Expansion of Living National Treasure System: Efforts Needed to Preserve, Pass on Traditional Food Culture

Editorial

15:55 JST, November 10, 2025

With the scope of the system for living national treasures set to expand, professionals such as chefs and sake brewers are now expected to be among those chosen for the designation. It is hoped that traditional culture rooted in daily life will be safely passed on to future generations.

The Council for Cultural Affairs has submitted to the education, culture, sports, science and technology minister a proposal to broaden the scope of the system for national important intangible cultural properties, which is intended to preserve historically and artistically important skills. The move comes as the nation’s declining birth rate and aging population have threatened the continuation of many fields. This would be the first major expansion since the system was established in 1954.

Skills that are subject to preservation as important intangible cultural properties have so far been limited to two categories: performing arts such as nohgaku and kabuki and craft techniques such as ceramics as well as dyeing and weaving.

The envisioned expansion will add to this a category of “culture related to daily life” that includes cuisine, ikebana flower arrangement and calligraphy. Individuals with exceptional skills in this regard will be recognized as holders of important intangible cultural properties, or living national treasures. The new system will reportedly be launched as early as next fiscal year.

Washoku Japanese cuisine and sake have grown popular overseas. Ikebana flower arrangement and calligraphy are also popular experiences among foreign tourists visiting Japan. They can be said to represent a culture related to daily life that Japan can proudly present to the world.

However, the number of ryotei traditional Japanese restaurants, which have traditionally played a role in passing on Japanese culinary techniques, has declined to less than 10% of the figure 30 years ago. An increasing number of people also do not know how to prepare regional specialties. The shortage of toji master sake brewers is serious. The number of people who enjoy ikebana and calligraphy has also declined.

These Japanese cultural forms must be protected. Once they are designated as important intangible cultural properties, groups that preserve particular skills can receive government subsidies. Living national treasures receive an annual grant of ¥2 million. It is hoped that steady efforts will be made to pass on skills and train successors.

However, evaluating culinary culture is somewhat difficult. Each regional area has its own distinctive cuisine, and taste preferences vary greatly among people.

It is necessary to establish criteria acceptable to everyone to prevent the system from making unnecessary distinctions of superiority.

If highly skilled chefs are designated as living national treasures, might the designation be perceived as the central government’s “endorsement” of specific tastes? It is also concerning that the dishes they prepare will be regarded as special and potentially be given excessive commercial value.

Living national treasures are selected after research and deliberations by a group of experts set up under the Council for Cultural Affairs. It is hoped that they will identify issues and carefully discuss matters such as history, characteristics and the need for preservation.

When living national treasures are selected under the new system, some selections might attract public attention both domestically and internationally. Aspiring successors could emerge. The central government should seize this opportunity to accelerate efforts to disseminate information and widely convey the appeal of Japanese culture.

 (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Nov. 9, 2025)