National Treasures of Kyoto

Discover the Chunqiu Jingzhuan Jijie Volume 2 Fragment, a rare Tang dynasty manuscript and National Treasure housed at the Yūrinkan Museum in Kyoto. Learn about its history, significance, and how to visit.

Discover the Jōgū Shōtoku Hōō Teisetsu, the oldest surviving biography of Prince Shōtoku, designated as a National Treasure of Japan. This precious Heian-period manuscript is held at Chion-in Temple in Kyoto's Higashiyama district.

Held at Ninnaji Temple in Kyoto, these five National Treasure scrolls preserve the Xinxiu Bencao — the world's first state-compiled pharmacopoeia, ordered by Emperor Gaozong of Tang China in 659 CE. Copied in early-Kamakura-period Japan, they are among the oldest surviving witnesses to this foundational text, whose original Chinese manuscripts have long since been lost.

This National Treasure at the Kyoto National Museum is the oldest surviving copy of the Chinese classic Shishuo Xinyu, in seventh-century Tang regular script.

Discover the National Treasure "Zen'in Gakuji narabini Haiji" at Tōfuku-ji Temple in Kyoto—19 masterful calligraphy scrolls by Wuzhun Shifan and Zhang Jizhi from 13th-century Southern Song China, representing the finest surviving examples of Zen temple signboard calligraphy.

Shunjo wrote this 1219 appeal to fund Sennyu-ji's rebuilding. The National Treasure scroll bears Song-style running script on paper with auspicious birds.

Twelve Southern Song volumes at Kyoto's Tofuku-ji form the Gisho Rokujo, a 10th-century Buddhist encyclopedia and the only known Song printing of the text.

This National Treasure is a handscroll containing a preface written by Emperor Gaozong (1107–1187), the founder of China's Southern Song dynasty, for the collected literary works of his father, Emperor Huizong — the last ruler of the Northern Song. Penned in 1154, this exceptionally rare example of imperial calligraphy is both a masterwork of brush art and a poignant tribute from a son to a father lost in the upheaval of the Jingkang Incident. The scroll also bears colophons by renowned scholars including Hu Sanxing and Wen Zhengming, and is deposited at the Kyoto National Museum.

Discover the extraordinary National Treasure deposited items found inside the Shaka Nyorai statue at Seiryō-ji Temple in Kyoto. From silk internal organs to Buddhist scriptures, these 10th-century artifacts offer a rare glimpse into Song-dynasty faith and medicine.

Discover the Song Dynasty Tripitaka (Sōhan Issaikyō) at Daigo-ji Temple in Kyoto — a National Treasure collection of 6,102 woodblock-printed Buddhist scriptures from 12th-century China, brought to Japan by the monk Chōgen.

Discover the Song Dynasty edition of Taiping Yulan, a 1,000-volume Chinese encyclopedia designated as a National Treasure of Japan. Preserved at Tofuku-ji Temple in Kyoto, these 103 surviving volumes date back to 1199 and represent one of the most important literary treasures connecting Japan and China.

Discover the National Treasure "Diamond Sutra Handwritten by Daikaku Zenji" at Ryōkōin temple in Kyoto's Daitoku-ji complex. This 13th-century Zen calligraphy masterpiece by Rankei Dōryū, founder of Kamakura's Kenchō-ji, represents one of the finest surviving examples of Song-dynasty brushwork in Japan.

Discover the Daigo-ji Monjo Shōgyō, a National Treasure collection of 69,378 manuscripts at Kyoto's UNESCO World Heritage Daigo-ji Temple. Explore centuries of Buddhist sacred teachings, imperial correspondence, and historical records preserved since the Nara period.

Discover the National Treasure calligraphy by Shūhō Myōchō (National Master Daitō), founder of Daitokuji Temple. Written in 1330 for a female Zen practitioner, this masterpiece is preserved at Daisenin sub-temple in Kyoto.

Discover the National Treasure calligraphy by Zen master Shūhō Myōchō (Daitō Kokushi), bestowing the name "Kanzan" upon his disciple in 1329. Learn about this pivotal work in Japanese Zen history, now deposited at the Kyoto National Museum.

Discover the National Treasure calligraphy of Daitō Kokushi — a 1330 certificate of dharma transmission from Zen master Shūhō Myōchō to Kanzan Egen, preserved at Myōshin-ji temple in Kyoto. Learn about its significance in Japanese Zen Buddhism.

Discover the National Treasure calligraphy "Kandoku Shinsen-bō" by Zen master Shūhō Myōchō (Daitō Kokushi), housed at Shinjuan sub-temple in Daitokuji, Kyoto. Learn about its historical significance, the art of bokuseki, and how to visit this rarely seen masterpiece.

Discover the Dainichi-kyō Kaidai, a National Treasure scroll handwritten by Kūkai (Kōbō Daishi), one of Japan's legendary "Three Brushes." Housed at the UNESCO World Heritage Site Daigo-ji Temple in Kyoto, this rare manuscript reveals the master calligrapher's personal study notes from Tang Dynasty China.

Discover the Dailōtan-kyō Volume 3, a National Treasure Buddhist sutra copied in 673 CE during the Tang Dynasty. Housed at Chion-in temple in Kyoto, this ancient cosmological scripture offers a rare glimpse into early Buddhist manuscript culture.

Discover the National Treasure autograph letter of Emperor Takakura, preserved at UNESCO World Heritage Ninna-ji Temple in Kyoto. Written in 1178 to thank his half-brother for prayers ensuring the safe birth of the future Emperor Antoku, this is the sole surviving example of the emperor's handwriting.