Heian

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.

A Heian tachi by Ko-Bizen Masatsune at the Kyoto National Museum, a National Treasure since 1961, typical of the smith and in sound condition.

Eleventh-century kana letters attributed to Fujiwara no Yukinari, owned by Kyukyodo, Kyoto, a National Treasure since 1952, once hidden on the back of a Buddhist text.

Discover the National Treasure calligraphy scroll attributed to Fujiwara no Yukinari, one of Japan's legendary Three Great Calligraphers (Sanseki). Known as the Honno-ji Gire, this Heian-period masterpiece is owned by Honno-ji Temple in Kyoto and exhibited at the Kyoto National Museum.

The only early manuscript, copied in 1114, of Japan's oldest dictionary, compiled by Kukai, at Kozanji, Kyoto; a National Treasure since 1952.

A Heian manuscript of volumes two and three of the Nihon Ryoiki, Japan's oldest Buddhist tale collection, at Raigoin, Ohara; a National Treasure since 1977.

The Ninna-ji Kuronuri-tebako Shōgyō is an Important Cultural Property comprising scrolls, codices, and folded books of esoteric Buddhist texts stored in black-lacquered boxes. These documents preserve the rituals of Ninna-ji's imperial Shingon lineage in vivid, irreplaceable detail.

The forty bronze mirrors excavated from the Mitarashi Pond at Mt. Haguro, an Important Cultural Property held at Kyoto's Hosomi Museum, were once cast as votive offerings into a sacred mountaintop pond in Yamagata. Mostly late Heian-period wakyō with lyrical bird and plant motifs, they embody Japan's distinctive water-spirit worship and the refined courtly aesthetic of the twelfth century.

The National Treasure 'Ink Writing by Wuzhun Shifan: Certificate of Enlightenment for Enni' at Tofuku-ji Temple in Kyoto is a formal inka certificate written on silk in 1237 by the great Chinese Chan master Wuzhun Shifan for his Japanese disciple Enni Ben'en. This masterpiece of Zen calligraphy documents a pivotal moment in the transmission of Zen Buddhism from China to Japan, and stands as one of the finest examples of Southern Song dynasty calligraphy preserved in Japan.

An early Heian maki-e box for a wish-granting jewel at Ninnaji, Kyoto, with painted guardian kings, a National Treasure since 1954.

Discover the Lotus Sutra (Volumes 2–7), a Japanese National Treasure at Shin-nyo-dō temple in Kyoto. Commissioned by the legendary sculptor Unkei in 1183, this sacred manuscript uses wood from the burned Tōdai-ji and sacred water for its ink—a rare testament to Kamakura-era Buddhist devotion.

A National Treasure at Ninna-ji, Kyoto, this dry-lacquer box was made in 919 to hold scriptures Kukai brought from Tang China. It is Japan's oldest dated maki-e.

The National Treasure bell of Byodo-in is covered with apsaras, phoenixes, and lions, unmatched among Japanese bells. See it up close at the Hoshokan museum in Uji.

On Mount Takao in Kyoto, this bronze bell of 875 bears an inscription by three of the era's foremost literati, ranking among Japan's three most celebrated bells.

A vajra tray, bell and vajra brought from China by Kukai, held by Toji, Kyoto, as the fundamental ritual tools of Shingon; a National Treasure since 1961.

Dharma words of 1179 by the Southern Song Zen monk Mi-an Xianjie at Ryokoin, Daitokuji, Kyoto, a National Treasure since 1951 and namesake of the Mittan tea room.

The diary of Fujiwara no Michinaga at the Yomei Bunko, Kyoto, a National Treasure since 1951 and on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register, the oldest autograph diary in the world.

The Amida triad of Ojo Gokurakuin at Sanzenin, Ohara, dated 1148, the only surviving welcoming triad of its size; a National Treasure since 2002.

An early Heian Amida triad at Seiryoji, Kyoto, vowed by Minamoto no Toru and completed by his sons, a National Treasure since 1991.

The Amida triad that was the principal image of Ninnaji, Kyoto, at its founding in 888, a National Treasure since 1954.