Nara

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.

Kyoto's Myōshin-ji holds a bonshō with a 698 inscription, the oldest date on any Japanese temple bell. Cast in Kyushu, it is also prized for its ōshikichō tone.

Discover the National Treasure bokuseki (Zen calligraphy) by Mi'an Xiangjie, a revered Southern Song dynasty Chan master. This sole surviving work, housed at Ryōkōin in Kyoto's Daitoku-ji, inspired a dedicated tea room and centuries of devotion from Zen monks and tea masters alike.

Discover the National Treasure Eleven-faced Kannon at Omido Kannon-ji Temple in Kyotanabe, Kyoto. This 8th-century wood-core dry lacquer masterpiece can be viewed up close without barriers — a rare and intimate encounter with Nara-period Buddhist art.

Seiryo-ji's National Treasure Shaka was carved in Song China in 985 and brought to Japan by the monk Chonen. Inside lay silk organs, among the oldest known.

Tobatsu Bishamonten at Kyoto's To-ji, a Tang-dynasty National Treasure that once guarded Rashomon gate. The 189.4 cm figure stands on the palms of the earth goddess.

Discover the E Inga-kyō, a National Treasure illustrated handscroll from 8th-century Japan. Owned by Jōbon Rendai-ji Temple and deposited at the Kyoto National Museum, this rare Nara period painting depicts the life of Shakyamuni Buddha with vivid colors and elegant calligraphy.

Daigo-ji's eighth-century Illustrated Sutra of Cause and Effect runs painted scenes of the Buddha's life above the text, an early root of Japan's picture scrolls.

Discover the National Treasure "Autumn Pasture with Cattle" (Akino Bokugyu-zu), a masterpiece of Southern Song Chinese painting attributed to court artist Yan Ciping. Housed at the Sen-oku Hakukokan Museum in Roppongi, Tokyo, this exquisite silk scroll once belonged to the Ashikaga Shogun's famed Higashiyama Collection.

Discover the Shichijō Shinō Kesa, a rare Tang dynasty hemp kesa designated as a National Treasure of Japan. Brought from China by the monk Saichō over 1,200 years ago, this sacred Buddhist vestment is preserved at Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A Tang manuscript of the Book of Han, chapter 57 on poet Yang Xiong, at Kyoto National Museum. Taboo strokes and 948 reading marks trace ten centuries of study.

This Tang-dynasty scroll at the Kyoto National Museum preserves 172 lines of the Shishuo Xinshu, the world's oldest surviving manuscript of the Chinese classic.

In 741 the monk Genbo commissioned 1,000 copies of this Kannon sutra. A lone scroll survives: a National Treasure of Nara calligraphy at the Kyoto National Museum.

A National Treasure album at the Kyoto National Museum, holding 240-plus calligraphy fragments from the 8th to 16th centuries, once used to authenticate old writing.

Explore the Nagato Province Coin-Casting Artifacts, Important Cultural Properties from Japan's Nara period. These coin molds, crucibles, and bellows nozzles from the Nagato Mint reveal the origins of Wadō Kaichin, Japan's first official currency.