Muromachi

Discover the Niomon Gate of Bujo-ji Temple, a 14th-century Important Cultural Property hidden deep in Kyoto's Kitayama mountains. This eight-legged shingled gate marks the entrance to one of Japan's most sacred Shugendo training grounds.

The Main Hall (Yakushi-do) of Hokaiji Temple in Kyoto's Fushimi Ward is a designated Important Cultural Property built in 1456 during the Muromachi period. Relocated from Nara in 1904, it enshrines a hidden Yakushi Nyorai statue revered as the Milk Buddha for safe childbirth. Together with the National Treasure Amida Hall, it forms the heart of this historic temple connected to Shinran and the Hino clan.

Known as the Yasaka Pagoda, the five-story pagoda of Hokan-ji Temple is an Important Cultural Property rebuilt in 1440 that towers 46 meters over Kyoto's Higashiyama district. As the third tallest wooden pagoda in Japan and the only heritage-designated five-story pagoda open for interior visits, it offers a rare glimpse of medieval Buddhist architecture, housing Five Wisdom Buddha statues and an ancient foundation stone.

Hōtō-ji's Sōmon is a mid-Muromachi four-legged gate, an Important Cultural Property from 1906 and among the temple's oldest buildings, just south of Fushimi Inari.

At Hōtō-ji in southern Kyoto stands a tahōtō pagoda dated to 1438, the oldest of its form in the city, with a rare gyōki-buki lower roof drawn from the Lotus Sutra.

Dated to 1448, the main hall of Mito Shrine in Jōyō, Kyoto is the city's oldest surviving building, a single-bay nagare-zukuri hall roofed in cypress bark.

Described by the national register as the oldest surviving hojo hall, built early in the sixteenth century and listed in 1961. Four dry gardens ring it.

Discover Ryogin-an Hojo, a National Treasure at Tofukuji Temple in Kyoto. Built in 1387, this is the oldest existing hojo architecture in Japan, blending shinden-zukuri and shoin-zukuri styles with three stunning dry landscape gardens by Mirei Shigemori.

The Shoin of Reiunin, a sub-temple of Myoshinji in Kyoto, is a masterpiece of small-scale study hall architecture from around 1532. Designated as an Important Cultural Property, it features the Miyuki-no-Ma chamber where Emperor Go-Nara once received Zen instruction. Alongside the Dojinsai at Ginkakuji, it stands as one of the finest surviving examples of Higashiyama-era shoin architecture, enriched by Kano Motonobu's paintings and a celebrated dry landscape garden.

Discover the Main Hall (Hondo) of Rokuharamitsu-ji, a designated Important Cultural Property rebuilt in 1363. This rare pre-Onin War structure in Kyoto houses a National Treasure statue and embodies centuries of Japanese Buddhist heritage.

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.

The Ōte-kagami at Kyoto's Yōmei Bunko gathers 307 calligraphy fragments across two oversized albums, from a 20-line Ōjōmu sutra leaf to a hand by Emperor Saga.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

Discover Kenpon Bokuga Sansuizu, a National Treasure ink landscape painting attributed to the great Song Dynasty master Li Tang, housed at Koto-in, a sub-temple of Daitoku-ji in Kyoto. Learn about its artistic significance, history with the Hosokawa samurai clan, and how to plan your visit.

Discover Muqi's "Kannon, Monkeys and Cranes" — a 13th-century Southern Song masterpiece and one of Japan's most revered National Treasures, held at Daitoku-ji in Kyoto. A cornerstone of the Ashikaga shogunate's Higashiyama Gyomotsu collection, this three-scroll ink painting will be a headline exhibit at the Tokyo National Museum's 2026 Daitoku-ji 700th anniversary exhibition.