Kasugayama Primeval Forest Japanese: 春日山原始林 | |
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Map | |
Geography | |
Location | Nara Park, Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan |
Coordinates | 34°41′3.5″N 135°51′52.3″E / 34.684306°N 135.864528°E |
Area | 298.6 hectares (738 acres) [1] |
Kasugayama Primeval Forest (春日山原始林, Kasugaya-yama genshi-rin) is an area of 298.6 hectares (738 acres) of primeval forest in Nara, Japan, that is protected as a Special Natural Monument and which forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara. [2] [3] [4] Located in Nara Park to the east of the grounds of Kasuga Taisha and a Chinju no Mori, [5] hunting and logging on Mount Kasuga have been prohibited since 841. [6]
In 841, during the reign of Emperor Ninmyō, a prohibition was placed on hunting and logging on the sacred mountain. [2]: 7 In 1873, the Dajō-kan issued a proclamation on the establishment of public parks, and in 1880 Nara Park opened. [2]: 10 This was extended in 1888 to include the areas of Mount Kasuga and Mount Wakakusa; that same year, some two thousand trees on Mount Kasuga were felled by a typhoon. [2]: 10 In 1922, Nara Park was designated a Place of Scenic Beauty under the 1919 Historical Sites, Places of Scenic Beauty, and Natural Monuments Preservation Law. [7] Two years later, Kasugayama Primeval Forest was designated a Natural Monument, a designation upgraded in 1955 to that of Special Natural Monument, under the 1950 Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties. [3]