Asuka, Nara
Asuka
明日香村 | |
---|---|
Village | |
Coordinates: 34°28′16.7″N 135°49′14.6″E / 34.471306°N 135.820722°E | |
Country | Japan |
Region | Kansai |
Prefecture | Nara Prefecture |
District | Takaichi |
First official recorded | 539 AD |
Village merged | July 3, 1956 |
Government | |
• Mayor | Yuichi Morikawa (since October 2011) |
Area | |
• Total | 24.08 km2 (9.30 sq mi) |
Population (April 1, 2017) | |
• Total | 5,681 |
• Density | 240/km2 (610/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+09:00 (JST) |
City hall address | 55 Ōaza Oka, Asuka-mura, Nara-ken 634-0111 |
Website | asukamura |
Symbols | |
Flower | Citrus tachibana |
Tree | Zelkova serrata |
Asuka (明日香村, Asuka-mura) is a village located in
Asuka is the land where ancient Asuka (飛鳥) palaces were located. There are strict rules governing construction in this historic town.
Asuka can be reached from
History
For the ancient Asuka, see Asuka period and Asuka, Yamato.
In 1956, the village of Asuka (明日香) was founded as a result of a merger of three villages, Sakaai, Takechi and Asuka (飛鳥村).
In 1966, Asuka was proclaimed a "historic town", as defined by the national Special Arrangement for Preservation of Historic Sites Law [1] as well as
In 1972, a site with colorfully painted murals from the late Asuka period was found in the Takamatsuzuka Tomb.
Since the Special Arrangement for Preservation of Historic Sites Law (1966) restricts any visual changes in the areas which it concerns, it has directly affected the daily life of residents. To preserve the site, they have had to give up some elements of modern life. As compensation, the Asuka Law, which aims to preserve the site effectively and give economic support for Asuka residents, was settled in 1980.
Asuka stones and kofun
In various parts of the Asuka region are unusual carved granite stones the largest of which is Masuda no iwafune. This is a large stone structure approximately 11 metres (36 ft) in length, 8 metres (26 ft) in width, and 4.7 metres (15 ft) in height. The upper surface is flat, with a shallow trough and two square holes. This is located on top of a hill just a few hundred meters west of Okadera Station. How or why this colossal stone and others was carved remains a mystery. They appear to be a different style than later Buddhist sculptures.[2][3]
There are also several nearby kofuns or tombs including the Ishibutai Kofun which is built from massive boulders including one that weighs an estimated 75 tons. This may have been the tomb of Soga no Umako.[4]
Surrounding municipalities
Places of interest
- Temples
- Asuka-dera
- Kansai Kannon PilgrimageNo.7
- Tachibana-dera
- Kameishi (Turtle Rock)
- Ishibutai Kofun
- Kitora Kofun
- Takamatsuzuka Kofun
- Amakashinooka
Sister cities
- Buyeo County, South Korea
See also
- Capital of Japan
- Prince Shōtoku
- List of megalithic sites
- Asuka Period
- Emperor Kinmei
- Empress Suiko
References
- ^ "Official website of Asuka Village" (in Japanese). Japan: Asuka Village. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
- ^ "Astronomy Sites in Asuka". www2.gol.com. Archived from the original on 25 November 1999. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ megalithic.co.uk
- ^ "ASUKA/Isibutai kofun".
External links
Media related to Asuka, Nara at Wikimedia Commons
- Village of Asuka (in Japanese)
- Geographic data related to Asuka, Nara at OpenStreetMap