Monuments of Japan
Monuments (記念物, kinenbutsu) is a collective term used by the Japanese government's Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties to denote Cultural Properties of Japan as historic locations such as shell mounds, ancient tombs, sites of palaces, sites of forts or castles, monumental dwelling houses and other sites of high historical or scientific value; gardens, bridges, gorges, mountains, and other places of great scenic beauty; and natural features such as animals, plants, and geological or mineral formations of high scientific value. == Designated monuments of Japan == The government designates (as opposed to registers) "significant" items of this kind as Cultural Properties (文化財 bunkazai) and classifies them in one of three categories: Historic Sites (史跡, shiseki) Places of Scenic Beauty (名勝, meishō), Natural Monuments (天然記念物, tennen kinenbutsu).