National Treasures of Hiroshima

Itsukushima Shrine in Hiroshima rests on a rebuilding of 1241, its main sanctuary alone from 1571. Six of its twelve buildings are National Treasures.

A late Kamakura pagoda in Hiroshima Prefecture. The date field reads 1319, while the commentary records a fire there and a rebuilding four years later.

A late Kamakura-period hall in Hiroshima Prefecture. It burned in the same fire as the temple's own pagoda, and was then rebuilt sixteen years later on.

A late Muromachi-period hall in Hiroshima Prefecture. It once stood in Yamaguchi as the Buddha hall of a Zen temple, and was later moved over to here.

An early Muromachi-period pagoda in Hiroshima Prefecture. The image standing within it was renamed after an investigation carried out there in the 1990s.

A late Kamakura-period hall in Hiroshima Prefecture. It and the temple's own pagoda took the two steps of the listing here in quite the opposite order.

A Nanbokucho-period suit owned by Itsukushima Shrine in Hiroshima Prefecture. A National Treasure of the very same name also stands at Kasuga Taisha too.

A Kamakura-period set owned by Itsukushima Shrine in Hiroshima Prefecture. Its own three vajras all lie within just nine millimetres of each other here.

Discover the Kojoji Temple Three-Story Pagoda, a National Treasure built in 1432 on Ikuchijima Island along the Shimanami Kaido. Explore its exquisite blend of Japanese and Chinese architectural styles amidst stunning Seto Inland Sea views.

Discover the Asagi Aya-odoshi Yoroi, a rare National Treasure suit of samurai armor from the late Kamakura period, housed at the UNESCO World Heritage Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima Island, Hiroshima.

A National Treasure at Itsukushima Shrine, Miyajima: a late-Heian court costume set with ornamental swords, a quiver and vermilion sword boxes dated to 1183.

A National Treasure on silk dated 1153, the twenty-armed Fugen Enmei at Onomichi's Jiko-ji bears a rare dated inscription, a benchmark for late Heian painting.

A rare Heian-period great armor at Itsukushima Shrine, laced with cherry-stenciled yellow leather over wide plates and tied by tradition to Minamoto no Tametomo.

A late Heian great armor at Itsukushima Shrine, laced in indigo so dark it reads as black. Helmet and sleeves survive, said to be the gift of Taira no Shigemori.

A Heian National Treasure at Itsukushima Shrine, the Kan Fugen-kyo in gold on indigo paper, brushed jointly by Taira no Kiyomori and his half-brother Yorimori.

A National Treasure at Itsukushima Shrine: a seven-scroll Lotus Sutra brushed in gold on indigo paper around 1170 by Taira no Kiyomori and his half-brother Yorimori.

The Saie Hiōgi (Painted Cypress Fan) is a National Treasure of Japan housed at Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima island, Hiroshima. Dating from the late Heian period (12th century), this ceremonial fan features 34 cypress slats lavishly decorated with gold and silver leaf and vivid polychrome paintings depicting uta-e (poem-picture) scenes — a rare surviving masterpiece of Heian court craftsmanship linked to the powerful Taira clan.

The National Treasure Tachi signed Kunimune, housed at the Fukuyama Museum of Art in Hiroshima Prefecture, is a masterwork forged by the legendary Kamakura-period swordsmith Bizen Saburo Kunimune. Celebrated for its spectacular layered clove-blossom hamon pattern, this blade is considered the finest among all Kunimune works. Discover this extraordinary sword within the renowned Komatsu Yasuhiro Collection.

Discover Kōsetsu Samonji, a National Treasure tachi forged by the master swordsmith Ō-Sa in the early Nanboku-chō period. Housed at Fukuyama Museum of Art in Hiroshima, this legendary blade passed through the hands of samurai, shoguns, and the Tokugawa clan.

Discover the National Treasure tachi sword signed by Tomonari, a masterwork of the Ko-Bizen school housed at Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima. Learn about its Heian-period origins, Taira clan connections, and how to see it.