Heian
Chiba · 平安Browse Chiba’s cultural heritage from the Heian period (794 – 1185). Filter by type and keyword, with concise stories, maps, and travel tips.
Explore the magnificent Sea Beast and Grape Mirror (Kaiju Budo Kyo), Japan's only nationally designated craft treasure in Chiba. This 7th-8th century Tang dynasty bronze mirror at Katori Shrine showcases exquisite ancient artistry and cultural exchange.
A late Heian-period blade preserved in private hands in Chiba Prefecture and designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan in 1955. Although unsigned, it is attributed to Kanenaga, founder of the Gojō school of Yamashiro province and a disciple of the legendary Sanjō Munechika. The sword is a rare witness to the moment when the curved Japanese blade first took shape, embodying the refined courtly aesthetic of the Heian capital.
The archive of the Katori family, hereditary priests of Katori Jingu in Chiba: 381 documents, late Heian to Edo, on how a great medieval shrine ran its estates.
The Soryu-kyo at Katori Jingu, Chiba, is a bronze mirror dated 1149 with a continental-style twin-dragon reverse, the oldest dated Japanese mirror of its kind.
A National Treasure near Tokyo: a Southern Song printing of the Hanshu in 61 fascicles, holding the earliest reliable Chinese record of Japan, the Wa people.
A complete Southern Song printing of the Book of the Later Han, kept in Sakura, whose account of the eastern peoples names Queen Himiko and an embassy of 57 CE.
A National Treasure near Tokyo: the Song-dynasty Shiji printed by Huang Shanfu, the oldest complete copy of the three-commentary edition, all 130 chapters intact.