Q.What rules protect Nara's historic landscapes?
Published 2026-07-06
Answer
In Nara, 6,024.0 hectares across five municipalities are designated Historic Landscape Preservation Areas under the national Ancient Capitals Preservation Law (as of March 1, 2026), and Asuka village is protected in its entirety — the only whole-village case in Japan. Add three nationally selected historic townscape districts, three certified "historic city" plans, and landscape-plan zones that effectively cover the whole prefecture. Read this map of regulations in reverse, and you get a map of the places Japan has officially deemed worth preserving.
Protection comes in layers
Nara's landscapes are protected not by one law but by overlapping systems with different aims. At the national level: the Ancient Capitals Preservation Law (1966), the Asuka Law written for a single village (1980), Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings under the Cultural Properties Protection Law, and the Historic Community Development Law (2008). On top of these come landscape plans under the Landscape Law (2004) and scenic districts under city-planning law. Map where each system applies, and you get a list of the places the government has declared worth keeping.
6,024.0hectares of Historic Landscape Preservation Areas (5 municipalities, as of Mar 2026)
4,898.1hectares of Special Preservation Districts (6 municipalities, same date)
6major protection systems covered in this article
The Ancient Capitals law: "ancient capital" is a legal status
The Ancient Capitals Preservation Law was enacted in 1966 with Kyoto, Nara and Kamakura in mind. In Nara Prefecture, eight Historic Landscape Preservation Areas are designated across five municipalities — Nara, Tenri, Kashihara, Sakurai and Ikaruga (Asuka moved to its own special law, described next). Within these areas, the most important places are Special Preservation Districts where alterations are tightly restricted — 4,898.1 hectares in total, overlapping almost exactly with the heart of Nara tourism: Mt. Kasuga, the Heijō Palace site, Mt. Miwa and the area around Hōryū-ji.
| Municipality | Areas | Hectares (as of Mar 2024) |
|---|---|---|
| Nara City | 3 | 2,776.0 |
| Tenri | 1 | 1,060.0 |
| Sakurai | 3 | 1,226.0 |
| Ikaruga | 1 | 536.0 |
| Kashihara | 1 | 426.0 |
Asuka: the only whole-village preservation in Japan
Under the 1980 Asuka Law, the entire village of Asuka is designated a Class 1 / Class 2 Special Historic-Landscape Preservation District. Asuka is the only place in Japan with a law written for a single village and whole-village preservation. Since 2011 the whole village has also been a landscape-plan zone. Why such thorough protection, and how it shapes daily life, is covered in our article "Why are there no tall buildings in Asuka village?"
Townscape systems: three preservation districts, three certified plans
Three districts in the prefecture are nationally selected Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings: Imai-chō in Kashihara has 504 listed traditional buildings — the most in Japan — followed by Matsuyama in Uda (a castle town) and Gojō Shinmachi in Gojō (a merchant quarter on an old highway). Under the Historic Community Development Law, three municipalities hold certified plans — Ikaruga (2014), Nara City (2015) and Uda (2025) — among 102 plans nationwide as of May 2026. Uda holding both designations reflects how highly the Matsuyama townscape is rated.
3preservation districts (Imai-chō, Uda-Matsuyama, Gojō Shinmachi)
504traditional buildings in Imai-chō — the most in Japan
3certified historic-city plans (of 102 nationwide, May 2026)
In fact, the whole prefecture is a landscape-plan zone
Seven municipalities — Nara, Kashihara, Sakurai, Ikoma, Katsuragi, Ikaruga and Asuka — run their own landscape administration alongside the prefecture (as of March 2026). Each has its own landscape plan; everywhere else falls under the prefectural plan. In other words, wherever you build in Nara Prefecture, some landscape rule applies. On top of this, scenic districts under city-planning law are designated in eight municipalities: Nara, Yamatokōriyama, Tenri, Kashihara, Sakurai, Ikoma, Ikaruga and Asuka.
Overlapping rules are a map of value
Stack the systems by municipality, and the thickest protection sits on Asuka (whole-village preservation + landscape plan + scenic district) and Nara City (three ancient-capital areas + certified historic plan + its own landscape plan + scenic districts), followed by Ikaruga and Kashihara. Thick regulation is not just inconvenience — it is the concentration of officially recognized value, places the national, prefectural and municipal governments decided to keep at real cost. When choosing where to go, start where this map is darkest. With the GIS datasets below you can overlay the exact boundaries on your own map.
| Municipality | Ancient Capitals Law | Asuka Law | Trad. buildings district | Historic-city plan | Own landscape plan | Scenic district |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nara City | Yes (3 areas) | – | – | Yes (2015) | Yes | Yes |
| Asuka | Moved to Asuka Law | Yes (whole village) | – | – | Yes | Yes |
| Ikaruga | Yes (1 area) | – | – | Yes (2014) | Yes | Yes |
| Kashihara | Yes (1 area) | – | Yes (Imai-chō) | – | Yes | Yes |
| Sakurai | Yes (3 areas) | – | – | – | Yes | Yes |
| Tenri | Yes (1 area) | – | – | – | – | Yes |
| Uda | – | – | Yes (Matsuyama) | Yes (2025) | – | – |
| Gojō | – | – | Yes (Shinmachi) | – | – | – |
Datasets behind this article
- 景観国土交通省
National Land Numerical Information: Historic Landscape Preservation Areas
GIS polygons of Historic Landscape Preservation Areas and Special Preservation Districts under the Ancient Capitals Preservation Law, including Asuka's Class 1/2 districts under the Asuka Law. Covers six Nara municipalities — the exact boundaries of legally protected landscapes, ready to overlay on any map.
Questions this data can answer
What are the exact boundaries of areas protected under the Ancient Capitals Preservation Law in Nara?
SHPUpdated2026-07-06 - 景観国土交通省
National Land Numerical Information: Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings
GIS polygons of Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings — historic townscapes such as castle towns, post towns and temple towns. Nara has three nationally selected districts: Imai-chō (Kashihara), Matsuyama (Uda) and Gojō Shinmachi (Gojō), each with exact boundaries.
Questions this data can answer
What are the exact boundaries of Nara's three preservation districts (Imai-chō, Uda-Matsuyama, Gojō Shinmachi)?
SHPJSONUpdated2026-07-06 - 景観国土交通省
National Land Numerical Information: Landscape Planning Areas
GIS polygons of landscape-plan zones and priority districts under the Landscape Law, downloadable per prefecture. In Nara, prefectural and municipal plans together cover effectively the whole prefecture; the priority districts show exactly which views the government most wants to protect.
Questions this data can answer
What are the exact boundaries of landscape-plan zones and priority districts in Nara?
SHPUpdated2026-07-06 - 明日香村国土交通省
Current State of Asuka Village (MLIT Council Document)
The most comprehensive public compilation of Asuka Village tourism statistics, prepared for the national land council under the Asuka Law: long-term visitor and overnight-stay trends from the 1970s to 2022, admissions by attraction, and visitor demographics.
Questions this data can answer
How have Asuka Village’s annual visitor numbers changed over the long term?
PDFUpdated2026-07-05 - ならまち奈良市
Nara City Historic Townscape Buildings
The list of buildings designated by the city to preserve the historic character of the Naramachi and Nara Park districts, with designation numbers, names and dates plus detail sheets — source material for old-town walking content.
Questions this data can answer
Which historic buildings in Naramachi are designated for preservation?
CSVPDFUpdated2026-07-05 - 世界遺産奈良市
Nara City Designated Cultural Properties and World Heritage Zone Data
City-designated cultural properties as CSV, plus shapefiles of the property areas, buffer zones and harmonization areas of the World Heritage “Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara” — rare GIS-ready data for tourism mapping.
Questions this data can answer
Where exactly are the property areas and buffer zones of Ancient Nara?
CSVSHPUpdated2026-07-05