National Treasure

A 45 cm Middle Jomon figurine from Funagata, Yamagata, known as the Jomon Goddess, a National Treasure since 2012 on display at the Yamagata Prefectural Museum.

A National Treasure by Kano Eitoku, these gold-ground screens crowd old Kyoto with about 2,485 figures, the Gion Festival, and famous temples of the capital.

Ouchi Hiroyo's 1370 main hall at Sumiyoshi Shrine, Shimonoseki: five one-bay sanctuaries linked into a nine-bay nagare-style hall with five gables on its roof.

The Inaba Go, a National Treasure held by the Kashiwabara Art Museum in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi, is a Nanbokuchō-period blade by the master Gō Yoshihiro. It passed from the Inaba family to Tokugawa Ieyasu, then to Yūki Hideyasu and the Tsuyama Matsudaira clan, and was designated a National Treasure in 1951. Only eleven authenticated Gō Yoshihiro swords exist, making this gold-inlaid blade one of Japan's most celebrated meibutsu swords.

The eighth volume of the Koyagire, the oldest surviving copy of Japan's first imperial poetry anthology and one of only three left whole, at the Mori Museum in Hofu.

Held at the Mōri Museum in Hōfu, this single handscroll is Japan's oldest dated copy of Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian, brushed and annotated in 1073.

Housed at the Kikkawa Museum in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi, this National Treasure tachi was forged in the early Kamakura period by Tamenji of the Ko-Aoe school. Carried by Kikkou Kojiro Tomokane, ancestor of the Kikkawa clan, at the 1200 Battle of Kitsunegasaki against the Kajiwara clan — an event recorded in the Azuma Kagami — the blade survives in remarkably pristine condition together with its original black-lacquered leather-wrapped mounting.

A National Treasure at Amidaji in Hofu, this 1197 cast-iron pagoda was made for Chogen's rebuilding of Todaiji and enshrines a crystal stupa holding a Buddha relic.

A 13th-century portrait of Bodhidharma in red robes, this Kōgaku-ji scroll bears an inscription by Rankei Dōryū and ranks among Japan's earliest ink paintings.

The National Treasure tahoto of Ishiyama-dera in Otsu, dated by inscription to 1194, is the oldest tahoto with a known year. Its form, Kaikei's Dainichi, visiting.

The National Treasure main hall of Ishiyama-dera in Otsu joins a sanctuary rebuilt in 1096 to a 1602 worship hall on stilts. Sealed Kannon, Genji Room, fees.

A 1601 reception hall at Mii-dera in Otsu, Shiga, and a classic of shoin-zukuri, with Kano Sanraku paintings and a garden pond at its veranda. Open by booking only.

The medieval main hall of Kongorinji in Aisho, Shiga, a National Treasure since 1952, a large Japanese-style esoteric hall traditionally dated 1288.

The late Kamakura three-storied pagoda of Saimyoji in Kora, Shiga, a National Treasure since 1952, its first storey painted inside in brilliant colour.

The Kamakura main hall of Saimyoji in Kora, Shiga, a National Treasure since 1952, enlarged from five to seven bays square and a representative Japanese-style hall.

The three-storied pagoda of Jorakuji in Konan, Shiga, built around 1400 and a National Treasure since 1953, with textbook proportions.

The early Muromachi main hall of Jorakuji in Konan, Shiga, a National Treasure since 1953, rebuilt after 1360 and a representative Japanese-style hall.

The main hall of Zensuiji in Konan, Shiga, rebuilt in 1366 and a National Treasure since 1954, a fine esoteric hall with unusual framing and ornate carving.

The early Kamakura main hall of Chojuji in Konan, Shiga, a National Treasure since 1953, a pure Japanese-style hall preserving old features to its roof framing.

The main hall of Tsukubusuma Shrine on Chikubushima, Shiga, a National Treasure since 1953, combining a 1567 hall with a lavish Momoyama core moved there in 1602.