National Treasure

A 12th-century tachi by Masatsune, leading smith of Ko-Bizen, with a deep curve near the hilt; called his most beautiful blade. A National Treasure in Fukuyama.

A 13th-century tachi by Yoshifusa of the Fukuoka Ichimonji school, with its original tang and a flawless choji temper line; a National Treasure in Fukuyama.

A 13th-century dagger by Shintogo Kunimitsu, founder of Kamakura swordsmithing, named after its owner Gamo Ujisato of Aizu; a National Treasure in Fukuyama.

A 14th-century dagger by the Chikuzen smith Sa, once owned by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and known as the Taiko Samonji; a National Treasure at the Fukuyama Museum of Art.

A Muromachi koshigatana at Itsukushima Shrine, its gold-flecked lacquer mounting inlaid with mother-of-pearl paulownia crests and its blade signed Tomonari saku.

The Heike Nōkyō is a set of 33 sumptuously decorated sutra scrolls dedicated to Itsukushima Shrine in 1164 by Taira no Kiyomori and the Taira clan, designated as a National Treasure of Japan. Adorned with lavish gold and silver leaf and vivid polychrome paintings, each scroll represents the pinnacle of Heian-period decorative arts. High-quality reproductions are on permanent display at the Itsukushima Shrine Treasure Hall, offering visitors a magnificent cultural experience alongside the UNESCO World Heritage island of Miyajima.

The Motoyamaji Main Hall in Mitoyo, Kagawa, a National Treasure of 1300: an esoteric hall dated by inscriptions on its ridge beam and a foundation stone.

Discover the National Treasure "Fujiwara no Sukemasa Hitsu Shi-Kaishi," the oldest surviving poetry paper in Japan. Written in 969 by one of the legendary Three Traces calligraphers, this masterpiece at Kagawa Prefectural Museum reveals the birth of Japanese-style calligraphy.

Discover the Amida Sutra at Jikoji Temple in Saitama, part of Japan's National Treasure "Jikoji-kyo" — one of Japan's Three Great Decorated Sutras. Learn about its imperial origins, golden artistry, and how to visit.

A National Treasure tachi forged in 1329 by Osafune Kagemitsu with Kagemasa. Its tang names the smiths, the warrior patron, and the shrine it was made for.

A National Treasure short sword by Osafune Kagemitsu, dated 1323, bearing a carved deity's name and later kept by warlord Uesugi Kenshin, in Omiya, Saitama.

Discover the Heart Sutra (Hannya Shingyō) at Jikō-ji Temple in Tokigawa, Saitama — a National Treasure and one of Japan's three great decorated sutras, created in the early 13th century under the patronage of Retired Emperor Go-Toba. Learn about its history, artistic significance, and how to visit.

A National Treasure at Jiko-ji, Saitama: thirty-three gilded Kamakura scrolls of the Lotus Sutra, one of Japan's three finest sets of decorated sutras.

At the Grand Shrine of Ise, this scroll is volume 22 of the Yupian, a Chinese dictionary lost in China. Copied in 904, its back bears an Ise priesthood register.

Shinran's own 1256-57 copy of 28 writings by his teacher Honen, in six volumes at Senjuji, Tsu, Mie, a National Treasure since 1953.

Three booklets of Japanese hymns by Shinran, founder of Pure Land Buddhism, partly in his own hand. Kept at Senju-ji in Mie and named a National Treasure in 1953.

Fifth-century haniwa from Takarazuka Tomb No. 1 in Matsusaka, Mie, a National Treasure since 2024, including a 140 cm ship and models of water-ritual sites.

The Uesugi Family Documents, 2,018 papers from the lords of Yonezawa, survive in their original folded, sealed form as Japan's first samurai National Treasure.

A Kamakura-period National Treasure sword signed Sanemitsu, given by Oda Nobunaga to the Tokugawa general Sakai Tadatsugu in 1582, now at the Chido Museum, Yamagata.

A curved blade signed "Nobufusa," among Japan's oldest signed swords. Forged in Heian-period Bizen, given by Tokugawa Ieyasu, now a National Treasure in Tsuruoka.