World Heritage Sites: Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding, and Coal Mining

World Heritage Sites: Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding, and Coal Mining
Registered in: 2015
World Heritage Type: Cultural Heritage
Criteria for inscription: - Representing a significant exchange of human values in the development of architecture, technology, monuments, town planning or landscape design during a particular period or in a particular cultural area of the world. - An outstanding example of an architectural style or of an architectural or technical ensemble or landscape which illustrates an important stage in the history of mankind.
Access: Hagi Castle Town, one of the constituent assets, is approximately 71.9 km from Yamaguchi Ube Airport, or about 1 hour and 13 minutes by car.

23 cultural heritage sites that tell the story of Japan's transformation into an industrial nation

The "Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining" (hereinafter referred to as "Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution") were registered as a World Heritage Site in 2015. This World Heritage Site, which is the 19th in Japan to be registered as a World Heritage Site (and the 15th as a Cultural Heritage Site), is made up of numerous industrial heritage sites that prove that the wave of the Industrial Revolution, which began in the West, was the first to spread to non-Western countries.

The constituent assets of the "Meiji Industrial Revolution Heritage Sites of Japan" are 23 industrial heritage sites scattered across 11 cities in 8 prefectures: Yamaguchi, Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Kagoshima, Iwate, and Shizuoka. Japan built its foundation as an industrial nation from the late 19th century to the early 20th century, and these industrial heritage sites are places that contributed to Japan becoming a "manufacturing powerhouse" through heavy industries such as iron and steel, shipbuilding, and coal mining. The multiple constituent assets scattered over a wide area are registered as UNESCO World Heritage sites through "serial nomination" (the nomination of multiple assets as a series of assets on a single theme) because they tell the chronological story of Japan's rapid transformation into an industrial nation.

The challenge of industrial modernization in the Choshu domain at the end of the Edo period

The "Meiji Industrial Revolution Heritage Sites" are made up of 23 component parts scattered across the country, with most of them located in the Kyushu region and Yamaguchi Prefecture. Of these, five component parts are concentrated in Hagi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture. This is a recommended area for those who want to efficiently enjoy the "Meiji Industrial Revolution Heritage Sites!"

Hagi is a town known for having flourished as the base of the Choshu clan since ancient times. The Choshu clan was at the center of the Meiji Restoration and has produced many politicians since the Meiji era, playing a major role in building the foundations of modern Japan. The people of the Choshu clan were also eager to modernize industry, and are known for their challenge in "monozukuri" (manufacturing), learning Western technology and going through repeated trial and error.

One of the constituent assets that symbolizes this history of industrialization is the Hagi Reverberatory Furnace. A reverberatory furnace is a metal melting furnace necessary for casting Western-style iron cannons, and was constructed as a prototype in 1856 when the Choshu clan attempted to introduce it as part of strengthening its coastal defenses. Even today, only the 10.5m-tall chimney remains, and the site is known as a rare place where the remains of a reverberatory furnace remain, along with the Nirayama Reverberatory Furnace in Shizuoka Prefecture and the Former Shuseikan Museum in Kagoshima Prefecture.

The Ebisuchohana Shipyard Site, located near the Hagi Reverberatory Furnace, was also a shipyard established by the Choshu Domain in 1856. It is the only sailing shipyard constructed at the end of the Edo period that still has visible remains. Two Western-style sailing ships were built here. Furthermore, the Oitayama Tatara Ironworks Site is the remains of traditional tatara ironworks, and the iron produced here was used to build the first Western-style sailing ship, the Heitatsumaru, built at the Ebisuchohana Shipyard Site. Utilizing traditional techniques to realize Western technology. It can be said to be a component part that testifies to the trial and error that took place during a transitional period.

"Hagi Reverberatory Furnace," "Ebisugahana Shipyard Site," and "Oitayama Tatara Ironworks Site." If you visit these three constituent assets, you can feel the footsteps of the Choshu clan, which worked to modernize industry with "iron" as its keyword.

A beautiful castle town that supported Japan's modernization

After learning about Japan's efforts at industrialization through the Hagi Reverberatory Furnace, Ebisukehana Shipyard Ruins, and the Oitayama Tatara Ironworks Ruins, why not take a walk around Hagi Castle Town, which was the central base of the Choshu clan, which played a major role in the modernization of Japan?

Hagi Castle Town, one of the constituent assets of the "Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution," refers to the area with its samurai residences and merchant houses that formed around Hagi Castle, which was built at the foot of Mt. Shizuki in 1604 as the residence of the Mori clan. The three areas registered as World Heritage sites are the "Castle Ruins," "Former Area for High-ranking Samurai," and "Former Townspeople's Area." The beautiful castle town, with its white walls, namako walls, and black board fences, is preserved as a precious place that conveys the atmosphere of the Edo period to the present day.

If you want to enjoy a stroll around the World Heritage Site, first head to Hagi Meirinkan Gakusha (World Heritage Visitor Center), located on the former site of Meirinkan, the domain school that was the center of human resource development for the Choshu Domain. The main building, a nationally registered tangible cultural property, has attractions such as the Hagi Meirinkan Exhibition Room, where you can learn about the history of Meirinkan, and the Hagi Machiju Museum Tourist Information Center, which has a wide selection of materials related to the World Heritage Site and tourism. The second building also houses the World Heritage Visitor Center and the Bakumatsu Museum. If you start your walk around the city by visiting Hagi Meirinkan Gakusha (World Heritage Visitor Center), you will gain a deeper understanding of the World Heritage Site. Afterwards, you can head to the castle ruins, the former high-ranking samurai estate, and the former townspeople's area. If you visit the many sights scattered throughout the beautiful castle town, such as Enseiji Temple, where Takasugi Shinsaku and Ito Hirobumi studied, the former home of Kido Takayoshi, also known as Katsura Kogoro, and the Kikuya Residence, a merchant house with a history of about 400 years, you'll feel as if you've traveled back in time to the Edo period. Hagi Castle Town is dotted with cafes and souvenir shops that have been renovated from old houses, so enjoy walking around the town to your heart's content.

Furthermore, history fans should not miss the private school "Shoka Sonjuku" presided over by Yoshida Shoin during the late Edo period. This place, which is also registered as one of the components of the World Heritage Site, is known for having produced many talented people who became key figures in the Meiji Restoration, such as Kusaka Genzui, Takasugi Shinsaku, Ito Hirobumi, and Yamagata Aritomo. The small wooden one-story building is still preserved today, and its exterior can be viewed. A tranquil atmosphere still pervades the school that nurtured the ideas of the people of the Choshu domain who inherited the teachings of Shoin, who was one of the earliest to advocate the importance of engineering education and who advocated for the realization of industrial modernization through one's own efforts, and who promoted the industrialization of Japan.

Hagi, which developed as the center of the Choshu clan, is dotted with many historic temples and shrines, as well as the five spots that are part of the World Heritage Site. Now that we are approaching the 150th anniversary of the Meiji Restoration, why not take a leisurely trip around this town that has had such a major impact on Japanese history?

Travel writer/Toru Yoshihara

Hagi is dotted with five historical heritage sites that make up the "Meiji Industrial Revolution Heritage Sites of Japan." If you want to efficiently enjoy sightseeing around the world heritage sites, we recommend using transportation such as the Hagi City Loop Bus, rental bicycles, sightseeing taxis, and sightseeing buses, as well as rental cars!

This tour is the way to go!