National Treasures of Kyoto

Discover the National Treasure "Illustrated Biography of Hōnen Shōnin" (Hōnen Shōnin Eden) — a magnificent 48-scroll emaki masterpiece spanning 548 meters, housed at Chion-in Temple in Kyoto. Learn about its history, artistic significance, and how to see this extraordinary work.

The National Treasure 'Takao Mandala' at Jingoji Temple in Kyoto is the oldest surviving set of Two-Realm Mandalas in Japan and the only such work produced during the lifetime of Kukai, the founder of Shingon Buddhism. Created during the Tencho era (824–833) on imperial commission, this monumental pair of nearly four-meter-square paintings depicts Buddhist deities in gold and silver on purple twill silk—a masterpiece of Japanese Buddhist art.

Discover Hyōnen-zu, a National Treasure ink painting by Josetsu at Taizō-in Temple in Kyoto's Myōshin-ji complex. Learn about this 15th-century Zen masterpiece depicting the famous riddle of catching a catfish with a gourd.

Daigo-ji's eighth-century Illustrated Sutra of Cause and Effect runs painted scenes of the Buddha's life above the text, an early root of Japan's picture scrolls.

A National Treasure ink scroll at Konchi-in, Kyoto, dated 1413: an imagined valley retreat under poems by six Zen monks, Japan's oldest surviving studio painting.

A 1338 National Treasure portrait of retired emperor Hanazono by the monk Goshin, bearing the emperor's own inscription that modestly calls his own features humble.

Discover the Hōjō Shōhekiga at Jukō-in, Daitoku-ji Temple in Kyoto — 46 panels of National Treasure sliding door paintings by Kanō Eitoku and his father Shōei. Learn about these Momoyama-era masterpieces, their connection to Sen no Rikyū, and how to visit during special exhibitions.

At the Watanuki Kannonyama Tumulus in Takasaki, Gunma, an unlooted 6th-century chamber held grave goods linked to Baekje and China, now a National Treasure.

A National Treasure cast in 858 on Mt. Hiei, this bell bears a dated mirror-script inscription and is Japan's sixth oldest dated bell, now at the Sagawa Art Museum.

Discover the National Treasure "Autumn Pasture with Cattle" (Akino Bokugyu-zu), a masterpiece of Southern Song Chinese painting attributed to court artist Yan Ciping. Housed at the Sen-oku Hakukokan Museum in Roppongi, Tokyo, this exquisite silk scroll once belonged to the Ashikaga Shogun's famed Higashiyama Collection.

An unsigned National Treasure tanto by Soshu Sadamune at the Tokyo National Museum, once owned by a Karatsu lord, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and the Tokugawa shoguns.

Discover Byōbu Dodai, a National Treasure calligraphy scroll by Ono no Michikaze, written in 928 as a draft for imperial folding screens. Housed at the Sannomaru Shōzōkan in Tokyo, this rare Heian-period masterpiece marks the birth of Japan's native wayō calligraphy style. Learn its history, highlights, and how to visit.

A twelfth-century manuscript of the Manyoshu, Japan's oldest poetry anthology, copied by the celebrated calligrapher Fujiwara no Sadanobu onto luxurious mica-printed paper. Treasured by the Maeda lords of Kaga for over three centuries before being presented to the Emperor Meiji, it was designated a National Treasure in 2023 and is one of the Five Great Manyoshu of the Heian period.

Unearthed on Mount Hiei in 1924, this Heian gilt-bronze box held a Lotus Sutra copied by Empress Jotomon-in in 1031. Its lid bears the title in hollow script.

Discover the Shichijō Shinō Kesa, a rare Tang dynasty hemp kesa designated as a National Treasure of Japan. Brought from China by the monk Saichō over 1,200 years ago, this sacred Buddhist vestment is preserved at Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A National Treasure of Enryaku-ji: a Sui-dynasty patchwork silk robe Saicho brought back from Tang China, said to have belonged to the Tiantai founder Zhiyi.

An unsigned straight double-edged Heian sword owned by Kongo-ji, tied by temple tradition to the monk Akan's esoteric rites and kept at the Kyoto National Museum.

Copied in 1160 by Fujiwara no Koreyuki, these National Treasure scrolls at the Kyoto National Museum set a complete Heian poetry anthology on ashide-e paper.

Around 1180, fourteen poets including Saigyo and Jakuren each turned a Lotus Sutra chapter into a waka. The oldest poem papers extant, kept at Kyoto National Museum.

A Tang manuscript of the Book of Han, chapter 57 on poet Yang Xiong, at Kyoto National Museum. Taboo strokes and 948 reading marks trace ten centuries of study.

Kyoto’s registered properties across designations, with featured heritage and travel notes.

The complete kokuhō catalogue — browse by prefecture, period, and category.

Nationwide jūyō bunkazai — architecture, sculpture, painting, crafts, and documents.