Kamakura

Yuan Chan master Yunfeng Miaogao's 1284 colophon on a calligraphy by his dharma ancestor Dahui Zonggao. An Important Cultural Property at Kyoto's Kitamura Museum.

A Tang-dynasty stole of Toji, Kyoto, said to have come to Kukai from his teacher Huiguo, a National Treasure since 1953.

Discover the Omuro Sōshōki, a National Treasure housed at UNESCO World Heritage Site Ninnaji Temple in Kyoto. This six-scroll Kamakura-period manuscript chronicles the Buddhist ceremonies and achievements of the imperial abbots who led one of Japan's most prestigious monzeki temples.

Emperor Kameyama's own draft prayer of 1299 for the founding of Nanzenji, Kyoto, a National Treasure since 1953.

The National Treasure Kanmuryōjukyō Chū, preserved at Nishi Hongan-ji Temple in Kyoto, is a Kamakura-period handscroll in which Shinran, the founder of Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism, copied the Contemplation Sutra and filled every margin with meticulous annotations from commentaries by the Chinese master Shan-tao. Discovered in 1943, this rare autograph manuscript offers an extraordinary glimpse into the young founder's rigorous scriptural study and spiritual development.

Discover the National Treasure bokuseki calligraphy by Chinese Chan master Xutang Zhiyu, preserved at Daitoku-ji temple in Kyoto. Learn about its Zen heritage, tea ceremony significance, and how to view this masterpiece.

The only autograph copy of Shinran's Kyogyoshinsho, handed down at Bando Hoonji and now at Higashi Honganji, Kyoto, a National Treasure since 1952.

A Tang manuscript of the Chinese dictionary Yupian at Kozanji, Kyoto, a National Treasure since 1952, lost in China and completed by the second half at Ishiyamadera.

Eleven signed waka sheets from a 1200 poetry session on the Kumano road, led by retired emperor Go-Toba, now one National Treasure scroll at Nishi Hongan-ji, Kyoto.

Three poem sheets of 1201 written by Emperor Go-Toba, Fujiwara no Ietaka and Jakuren at gatherings on the road to Kumano; a National Treasure at Kyoto's Yomei Bunko.

Discover the National Treasure bokuseki by Yuan-dynasty Zen master Gulin Qingmao, bestowed upon his Japanese disciple Getsurin Dōkō in 1327. Now deposited at Kyoto National Museum, this masterpiece of Zen calligraphy embodies centuries of cross-cultural spiritual exchange between China and Japan.

Discover the Important Cultural Property "Dōto" — two powerful characters by Chinese Chan monk Gekkan Bunmei, housed at Shōkoku-ji's Jōtenkaku Museum in Kyoto. Learn about bokuseki (Zen calligraphy), its meaning, and how to visit.

A Tang seven-panel kesa of Toji, Kyoto, said to have come to Kukai from Huiguo, a National Treasure since 1953, woven with layered clouds in tsuzure-ori.

A National Treasure of Shōjōke-in, Kyoto: a Southern Song Amida triad in three signed scrolls by the Ningbo painter Fuetsu, now held at the Kyoto National Museum.

A 14th-century National Treasure of Chion-in, the 'Hayaraigo' shows Amida and twenty-five bodhisattvas plunging down a steep mountain to welcome a dying believer.

The National Treasure painting of Enma-ten (Yama) at Daigo-ji Temple in Kyoto is a masterpiece of Kamakura-period esoteric Buddhist art. Rather than the fearsome King of Hell, this silk scroll depicts Yama as an elegant, bodhisattva-like figure seated upon a white water buffalo—believed to have been created as the principal icon for safe-childbirth prayers. With its exquisite cut-gold leaf decoration and masterful brushwork, it stands as one of Japan's finest medieval Buddhist paintings.

At Daigo-ji in Kyoto, a National Treasure shows Kariteimo, once a child-devouring demon, now cradling an infant with a pomegranate, a goddess of safe childbirth.

Ninna-ji's National Treasure Kujaku Myōō, a Song-dynasty Chinese painting, shows the Peacock Wisdom King with three faces and six arms on a white peacock.

A Kamakura-period National Treasure at Daigo-ji in Kyoto: five silk scrolls of the Five Wisdom Kings, led by Fudo, painted as icons of an esoteric protection rite.

Two Southern Song scrolls at Kyoto's Konchi-in, the Autumn and Winter Landscapes are a National Treasure once owned by the Ashikaga shoguns and ascribed to Huizong.