Okinoshima: The Universal Value of Japan's Sacred Heritage

Dr Simon Kaner is Head of the Centre for Archaeology and Heritage at the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures and Director of the Centre for Japanese Studies at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK. He is a member of the International Expert Committee on the Nomination of Okinoshima and Associated Sites in the Munakata Region for UNESCO World Heritage status, and has written two long papers on Okinoshima and the archaeology of religion, commissioned by Fukuoka Prefecture. An archaeologist specialising on the prehistory of Japan, he has taught and published on many aspects of European and East Asian archaeology. He has a long-standing interest in cultural heritage issues, and in a previous job was Secretary of the Association of Local Government Archaeology Officers (ALGAO) in England. He is Co-Editor of the Journal of Japanese Archaeology. He is Research Fellow at the Japanese Section, Department of Asia at the British Museum, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, and a Life Member of Clare Hall, Cambridge.

• Introduction: Statement of Outstanding Universal Value Author: Tadashi Nishitan.- Chapter 1: The Shosoin of the Sea.- Chapter 2: 80,000 National Treasures.- Chapter 3: Okinoshima as a national monument.- Chapter 4: Heritage and religion.- Chapter 5: Okinoshima in comparative perspective.-Chapter 6: Okinoshima as contemporary cultural heritage.- Chapter 7: Heritage Management at a Potential World Heritage Site.