Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine

The Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine is a historic mining landscape in Shimane Prefecture, Japan, recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007 for its extensive cultural and industrial remains. It represents a major silver-producing district from the early modern era.

The silver deposits were developed from the early 16th century and the district became one of Japan’s principal sources of silver through the 16th and 17th centuries; production and settlement patterns evolved with changing technology and market conditions over subsequent centuries. The landscape still shows the spatial organisation of extraction, processing and trade established during the mine’s peak periods.

The mine and its cultural landscape lie inland in western Shimane Prefecture, with preserved routes linking the hillside sites to coastal ports on the Sea of Japan.

• UNESCO inscription: Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007 for its well-preserved mining landscape and its influence on global silver production during the early modern period.
• Technological and social heritage: The site illustrates mining, refining and transport technologies from the 16th to the early 20th centuries and includes both industrial and community remains.

What to See #

• Mine workings and processing sites: The Omori mining district with mine shafts, tailings and remnants of ore processing where silver ore was extracted and prepared for smelting.
• Settlements and logistical infrastructure: Historic mining towns and satellite settlements that developed to support extraction, refining and trade, showing preserved merchant and worker layouts.
• Transport and landscape links: Transport routes and waterways that linked the mine with coastal ports, forming an integrated cultural landscape of extraction and trade.