Important cultural property

The Kuroito Odoshi Domaru Gusoku (Black-Laced Domaru Armor) is an Important Cultural Property of Japan, worn by Honda Tadakatsu (1548–1610), one of the Tokugawa Four Heavenly Kings. Featuring towering deer antler helmet crests, a fierce lion-biting front piece, and gold-leafed Buddhist rosary beads, this iconic armor embodies the spirit of a legendary warrior who fought in 57 battles without receiving a single wound. Currently deposited at the Mikawa Bushi no Yakata Ieyasukan in Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture.

A Kamakura-period silk mandala of Butsugen Butsumo, the Buddha-Eye Mother whose eye embodies wisdom. It served an esoteric rite and survives privately in Aichi.

Pale green ash glaze runs down the shoulder while the foot scorches black. The Momoyama Iga flower vase Fuyo holds warped, deliberate beauty in 28 centimeters.

A surviving album of the Kokin Wakashu, Japan's first imperial poetry anthology, written on decorated paper and known as Sujikiri for its silver ruling lines.

Discover the Sekido-bon Kokin Wakashū, a National Treasure of Japan featuring exquisite 11th-century kana calligraphy on richly dyed paper. Learn about its history, artistry, and where to view fragments at museums in Nagoya, Tokyo, and New York.

Held in a private collection in Aichi Prefecture, this Important Cultural Property is a hexagonal plate made by the potter Ogata Kenzan with painting by his elder brother, the Rinpa master Ogata Korin. Dated 1710 on its base, it is the only known collaborative ceramic by the two brothers bearing a specific year, and its rare hexagonal form, Korin's crane and pine painting, and Kenzan's own poetic inscription make it a cornerstone reference work in the study of Rinpa ceramics.

An Important Cultural Property in Aichi, this Sunshōan Shikishi sets a Heian winter poem from the Kokin Wakashū in flowing kana on imported mica-printed paper.

An Important Cultural Property in Aichi, this 14th-century tachi is a rare signed work by the Sōden-Bizen smith Yoshikage, whose verified blades barely survive.

A late-Kamakura tachi by Kyoto's Rai Kunimitsu, slender for the master and shortened yet still signed. An Important Cultural Property now held in Nagoya, Aichi.

An Important Cultural Property preserved in Kyoto, this silk-mounted hanging scroll portrays Bai Juyi (Hakurakuten), the Tang dynasty Chinese poet whose verse most profoundly shaped Heian-period Japanese literature. Famous for the Song of Everlasting Sorrow and the Song of the Pipa, Bai Juyi inspired masterpieces such as The Tale of Genji and The Pillow Book. The painting embodies refined silk-painting craftsmanship and the deep cultural dialogue between East Asian civilizations, complemented by the Kyoto National Museum and the Gion Festival's Hakurakuten-yama float.

Discover the Hōrōkaku Mandala (Color on Silk), a rare esoteric Buddhist painting linked to Kyoto's Shingon tradition. Explore its symbolism, the Pavilion of Treasures, and how to experience this spiritual heritage.

The Koogimi-shu copies a Heian poet's verse in a Kamakura hand. Named an Important Cultural Property in 1939, it is now missing. Where her calligraphy survives.

Discover Kano Sansetsu's Snowy Shore with Waterfowl, an Important Cultural Property of Japan held on deposit at the Kyoto National Museum. This pair of six-panel folding screens by the second-generation head of the Kyo Kano school depicts a moonlit winter coast where silver-leaf waves and countless waterfowl create one of the most haunting visions of early Edo painting.

Held in a private Kyoto collection, this Important Cultural Property is a fragment from the early thirteenth-century Satake Version of the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets handscrolls. The hanging scroll depicts the Heian-period priest-poet Sosei Hōshi in the realistic nise-e style, with painting traditionally attributed to Fujiwara no Nobuzane and calligraphy to Gokyōgoku Yoshitsune. Famous for the 1919 division of the original scrolls, this fragment stands as a landmark of Kamakura court portraiture.

Discover the Cloud Dragon Ink Painting (Unryūzu) by Edo-period master Maruyama Ōkyo, an Important Cultural Property of Japan. Learn about its powerful sumi-ink technique and how to view it at the Kyoto National Museum.

Discover the National Treasure "Prayer Text of Kujō Michiie by Jien," a 1221 ink manuscript revealing the political hopes and masterful calligraphy of one of Japan's greatest medieval monks, written just months before the Jōkyū War.

A personal letter handwritten in ink on paper by Emperor Go-Kōgon, the fourth sovereign of the Northern Court during Japan's Nanboku-chō period (14th century). Designated as an Important Cultural Property, this hanging scroll reveals the refined calligraphic skill of an emperor who ascended the throne without the Sacred Treasures, offering a rare and intimate glimpse into medieval Japanese court culture. Housed at the National Museum of Japanese History in Sakura City, Chiba Prefecture.

Discover the cultural significance of the ink-on-paper imperial letter (shinkan) by Emperor Go-Kōgon, a designated cultural property from the turbulent Nanbokuchō period, preserved in Kyoto Prefecture.

The 'Letter by Konoe Kanesune, Dated the 24th Day' is a rare autograph letter by one of the most powerful nobles of 13th-century Japan. Designated as an Important Cultural Property, this ink-on-paper correspondence offers a direct connection to the refined calligraphic traditions and daily life of the Kamakura-period imperial court. Discover the historical significance and cultural context of this remarkable document preserved among the treasures of the Yōmei Bunko archives in Kyoto.

An authenticated handwritten letter by Emperor Go-Fukakusa (1243–1304), dated 1298, featuring his powerful brushwork and personal cipher. Designated as an Important Cultural Property, this document offers rare insight into Kamakura-period court politics and imperial calligraphy. Deposited at the Kyoto National Museum.