The UNESCO World Heritage Site, Shrines and Temples of Nikk?, encompasses 103 buildings or structures and the natural setting around them. It is located in Nikk?, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. The buildings belong to two Shinto shrines (Futarasan Shrine and T?sh?-g?) and one Buddhist temple (Rinn?-ji). Nine of the structures are designated National Treasures of Japan while the remaining 94 are Important Cultural Properties. UNESCO listed the site as a World Heritage Site in 1999. Shinto is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past.