (Assistant Professor, Kyoto Institute of Technology) |
| November 2023 | On the theme of “Authenticity of Kintaikyo Bridge from an International Perspective”, the Kintaikyo Bridge World Heritage International Symposium was held.
－PROGRAM－ Panel Discussion: |
