Important cultural property

A tachi forged in 1334 by the Bizen master Kagemitsu, now an Important Cultural Property of unknown whereabouts. We trace its story and where to see his work.

A signed tachi forged in 1300 by Nagamitsu of Osafune, a leading Kamakura swordsmith. This Important Cultural Property is now an object of unknown whereabouts.

A tachi forged in 1346 by Tsugiyoshi of Bitchu's Aoe school, an Important Cultural Property now lost to view. It survives through comparable Aoe blades in Tokyo.

An Important Cultural Property tachi in Tokyo, signed Masatsune, a name used by several early Bizen smiths. This privately held blade dates to the Kamakura period.

A Kamakura tachi by Moritsugu, an early Aoe-school smith of Bitchu. Its steel shows the school's signature sumihada, and a gold inlay ties it to Hakone Shrine.

Held by the Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tsushin Zenran (320 volumes) and Zoku Tsushin Zenran (1,784 volumes) form Japan's first systematic compilation of diplomatic records. Covering the turbulent decade from 1859 to 1868, these approximately 2,000 volumes contain primary documents on Perry's arrival, the Namamugi Incident, and other pivotal Bakumatsu events. Designated an Important Cultural Property in 2016, related materials can be viewed free of charge at the Exhibition Room on the 5th floor of Mori JP Tower in Azabudai Hills, Tokyo.

Held in a private Tokyo collection, the Nanbu Family Documents are an Important Cultural Property of Japan comprising 243 unmounted medieval letters and orders preserved by the Hachinohe (later Tōno) Nanbu clan. Spanning the Kamakura through early Edo periods, the archive includes original directives from Southern Court generals Kitabatake Akiie and Akinobu, alongside the Soga Documents — making it a vital window into the wars and politics of medieval northern Japan.

The Nihon Shoki Jindai Jōkan Dankan is a rare manuscript fragment of Japan's first official chronicle, transcribed in the late 8th to early 9th century. Designated an Important Cultural Property, it preserves the foundational myths of the Age of Gods—creation, the birth of the islands, the sun goddess Amaterasu—in pure classical Chinese without later reading marks, ranking among the oldest extant copies of the Nihon Shoki and bearing the distinguished provenance of poet-scholar Sasaki Nobutsuna.

The Haniwa Horse (Important Cultural Property), excavated from Kamichūjō in Kumagaya City, Saitama Prefecture, and housed at the Tokyo National Museum, is one of the finest horse-shaped haniwa from Japan's 6th-century Kofun period. Its exquisitely detailed horse tack—including bridle bells, horse bells, stirrups, and pendant ornaments—offers an invaluable glimpse into ancient Japan's equestrian culture and the symbols of power.

Discover the Important Cultural Property tsuba by Tsuchiya Yasuchika, one of the celebrated Nara Sansaku masters. This Edo-period sword guard depicts plovers in flight against a golden sunrise through masterful iron carving and gold inlay.

A precious fragment of the Lotus Sutra in gold ink on indigo paper, handwritten by Fujiwara no Michinaga — the most powerful nobleman of the Heian period — and buried at the summit of Mount Kinpu in 1007. Housed at the Tokyo National Museum, this Important Cultural Property is among the earliest sutra mound artifacts in Japan, bearing witness to the deep Buddhist faith of the Heian aristocracy.

Volume 78 of the Yogacarabhumi, copied in 767 for the monk Gyoshin's vow to transcribe 2,700 scrolls, finished by his disciples after he died. A twelve-metre scroll.

Self-taught photographer Yokoyama Matsusaburo learned his craft to portray his mother. These 83 objects, kept by one Hakodate family, survive from early Meiji Japan.

A Korean envoy's 1420 mission to Japan, recorded in verse with candid notes on pirates, farms, and port life. The oldest surviving Korean travel account of Japan.

Calligraphy by the Southern Song Chan master Xutang Zhiyu on wax-coated paper, an Important Cultural Property prized as a tea-room scroll, privately held in Tokyo.

A short sword whose tang records its maker's own age. Umetada Myoju forged it at sixty-one in 1618, late in a career that helped open the new-sword era.

A broad, sturdy short sword by Kyoto smith Rai Kunimitsu, this Important Cultural Property belonged to Aizu lord Hoshina Masayuki and later to the Tokugawa shoguns.

This fifteenth-century pair of six-panel screens at the Tokyo National Museum is the oldest surviving Hamamatsu-zu, its mica ground glowing softly like moonlight.

The Albino sheet of the Yamai no Soshi, a 12th-century Buddhist handscroll, was cut from its parent scroll in 1796 and named an Important Cultural Property in 1938.

A pair of gold-ground folding screens at the Tokyo National Museum: a Namban ship unloading cargo, and a procession winding toward a hilltop Christian church.