National Treasure

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 clay-sculpted Four Heavenly Kings of Tōdai-ji's Kaidan-dō, designated National Treasures in 1952, are widely regarded as the supreme achievement of Tenpyō-era Buddhist sculpture. Created in the mid-8th century and standing at the four corners of the hall's altar, they have captivated visitors for more than twelve centuries. This guide explores their history, their connection to the monk Ganjin, and what to look for when you visit.

Inside Horyu-ji's Five-Story Pagoda, four clay tableaux finished in 711 stage Buddhist scenes, among them the celebrated weeping mourners of the Buddha's nirvana.

Two pale Nara-period clay statues from Tōdai-ji's Lotus Hall. Called Sunlight and Moonlight, they may in fact be Brahma and Indra. Now in the Tōdai-ji Museum.

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.

Standing over five meters tall in the inner sanctuary of Taimadera in Katsuragi, Nara, the Taima Mandala Shrine is a National Treasure built in the late 8th to early 9th century to enshrine the four-meter-square Taima Mandala tapestry. Its rare flat hexagonal form, hidden early Heian decoration in gold and silver, Kamakura-period maki-e doors bearing over 2,000 donors' names, and pedestal donated as a wish of Minamoto no Yoritomo together preserve more than a thousand years of Japanese Pure Land devotion.

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.

The Bronze Ablution Basin of Todaiji, a National Treasure from the 8th-century Nara period, measures about 89.2 cm across — one of the largest surviving examples of its kind. Likely created for the 752 CE Great Buddha Eye-opening Ceremony, it held the baby Buddha figure during Flower Festival rituals at Todaiji.

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.

Housed at Tenri Central Library in Nara, the National Treasure Harima no Kuni Fudoki is the only surviving ancient manuscript of a gazetteer of Harima Province compiled in the early Nara period. This late-Heian copy from the Sanjonishi family preserves place-name origins, myths, and even the earliest written reference to Japanese sake brewing, offering a remarkably vivid voice from 1,300 years ago.

The Heart Sutra scroll of Hasedera Temple in Sakurai, Nara, is part of the National Treasure Hasedera-kyō, a Kamakura-period set of 34 decorated sutras. With gold and silver foil, molten gold boundary lines, crystal scroll rods, and brilliantly painted frontispieces, it is one of medieval Japan's supreme works of sacred art.

Discover the Hishizukuri Uchigatana at Kasuga Taisha in Nara — a National Treasure dedicated in 1385 whose inscription contains the oldest recorded use of the word "uchigatana," making it a pivotal artifact in Japanese sword history.

Preserved within Kasuga Taisha in Nara, the Hongū Goryō Koshinpō-rui is a National Treasure collection of 292 sacred objects once placed in the shrine's main sanctuaries. Ranging from a dazzling Heian-period makie zither to jeweled swords, lacquer mirror stands, and ritual implements, this ensemble represents the pinnacle of Japanese court craft. See these thousand-year-old treasures at the Kasuga Taisha Kokuhōden.

Discover the Muryōgi-kyō (Sutra of Innumerable Meanings), three exquisite scrolls from the Hase-dera Sutra set — a 34-scroll National Treasure produced in 13th-century Japan. Decorated with scattered gold and silver foil, gold-pigment ruled lines, crystal axles, and brilliantly painted frontispieces, these Kamakura-period scriptures embody the height of Japanese Buddhist art. We also guide you through the spiritual home of these treasures: the famous "Temple of Flowers," Hase-dera in Nara.

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.

Discover the four imposing Heian-period guardian statues enshrined in Kōfuku-ji's East Golden Hall (Tōkondō) in Nara—National Treasures carved from single blocks of cypress, with vivid original polychromy and remarkably expressive faces.

Discover the National Treasure Wooden Statues of the Four Heavenly Kings at Kōfuku-ji's Chū-kondō in Nara — towering, dynamic Kamakura-period guardians carved in katsura wood by the Kei school, now watching over the reconstructed Central Golden Hall.