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.
Sacred arms offered to the war god Hachiman at Tsurugaoka Hachimangū: a vermilion bow, arrows, and gold-ground quivers and swords inlaid with mother-of-pearl.
A National Treasure at Yokohama's Kanazawa Bunko: 16,692 Buddhist scriptures and 4,149 medieval documents from the Kanazawa Hojo library and the temple of Shomyoji.
Preserved at Kenchō-ji in Kamakura, the National Treasure Daikaku Zenji Bokuseki (Hōgo Kisoku) is a pair of hanging scrolls written by Rankei Dōryū, the Chinese Chan master invited from Southern Song to found Japan's first pure Zen monastery in 1253. One scroll admonishes monks to devote themselves to practice; the other lays out the monastery's daily rules in remarkable detail. Executed in a calligraphic style derived from the Southern Song master Zhang Jizhi, the scrolls are both an unparalleled document of Kamakura-era Zen and a work of art.
Preserved at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine in Kamakura, this National Treasure tachi was forged by Masatsune of the Ko-Aoe school in Bitchu Province during the Kamakura period. Offered to the shrine in 1736 by the eighth Tokugawa shogun, Yoshimune, at the rededication of its halls, the sword is admired for its distinctive chirimen-hada steel and graceful curvature, and is shown with its ornate silk-wrapped mounting in periodic special exhibitions at the Kamakura Museum of National Treasures.
Kōtoku-in's Great Buddha is a bronze Amida cast from 1252, about 11.3 m tall and 121 tonnes. Once housed in a hall, it has stood outdoors for over five centuries.
A National Treasure bell cast in 1255 for Kamakura's Kencho-ji. Its inscription names patron Hojo Tokiyori, abbot Rankei Doryu, and founder Mononobe Shigemitsu.
Engaku-ji's Ogane, cast in 1301, is Kamakura's largest temple bell and a National Treasure. A steep stone staircase climbs to its hilltop belfry and Mt. Fuji views.
Nineteen Heian-period scrolls of Tang commentaries on the Wen Xuan, lost in China, survive at Yokohama's Kanazawa Bunko, designated a National Treasure in 1955.
Painted by Yosa Buson in 1771, this National Treasure album captures ten pleasures of nature in palm-sized scenes and pairs with Ike no Taiga's Jubenzu.
Juben-zu, Ike no Taiga's 1771 National Treasure album, depicts ten conveniences of villa life in palm-sized leaves, with ties to Buson and Kawabata Yasunari.
Uragami Gyokudo's ink-only snowscape Toun Shisetsu-zu, a National Treasure once owned by Nobel laureate Yasunari Kawabata. History, artistry, and viewing tips.
Brushed on the very day of the master's death in 1339, this death verse by the Yuan-dynasty Zen priest Seisetsu Shōchō is a National Treasure held by the Tokiwayama Bunko Foundation and deposited at the Tokyo National Museum. Known as the 'coffin-splitting calligraphy' and 'Birankan,' it stands among the supreme masterpieces of Zen bokuseki.
This National Treasure colophon by Yuan literatus Feng Zizhen praises a lost insect scroll by Song painter Yi Yuanji. Sen no Rikyu's letter saved it from being cut.
Discover the magnificent Important Cultural Properties of Kunozan Toshogu Shrine in Shizuoka — from the ornate Romon Gate and Karamon Gate to Ieyasu's sacred mausoleum tower, showcasing early Edo-period architectural brilliance.
A gold lacquer box attributed to Hojo Masako hides a Tang poem in silver and holds Japan's oldest complete cosmetic set, a Kamakura-era National Treasure.
In 749 Emperor Shomu granted silk and rice land to twelve temples. His autograph edict, blanketed in imperial seals, survives mysteriously at Heidenji, Shizuoka.
A mid-Kamakura Fukuoka Ichimonji masterpiece with a flamboyant clove-pattern hamon, given by Oda Nobunaga for the Nagashino Castle defense. Sano Art Museum, Mishima.
An 89.4 cm late Heian blade by Ko-Bizen smith Sanetsune, given to Kunozan Toshogu by shogun Hidetada in 1617. A National Treasure shown in special exhibits.
Kanbokujo, a National Treasure at the MOA Museum of Art in Atami, holds 311 calligraphy fragments from the 8th to 15th centuries, and a leaf by Fujiwara no Yukinari.
Carved by Unkei in 1186 for Hojo Tokimasa, five National Treasure statues at Ganjojuin Temple in Izu mark the birth of Kamakura realism. Full visiting guide inside.