National Treasures of Kyoto

Tobatsu Bishamonten at Kyoto's To-ji, a Tang-dynasty National Treasure that once guarded Rashomon gate. The 189.4 cm figure stands on the palms of the earth goddess.

At Kyoto's Sanjusangen-do stand the Twenty-Eight Attendants, National Treasure guardians of the Thousand-Armed Kannon: lifelike Kamakura figures carved in cypress.

At Kurama-dera above Kyoto stands Japan's oldest Bishamonten triad, a National Treasure whose central guardian lifts a hand to his brow and gazes toward the capital.

The National Treasure Wind and Thunder Gods at Kyoto's Sanjusangendo are Japan's oldest such sculptures: Kamakura cypress figures with crystal eyes and bold realism.

A 313.6 cm Fukūkenjaku Kannon at Kōryū-ji, Kyoto's oldest temple. Three eyes, eight arms, carved from one block, it survived the 818 fire and stands in the Reihōden.

A ninth-century National Treasure no one is allowed to see: the secret Fudō Myōō hidden in Tō-ji's Mieidō, held by tradition to be Kūkai's own devotional image.

At Hōbodai-in Gantoku-ji in Kyoto's western hills stands an 88-cm Heian bodhisattva in half-lotus, a National Treasure of kaya wood whose identity scholars debate.

Two of the twenty-one statues in Tōji's three-dimensional mandala, the four-faced Bonten and the elephant-riding Taishakuten are ninth-century National Treasures.

At Kōryū-ji in Kyoto sits the Crowned Maitreya, a red-pine bodhisattva ranked as Japan's first National Treasure in sculpture and famed for its faint archaic smile.

Beside Koryu-ji's celebrated National Treasure No.1 sits a quieter second Maitreya, an Asuka camphor figure whose sorrowful face earns the name Weeping Maitreya.

Daigo-ji's National Treasure Yakushi triad: a 177cm tenth-century Medicine Buddha with a gourd jar and seven-Buddha halo, now displayed at the Reihōkan museum.

Carved in 33 days in 1103 for a prince-monk of Ninna-ji, this 11-cm sandalwood Yakushi is the sole surviving work of Ensei and Choen, founders of the Enpa school.

At Jingo-ji in Takao, Kyoto, this National Treasure Yakushi Nyorai stands about 170.6 cm, carved from a single block of kaya wood, with a stern early-Heian face.

At Kyoto's Senbon Shakado stand six unpainted wooden Kannon carved in 1224 by Jokei, Japan's only complete Kamakura set of six and now National Treasures.

The 45 rules Mongaku set in 1185 for the Jingoji temple he revived, written out by Nakayama Tadachika and stamped with Go-Shirakawa's vermilion handprints.

The National Treasure 'Rigen Daishi Handwritten Disposition' preserved at Daigo-ji Temple in Kyoto is an official document written in 907 CE by the temple's founder, the monk Shōbō (Rigen Daishi). Recording the transfer of temple management to a senior disciple in his final years, this single handscroll is an exceptionally rare example of early Heian-period calligraphy and a vital primary source for the history of Japanese Buddhism. It is periodically displayed at Daigo-ji's Reihōkan Museum and in special exhibitions at major museums across Japan.

Discover the Rimōhitsu Hōken Hyō, a National Treasure document attributed to Kūkai (Kōbō Daishi) at Daigo-ji Temple in Kyoto. This 9th-century calligraphy masterpiece records the presentation of tanuki-hair brushes to Emperor Saga, revealing the origins of Japanese brush-making culture.

Discover the Ruijū Utaawase, a National Treasure anthology of over 200 Heian-period poetry competitions preserved at Yōmei Bunko in Kyoto. Explore its literary significance, exquisite calligraphy, and the aristocratic world of waka poetry contests.

The only manuscript of the Ruiju Koshu, a classified edition of the Man'yoshu compiled by Fujiwara no Atsutaka, held by Ryukoku University, Kyoto; a National Treasure since 1953.

The National Treasure Wakan-shō Gekan (Saisen), held at the Yōmei Bunko in Kyoto, is a surviving portion of the Wakan Rōeishū anthology transcribed on brilliantly decorated paper (saisen) with calligraphy attributed to Fujiwara no Yukinari, one of Heian Japan's Three Great Calligraphers. Discover the exquisite fusion of poetry, brushwork, and decorative paper arts from a thousand years ago.