National Treasure

The National Treasure Wooden Standing Statues of the Four Heavenly Kings at Kōfuku-ji's Nan'endō, sculpted in 1189 by the workshop of Kōkei (father of Unkei) for the hall's dedication ceremony. With rare iconography drawn from the Dharani-jikkyō sutra, they may be viewed only on October 17 each year.

Discover the National Treasure Wooden Seated Statue of Shaka Nyorai and Two Attendant Bodhisattvas, enshrined in Hōryū-ji's Upper Hall (Jōdō) behind the Great Lecture Hall. Carved in cherry wood using the rare single-block technique, this commanding 10th-century Heian-period triad—Shakyamuni Buddha flanked by Manjusri and Samantabhadra—is opened to the public only three days each year, from November 1 to 3.

Discover the Wooden Seated Statue of Shaka Nyorai at Murō-ji Temple in Uda, Nara — a National Treasure carved from a single block of kaya wood in the 9th century. Long enshrined as a guest deity in the Miroku-dō hall, the statue has been on view at the temple's new Hōmotsuden since 2020, where visitors can admire its serene smile and full-body honpa-shiki rolling-wave drapery up close. This guide covers the statue's significance, why it earned National Treasure status, viewing highlights, access, and nearby attractions.

Enshrined in the Shōryōin of Hōryū-ji, this National Treasure group of five late Heian-period wooden seated statues depicts Prince Shōtoku flanked by his eldest son, two brother princes, and the Goguryeo monk who was his Buddhist teacher. Created around 1121 for the prince's 500th-anniversary memorial, the sculptures are opened to the public only during the Otaiya and Oeshiki services each March, offering a rare glimpse into a thousand-year-old devotional world.

Treasured at Hōryū-ji's Daihōzōin in Nara, the National Treasure Wooden Zushi is a tall, lacquered Hakuhō-period cabinet that enshrines the bronze Amida Triad said to have been Lady Tachibana's personal Buddha. Standing about 263 cm high, with painted inner doors and a gilded lotus pond at its heart, it offers a quiet glimpse into the devotional world of one of early Japan's most powerful women.

A National Treasure enshrined at Yoshino Mikumari Shrine in Nara Prefecture, this seated wooden statue of Tamayorihime-no-Mikoto was created in 1251 by a Buddhist sculptor for the imperial patron Senyōmon'in. Its ink inscription gives the precise date, making it a rare dated example among Kamakura-period Shinto sculpture. Carved in joined-block cypress with inlaid crystal eyes, it portrays its subject as a refined court lady and is widely regarded as Japan's finest surviving goddess image. This guide introduces the statue and the World Heritage shrine that has sheltered it for centuries.

A detailed guide to the National Treasure Wooden Standing Statues of Tentōki and Ryūtōki, a pair of lantern-bearing demon figures carved by Kōben—third son of Unkei—in 1215 and displayed today in the Kokuhō-kan of Kōfuku-ji Temple in Nara.

The Wooden Seated Statue of Maitreya Buddha at Tōdai-ji in Nara is a National Treasure carved in the early 9th century, during the early Heian period. Standing only 39 cm tall yet possessing a monumental presence, it earned the nickname Kokoromi no Daibutsu, or the Trial Great Buddha. Treasured since the Kamakura era as a sacred image believed to have been carved by Rōben Sōjō, the founding abbot of Tōdai-ji, this masterpiece of early Heian Nara-region sculpture can be viewed at the Tōdai-ji Museum when on display.

At Yakushiji in Nara, a small eighth-century painting on hemp shows Kichijoten, goddess of fortune, raising a flaming jewel. It is shown only days each January.

Discover Shokoji Temple in Takaoka, Toyama — a recently designated National Treasure featuring 12 magnificent Edo-period buildings, the Seven Wonders, and a 23-year restoration masterpiece. Plan your visit to this hidden gem of Japanese Buddhist heritage.

Rising 22 meters above a forested mountain valley in Obama City, Fukui, the Three-Storied Pagoda of Myōtsū-ji was completed in 1270 during the mid-Kamakura period. As one of only two structures designated National Treasures in all of Fukui Prefecture, this hinoki-bark-roofed pagoda is celebrated as the earliest example of a Japanese pagoda incorporating the 'kobushi-bana' ornamentation of the imported daibutsuyō style — a transitional masterpiece set in primeval mountain stillness.

Hidden in a deep mountain valley in Obama City, Fukui Prefecture, the Myotsuji Main Hall is a thirteenth-century cypress-bark-roofed Buddhist hall and the only National Treasure architecture in Fukui Prefecture. Reconstructed in 1258, it elegantly fuses traditional Japanese styling with newer continental building techniques, and enshrines four Important Cultural Property statues including a serene Heian-period Medicine Buddha. Together with the equally celebrated three-story pagoda, it preserves a sublime atmosphere of medieval esoteric Buddhism deep in the forests of Wakasa.

At Eiheiji lies Dōgen's own 1233 manuscript of the Fukan Zazengi, his founding guide to Zen sitting and the only surviving autograph of this National Treasure.

A 14th-century National Treasure katana named for a killing: Oda Nobunaga reputedly pressed it through a serving shelf to fell a fleeing attendant. Now in Fukuoka.

Preserved at Seiganji Temple in Imazu, Fukuoka, this National Treasure scroll was brushed by Myōan Eisai — the monk who would go on to introduce Rinzai Zen and green tea culture to Japan — on the fifteenth day of the seventh month in 1178. Dedicated to the temple's Urabon (Obon) ceremony, the scroll records Eisai's sponsorship of a copy of the Lotus Sutra and survives as one of the earliest autograph works of this pivotal figure. Executed in bold Song-influenced calligraphy on sheets of red, white, and indigo paper decorated with mica-printed clouds and birds, the scroll was designated a National Treasure in 1953 and is entrusted to the Kyushu National Museum.

Encounter the Nikko Ichimonji, a 13th-century Bizen Fukuoka Ichimonji masterpiece and National Treasure at Fukuoka City Museum, once treasured by the Hōjō clan and Kuroda family.

Made in 1142, this gilt-bronze casket held 33 copper plates engraved with the Lotus Sutra and was buried on Mount Kubote. Its four faces carry fine Buddhist figures.

Nestled in Iwaki City, Fukushima, the Shiramizu Amidado is a late Heian-period Amida Hall built in 1160 by Tokuhime—daughter of Fujiwara no Kiyohira—to pray for her late husband's soul. It is the only National Treasure building in Fukushima Prefecture and one of only three surviving Heian-era structures in the entire Tōhoku region. Its graceful pyramidal tochibuki roof, three-bay-square plan, and surrounding Pure Land–style garden form an exquisite embodiment of Heian Buddhist culture.

At Ryukoji in Aizumisato, Fukushima, each character of the Lotus Sutra sits on a painted lotus, a late-Heian National Treasure surviving in nine of its ten scrolls.

Discover the Ichijoji Three-Storied Pagoda, a Japanese National Treasure built in 1171. This stunning late Heian-period pagoda stands in the mountains of Kasai City, Hyogo, as part of the Saigoku Pilgrimage's 26th temple.