The Manyoshu Anthology (“Japan's oldest song collection”) contains many poems relating to the ocean. In addition to featuring many words relating to the oceans, seascapes also play a large role in the lyrical expressions of the Manyo poems. The place names featured in the Manyoshu have been esteemed since the Heian period, being passed on as utamakura (“poem pillows,” a category of poetic words often featuring place names), and thus communicating and preserving Japan’s culture in a multi-layered way at many ocean sites. To treasure the Manyo seascapes is also to protect Japanese culture.