National Treasure
国 宝 一 覧Browse Japan’s National Treasures by prefecture, period, and type. Clear stories highlight what to look for at temples, shrines, castles, and museums—plus maps and travel tips.
A National Treasure ink scroll at Konchi-in, Kyoto, dated 1413: an imagined valley retreat under poems by six Zen monks, Japan's oldest surviving studio painting.
A 1338 National Treasure portrait of retired emperor Hanazono by the monk Goshin, bearing the emperor's own inscription that modestly calls his own features humble.
Discover the Hōjō Shōhekiga at Jukō-in, Daitoku-ji Temple in Kyoto — 46 panels of National Treasure sliding door paintings by Kanō Eitoku and his father Shōei. Learn about these Momoyama-era masterpieces, their connection to Sen no Rikyū, and how to visit during special exhibitions.
At the Watanuki Kannonyama Tumulus in Takasaki, Gunma, an unlooted 6th-century chamber held grave goods linked to Baekje and China, now a National Treasure.
A National Treasure cast in 858 on Mt. Hiei, this bell bears a dated mirror-script inscription and is Japan's sixth oldest dated bell, now at the Sagawa Art Museum.
A thirteenth-century Southern Song painting of water buffalo attributed to Yan Ciping, owned by the Sen-oku Hakukokan; a National Treasure since 1957.
An unsigned National Treasure tanto by Soshu Sadamune at the Tokyo National Museum, once owned by a Karatsu lord, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and the Tokugawa shoguns.
A twelfth-century manuscript of the Manyoshu, Japan's oldest poetry anthology, copied by the celebrated calligrapher Fujiwara no Sadanobu onto luxurious mica-printed paper. Treasured by the Maeda lords of Kaga for over three centuries before being presented to the Emperor Meiji, it was designated a National Treasure in 2023 and is one of the Five Great Manyoshu of the Heian period.
A late Kamakura great armor with helmet and shoulder guards at Itsukushima Shrine, Hiroshima, a National Treasure since 1951, elegant in form and colour.
A National Treasure at Itsukushima Shrine, Miyajima: a late-Heian court costume set with ornamental swords, a quiver and vermilion sword boxes dated to 1183.
A National Treasure on silk dated 1153, the twenty-armed Fugen Enmei at Onomichi's Jiko-ji bears a rare dated inscription, a benchmark for late Heian painting.
A rare Heian-period great armor at Itsukushima Shrine, laced with cherry-stenciled yellow leather over wide plates and tied by tradition to Minamoto no Tametomo.
A late Heian great armor at Itsukushima Shrine, laced in indigo so dark it reads as black. Helmet and sleeves survive, said to be the gift of Taira no Shigemori.
A Heian National Treasure at Itsukushima Shrine, the Kan Fugen-kyo in gold on indigo paper, brushed jointly by Taira no Kiyomori and his half-brother Yorimori.
A National Treasure at Itsukushima Shrine: a seven-scroll Lotus Sutra brushed in gold on indigo paper around 1170 by Taira no Kiyomori and his half-brother Yorimori.
A Heian painted cypress fan at Itsukushima Shrine, Hiroshima, a National Treasure since 1952, showing the poem-picture designs of the period.
A 13th-century tachi by Kunimune, a founder of Kamakura swordsmithing, with a flamboyant temper line of round-headed choji; a National Treasure in Fukuyama.
A Nanbokucho tachi by the first Samonji at the Fukuyama Museum of Art, once treasured by Okabe Kosetsusai, a National Treasure since 1951.
A Heian tachi by the Ko-Bizen smith Tomonari, its tang unshortened and signed, held by Itsukushima Shrine and linked by tradition to the Taira. National Treasure.
A 13th-century tachi by Norifusa of the Ichimonji school, with a flamboyant choji temper line, given by shogun Tsunayoshi in 1707; a National Treasure at Fukuyama.