Living National Treasure (Japan)

Living National Treasure (Ningen Kokuhō) is a Japanese popular term for those individuals certified as Preservers of Important Intangible Cultural Properties (重要無形文化財保持者, Jūyō Mukei Bunkazai Hojisha) by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology as based on Japan's Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties (文化財保護法, Bunkazai Hogohō).^[1] The term "Living National Treasure" is not formally mentioned in the law, but is an informal term referencing the cultural properties designated as the National Treasures.^[2]

The Japanese government provides a subsidy of 2 million yen per person per year for Living National Treasures. The total amount of the subsidy is determined by the national budget, and since 2002 it has been 232 million yen. Therefore, the number of Living National Treasures in existence is a maximum of 116, and if there are 116 Living National Treasures, no person with any outstanding skills will be newly designated as a Living National Treasure unless a vacancy occurs due to death.^[3] By December 1, 2020, 371 persons had been designated as Living National Treasures,^[3] and as of February 1, 2021^[update], 111 of them are still alive.^[4]