ABSTRACT Between 1993 and 2018, Japan successfully applied to have 18 cultural sites and four natural sites inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List of places deemed to be of ‘outstanding universal value’ and ‘interest’. At first glance, the former appear as a disparate collection of monuments chosen strictly on the basis of their individual merits, but a closer examination reveals a number are bound together by a common discourse – ‘the Japan as cultural synthesizer thesis’ – which dates back to the Meiji period. In 1916 Ukita Kazutami lamented that while Japan’s unique ability to synthesize Asian and Western civilizations had positioned it to usher in a new, more advanced global civilization, Japan has never produced any unique cultural achievements worthy of the world’s respect. On what basis, then, could Japan gain international respect and justify its claim to world leadership? The World Heritage List has belatedly provided Japan with a venue to answer that question. UNESCO’s experts have bestowed international recognition upon cultural sites chosen and narrated by Japan to celebrate a proud national heritage that also possesses universal value characterized by respect for foreign cultures, religious tolerance, respect for nature, industrial communitarianism, and a commitment to world peace.

中文翻译：

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联合国教科文组织世界遗产公约与日本对国际文化合法性的追求

摘要 1993 年至 2018 年间，日本成功申请将 18 个文化遗址和 4 个自然遗址列入联合国教科文组织世界遗产名录，被认为具有“突出的普遍价值”和“兴趣”。乍一看，前者似乎是严格根据其个人优点选择的不同纪念碑的集​​合，但仔细研究会发现其中一些都被一个共同的话语联系在一起——“日本作为文化综合者的论点”——这可以追溯到到明治时代。1916年，浮田和民感叹，虽然日本独特的综合亚洲和西方文明的能力使其能够迎来一个新的、更先进的全球文明，但日本从未产生过任何值得世界尊重的独特文化成就。那么，在什么基础上，日本能否获得国际尊重并证明其世界领导地位的要求？《世界遗产名录》为日本提供了一个回答这个问题的场所，为时已晚。联合国教科文组织的专家对日本选择和叙述的文化遗址给予了国际认可，以庆祝这一引以为豪的民族遗产，该遗产还具有以尊重外国文化、宗教宽容、尊重自然、工业社区主义和对世界和平的承诺为特征的普遍价值。