Kamakura

Teika copied the Gosen Wakashu into one volume in 1234, aged 73. This Tenpuku-bon original, full of his own notes, is a National Treasure of Kyoto's Reizei family.

A National Treasure at Kyoto's Daitoku-ji: an autograph decree Emperor Go-Daigo wrote in 1333, fixing that only the founder's lineage could ever lead the temple.

Kyoto's Reizei family keeps the only Korai Futeisho in Fujiwara no Shunzei's own hand: the 1197 first version of his poetic treatise, written at eighty-four.

Discover the Diamond Sutra (Kongō-kyō) by Zhang Jizhi, a National Treasure of Japan housed at Chishaku-in Temple in Kyoto. This 1253 masterpiece of Southern Song calligraphy represents one of the finest examples of Chinese brushwork preserved in Japan.

Owned by the Reizei-ke Shiguretei Bunko Foundation in Kyoto and designated an Important Cultural Property, this set of six bound volumes preserves the private waka anthologies of six celebrated Heian poets—Sosei, Kanesuke, Muneyuki, Henjō, Takamitsu, and Komachi—copied onto luxurious karakami (Chinese-style decorated paper) printed with mica-shimmering arabesque patterns. Marginalia by Fujiwara no Teika confirm its role as a working reference for one of Japan's greatest poet-editors, making it a treasure that unites courtly aesthetics with the foundational history of Japanese poetry.

Two silk scrolls in the hand of Jikusen Bonsen, a Chan monk who left Yuan China in 1329, written for a Zen abbot's installation. Held at closed Ryoko-in in Kyoto.

The National Treasure 'Portrait of Monk Myōe' held at Kōzan-ji temple in Kyoto is a uniquely unconventional portrait from the Kamakura period, depicting the revered Kegon Buddhist monk Myōe Shōnin meditating atop a pine tree deep in the mountains. Attributed to his disciple Enichi-bō Jōnin, this 13th-century masterpiece is celebrated for its innovative composition that places the human figure small within a dominant natural landscape, and for its stylistic connections to Song-dynasty Chinese painting.

Discover the Shūi Gusō, the only known autograph self-compiled poetry anthology from medieval Japan, handwritten by the legendary poet Fujiwara no Teika. This National Treasure is preserved by the Reizei family in 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.

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 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.