Asuka, Nara

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

**Asuka**
**明日香村**
Asuka's location in Nara Prefecture, Japan.
Location
Country	Japan
Region	Kansai
Prefecture	Nara Prefecture
District	Takaichi District
Physical characteristics
Area	24.08 km² (9.30 sq mi)
Population (as of September 1, 2007)
Total	6,146
Density	255.23 /km² (661 /sq mi)
Symbols
Tree	Zelkova serrata
Flower	Citrus tachibana
Flag
Asuka Government Office
Address	〒634-0111 55 Ōaza Oka, Asuka-mura, Nara-ken
Phone number	0744-54-2001
Official website: Village of Asuka

A kofun in Asuka

This article is about the village of Asuka (明日香, Asuka^?). For articles related to the capital, sites and ruins of Asuka (飛鳥, Asuka^?), see Asuka, Yamato. For other uses, see Asuka.

Asuka (明日香村, Asuka-mura^?) is a village located in Takaichi District, Nara, Japan.

As of September 1, 2007, the village has an estimated population of 6,146 and a density of 255.23 persons per km². The total area is 24.08 km².

Asuka is the land where ancient Asuka (飛鳥, Asuka^?) palaces were located. There are strict rules governing construction in this historic town.

Asuka can be reached from Okadera or Asuka Station on the Kintetsu Yoshino Line train line. Although it's outside Asuka, Kashiharajingū-mae Station in neighboring Kashihara has service on the Kintetsu Kashihara, Minami-Osaka and Yoshino Lines. By car, Asuka is on Route 169.

1 History
2 Surrounding municipalities
3 Places of interest
4 Sister cities
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] History

For the ancient Asuka, see Asuka period and Asuka, Yamato.

Thanks to the ancient capital, which is located there, Asuka has been known as a good place to sightsee, especially for history lovers.

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 Kyoto, Nara and Kamakura. The law restricts constructions and other civil engineering operations in the designated areas due preservation of the historic sites. In 1967, a part of Asuka, around 391ha in area, was designated as a historic site for preservation. Along with this decision, the government planned to build Asuka National Historic Park, for which construction was launched in 1966 and finished in 1994.

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 Sight Law (1966) restricts any visual changes in the areas which it concerns, it has directly affected the daily life of residents. To preserve the sight, they have had to give up some elements of modern life. As compensation, the Asuka Law, which aims to preserve the sight effectively and give economic supports for Asuka residents, was settled in 1980.