Contested access: The Imperial tombs in the postwar period

Over the postwar period Japanese scholars have pressured the Imperial House hold Agency for greater access to sites under its control as tombs associat ed with the imperial line, arguing they are cultural properties vital to un derstanding ancient Japanese history. The agency has responded by making in formation about the sites more generally available, and by permitting limit ed numbers of scholars to inspect excavations it conducts prior to repairin g the tombs. But it maintains that since the sites are above all graves whe re rites are performed for ancestors of the imperial household. their treat ment is not a scientific but a religious matter.