Heian

平安

Browse Japan’s cultural heritage from the Heian period (794 – 1185). Filter by prefecture, type, and keyword, with concise stories, maps, and travel tips.

3,530 total Heian Period 794 – 1185
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Wooden Standing Statue of Shaka Nyorai (by Zhang Yanjiao and Zhang Yanxi; brought back by Chonen, in the Main Hall)
Kyoto 北宋
Wooden Standing Statue of Shaka Nyorai (by Zhang Yanjiao and Zhang Yanxi; brought back by Chonen, in the Main Hall)

Seiryo-ji's National Treasure Shaka was carved in Song China in 985 and brought to Japan by the monk Chonen. Inside lay silk organs, among the oldest known.
Wooden Standing Statue of Eleven-Headed Kannon (in the Main Hall)
Kyoto 平安
Wooden Standing Statue of Eleven-Headed Kannon (in the Main Hall)

Discover the National Treasure wooden standing Eleven-Faced Kannon statue at Rokuhara Mitsuji Temple in Kyoto. Carved in 951 by the monk Kuya, this sacred hidden Buddha is unveiled only once every 12 years during the Year of the Dragon.
Wooden Standing Statues of the Twelve Divine Generals (attributed to Chosei)
Kyoto 平安
Wooden Standing Statues of the Twelve Divine Generals (attributed to Chosei)

The National Treasure Wooden Standing Statues of the Twelve Divine Generals at Kōryū-ji Temple in Kyoto are Japan's oldest surviving wooden examples of these iconic Buddhist guardian sculptures. Created in 1064 by Chōsei, a disciple of the legendary sculptor Jōchō, these twelve armored warriors protecting the Medicine Buddha showcase the refined artistry of mid-Heian period woodcarving. Experience them up close without glass cases in Kyoto's oldest temple.
Wooden Goddess Seated Statue
Kyoto 平安
Wooden Goddess Seated Statue

Discover the National Treasure Wooden Seated Goddess Statues at Tō-ji Temple (Kyōōgokoku-ji) in Kyoto. These 9th-century Heian-period sculptures are among Japan's oldest surviving Shinto deity carvings, reflecting the fascinating fusion of Buddhism and Shinto known as shinbutsu-shūgō.
Wooden Standing Statues of Thousand-Armed Kannon (in the Main Hall of Rengeoin)
Kyoto 平安～鎌倉
Wooden Standing Statues of Thousand-Armed Kannon (in the Main Hall of Rengeoin)

Sanjusangen-do's 1,001 standing Thousand-Armed Kannon include 124 Heian figures saved from the 1249 fire. The full set became a National Treasure in 2018.
Wooden Standing Statue of Thousand-Armed Kannon (in the Lecture Hall)
Kyoto 平安
Wooden Standing Statue of Thousand-Armed Kannon (in the Lecture Hall)

A ninth-century National Treasure at Koryu-ji, this 266 cm Thousand-Armed Kannon was carved from a single cypress block and shows eleven faces and forty arms.
Wooden Standing Statue of Thousand-Armed Kannon
Kyoto 平安
Wooden Standing Statue of Thousand-Armed Kannon

Near Tofuku-ji in Kyoto, Hosho-ji keeps a National Treasure Senju Kannon of the tenth century, cut from one cherry block, bearing some twenty-seven faces.
Wooden Seated Statue of Hachiman in the Form of a Monk
Kyoto 平安
Wooden Seated Statue of Hachiman in the Form of a Monk

At Kyoto's To-ji, the seated image of Hachiman as a Buddhist monk is among Japan's oldest surviving Shinto deity sculptures, a record of how the two faiths merged.
Wooden Canopy
Kyoto 平安
Wooden Canopy

A Heian National Treasure, the wooden canopy of Tō-ji hangs above a secret Fudō Myōō in the Mieidō. Unseen by the public, it is one of few ranked as sculpture.
Wooden Canopy (located at Houou-Do)
Kyoto 平安
Wooden Canopy (located at Houou-Do)

Over the gilded Amida in Byodo-in's Phoenix Hall hangs a 1053 National Treasure: a shell-inlaid black-lacquer square canopy holding an openwork floral round canopy.
Wooden Standing Statue of Tobatsu Bishamonten (in the Bishamondo)
Kyoto 唐
Wooden Standing Statue of Tobatsu Bishamonten (in the Bishamondo)

Tobatsu Bishamonten at Kyoto's To-ji, a Tang-dynasty National Treasure that once guarded Rashomon gate. The 189.4 cm figure stands on the palms of the earth goddess.
Wooden Standing Statues of Bishamonten with Kichijoten and Zennishi Doji (in the Main Hall)
Kyoto 平安
Wooden Standing Statues of Bishamonten with Kichijoten and Zennishi Doji (in the Main Hall)

At Kurama-dera above Kyoto stands Japan's oldest Bishamonten triad, a National Treasure whose central guardian lifts a hand to his brow and gazes toward the capital.
Wooden Standing Statue of Fukukenjaku Kannon (in the Lecture Hall)
Kyoto 平安
Wooden Standing Statue of Fukukenjaku Kannon (in the Lecture Hall)

A 313.6 cm Fukūkenjaku Kannon at Kōryū-ji, Kyoto's oldest temple. Three eyes, eight arms, carved from one block, it survived the 818 fire and stands in the Reihōden.
Wooden Seated Statue of Fudo Myoo (in the Mieido)
Kyoto 平安
Wooden Seated Statue of Fudo Myoo (in the Mieido)

A ninth-century National Treasure no one is allowed to see: the secret Fudō Myōō hidden in Tō-ji's Mieidō, held by tradition to be Kūkai's own devotional image.
Wooden Statue of a Bodhisattva Seated in Half-Lotus (traditionally identified as Nyoirin Kannon, in the Main Hall)
Kyoto 平安
Wooden Statue of a Bodhisattva Seated in Half-Lotus (traditionally identified as Nyoirin Kannon, in the Main Hall)

At Hōbodai-in Gantoku-ji in Kyoto's western hills stands an 88-cm Heian bodhisattva in half-lotus, a National Treasure of kaya wood whose identity scholars debate.
Wooden Statues of Brahma (seated) and Indra (half Seated)
Kyoto 平安
Wooden Statues of Brahma (seated) and Indra (half Seated)

Two of the twenty-one statues in Tōji's three-dimensional mandala, the four-faced Bonten and the elephant-riding Taishakuten are ninth-century National Treasures.
Wooden Statues of Yakushi Nyorai and His Two Attendants
Kyoto 平安
Wooden Statues of Yakushi Nyorai and His Two Attendants

Daigo-ji's National Treasure Yakushi triad: a 177cm tenth-century Medicine Buddha with a gourd jar and seven-Buddha halo, now displayed at the Reihōkan museum.
Wooden Seated Statue of Yakushi Nyorai (by Ensei and Choen; former principal image of the North Cloister)
Kyoto 平安
Wooden Seated Statue of Yakushi Nyorai (by Ensei and Choen; former principal image of the North Cloister)

Carved in 33 days in 1103 for a prince-monk of Ninna-ji, this 11-cm sandalwood Yakushi is the sole surviving work of Ensei and Choen, founders of the Enpa school.
Wooden Standing Statue of Yakushi Nyorai (in the Main Hall)
Kyoto 平安
Wooden Standing Statue of Yakushi Nyorai (in the Main Hall)

At Jingo-ji in Takao, Kyoto, this National Treasure Yakushi Nyorai stands about 170.6 cm, carved from a single block of kaya wood, with a stern early-Heian face.
Master Rigen's Handwritten Disposition
Kyoto 平安
Master Rigen's Handwritten Disposition

The National Treasure 'Rigen Daishi Handwritten Disposition' preserved at Daigo-ji Temple in Kyoto is an official document written in 907 CE by the temple's founder, the monk Shōbō (Rigen Daishi). Recording the transfer of temple management to a senior disciple in his final years, this single handscroll is an exceptionally rare example of early Heian-period calligraphy and a vital primary source for the history of Japanese Buddhism. It is periodically displayed at Daigo-ji's Reihōkan Museum and in special exhibitions at major museums across Japan.