Asuka

The Gotoh Museum in Setagaya, Tokyo, preserves the National Treasure 'Six Patriarch Shouldering a Pole,' a thirteenth-century Southern Song ink painting bearing the seal of the painter Chokuō. Rendered in the delicate mōryōga style with washes of pale ink and selective accents of dark ink, the scroll depicts Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch of Chan Buddhism, at the life-changing moment he hears the Diamond Sutra. An inscription by Chan master Enkei Kōmon dates the work with unusual precision. Discover the history, artistic value, and visiting information for this masterpiece.

Held by the Nezu Museum in Tokyo's Minami-Aoyama district, Fishing Village at Sunset (attributed to Muqi) is a National Treasure and one of the supreme achievements of Southern Song ink painting. A scene from the famous Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers, it bears the seal of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and is exhibited only rarely, every few years.

Discover 922 Important Cultural Properties excavated from the Kannon-ji and Shikiji sites in Tokushima, including rare 7th-century Analects wooden tablets and the largest mokkan ever found in Japan. This remarkable collection reveals the inner workings of ancient Japan's provincial government, from bureaucratic correspondence to spiritual rituals. Free admission at Rekishiru Tokushima museum.

The Chūmon fronts Hōryū-ji's Western Precinct: an Asuka gate with a pillar on its central axis, flanked by entasis columns and Japan's oldest Niō, modeled in 711.

The Three-Story Pagoda of Hokki-ji Temple in Ikaruga, Nara, completed in 706 AD, is the oldest surviving three-story pagoda in Japan. Designated as a National Treasure and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site 'Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area,' this 24-meter-tall pagoda preserves rare Asuka-period architectural techniques and is celebrated for its stunning autumn views framed by cosmos flowers.

Woven in Tang-dynasty China in a Persian style, this Hōryū-ji National Treasure silk shows four winged-horse riders turning to shoot lions inside beaded roundels.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 bronze five-pronged vajra bell at Shochi-in on Koyasan, made in Tang China and designated in 1928. An esoteric Buddhist implement, paired with a vajra in ritual.

A sandalwood shrine only 23 cm tall, carved in Tang China with twenty-five tiny deities and tied by tradition to the monk Kukai. A National Treasure on Mount Koya.

A National Treasure of Japan, the Wang Bo Collection Volume 28 is the world's oldest surviving manuscript of poetry by Tang-dynasty prodigy Wang Bo (649-676). Brought to Japan via the Kentōshi missions and once preserved at Kōfuku-ji Temple in Nara, this remarkable scroll preserves verses lost in China for over a thousand years.