Asuka

Explore Kitora Tomb's 1,300-year-old National Treasure murals featuring the world's oldest complete astronomical chart and East Asia's only intact Four Divine Beasts paintings. Free admission, cutting-edge preservation technology, and bicycle-friendly Asuka Village await international visitors seeking Japan's ancient cultural connections.

Discover the National Treasure Tenjukoku Shucho at Chuguji Temple in Nara, Japan. This 7th-century embroidered mandala, created to honor Prince Shotoku, represents Japan's oldest surviving textile art and a touching story of eternal love.

A herdboy rides his ox home through falling snow in Li Di's Returning Herd in Snow, a Southern Song National Treasure kept at Nara's Yamato Bunkakan museum.

The Chūmon fronts Hōryū-ji's Western Precinct: an Asuka gate with a pillar on its central axis, flanked by entasis columns and Japan's oldest Niō, modeled in 711.

The Three-Story Pagoda of Hokki-ji Temple in Ikaruga, Nara, completed in 706 AD, is the oldest surviving three-story pagoda in Japan. Designated as a National Treasure and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site 'Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area,' this 24-meter-tall pagoda preserves rare Asuka-period architectural techniques and is celebrated for its stunning autumn views framed by cosmos flowers.

Woven in Tang-dynasty China in a Persian style, this Hōryū-ji National Treasure silk shows four winged-horse riders turning to shoot lions inside beaded roundels.

A National Treasure: a Southern Song edition of Ouyang Xiu's works, edited by Zhou Bida, once in the medieval Kanazawa Bunko library and nearly complete at Tenri.

Discover the Song Edition of Liu Mengde's Collected Works, a National Treasure held at Tenri University Library in Nara. Printed in 12th-century China, brought to Japan by Zen master Eisai, and once admired by shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, this rare printed book offers a remarkable glimpse into the literary exchange between Tang China and medieval Japan.

The 219.7 cm seated Maitreya of Taima-dera's Golden Hall, modeled in clay over a wooden core, is Japan's oldest surviving clay statue and the temple's founding icon.

The Tamamushi Shrine at Hōryū-ji is a 7th-century lacquered miniature hall once set with jewel beetle wings, bearing Japan's oldest narrative Buddhist paintings.

A National Treasure of Horyu-ji in Nara, the Bronze Standing Statue of Avalokiteshvara (Yumetagai Kannon) is a Hakuho-period gilt-bronze masterpiece about 87 cm tall, cast by the lost-wax method. Traditionally believed to turn bad dreams into auspicious ones, it is permanently displayed at the Daihozoin, offering visitors a rare chance to meet a major National Treasure sculpture year-round.

Enshrined at Yakushi-ji's Toindo Hall in Nara, this National Treasure bronze Kannon Bodhisattva stands 188.9 cm tall and was cast using the lost-wax technique in the late 7th to early 8th century. Celebrated as the "Noble Youth of Hakuho" for its serene youthful face, the figure reflects Indian and Tang-dynasty influences in its symmetrical form and translucent drapery.

A complete visitor's guide to the Kudara Kannon, a National Treasure housed at Hōryū-ji in Nara. Discover the history, art-historical significance, and visiting details of this slender, enigmatic Asuka-period masterpiece of Japanese Buddhist sculpture.

The Wooden Standing Kannon Bodhisattva at Yumedono in Horyu-ji Temple, Nara, is an Asuka-period National Treasure known as Guze Kannon. Carved from a single block of camphor wood and gilded in gold leaf, it is traditionally regarded as a life-size image of Prince Shotoku. Viewable only during limited spring and autumn openings.

Treasured at Hōryū-ji's Daihōzōin in Nara, the National Treasure Wooden Zushi is a tall, lacquered Hakuhō-period cabinet that enshrines the bronze Amida Triad said to have been Lady Tachibana's personal Buddha. Standing about 263 cm high, with painted inner doors and a gilded lotus pond at its heart, it offers a quiet glimpse into the devotional world of one of early Japan's most powerful women.