Heian

A thirteenth-century Southern Song painting of water buffalo attributed to Yan Ciping, owned by the Sen-oku Hakukokan; a National Treasure since 1957.

A twelfth-century manuscript of the Manyoshu, Japan's oldest poetry anthology, copied by the celebrated calligrapher Fujiwara no Sadanobu onto luxurious mica-printed paper. Treasured by the Maeda lords of Kaga for over three centuries before being presented to the Emperor Meiji, it was designated a National Treasure in 2023 and is one of the Five Great Manyoshu of the Heian period.

A 1.85-meter andesite pagoda in Kiryu, Gunma, carved with the date 801 and 45 characters offering merit to all beings, among Japan's oldest dated stone pagodas.

A National Treasure at Itsukushima Shrine, Miyajima: a late-Heian court costume set with ornamental swords, a quiver and vermilion sword boxes dated to 1183.

A National Treasure on silk dated 1153, the twenty-armed Fugen Enmei at Onomichi's Jiko-ji bears a rare dated inscription, a benchmark for late Heian painting.

A rare Heian-period great armor at Itsukushima Shrine, laced with cherry-stenciled yellow leather over wide plates and tied by tradition to Minamoto no Tametomo.

A late Heian great armor at Itsukushima Shrine, laced in indigo so dark it reads as black. Helmet and sleeves survive, said to be the gift of Taira no Shigemori.

A Heian National Treasure at Itsukushima Shrine, the Kan Fugen-kyo in gold on indigo paper, brushed jointly by Taira no Kiyomori and his half-brother Yorimori.

A National Treasure at Itsukushima Shrine: a seven-scroll Lotus Sutra brushed in gold on indigo paper around 1170 by Taira no Kiyomori and his half-brother Yorimori.

A Heian painted cypress fan at Itsukushima Shrine, Hiroshima, a National Treasure since 1952, showing the poem-picture designs of the period.

A Heian tachi by the Ko-Bizen smith Tomonari, its tang unshortened and signed, held by Itsukushima Shrine and linked by tradition to the Taira. National Treasure.

A 12th-century tachi by Masatsune, leading smith of Ko-Bizen, with a deep curve near the hilt; called his most beautiful blade. A National Treasure in Fukuyama.

The Heike Nōkyō is a set of 33 sumptuously decorated sutra scrolls dedicated to Itsukushima Shrine in 1164 by Taira no Kiyomori and the Taira clan, designated as a National Treasure of Japan. Adorned with lavish gold and silver leaf and vivid polychrome paintings, each scroll represents the pinnacle of Heian-period decorative arts. High-quality reproductions are on permanent display at the Itsukushima Shrine Treasure Hall, offering visitors a magnificent cultural experience alongside the UNESCO World Heritage island of Miyajima.

Discover the National Treasure "Fujiwara no Sukemasa Hitsu Shi-Kaishi," the oldest surviving poetry paper in Japan. Written in 969 by one of the legendary Three Traces calligraphers, this masterpiece at Kagawa Prefectural Museum reveals the birth of Japanese-style calligraphy.

At the Grand Shrine of Ise, this scroll is volume 22 of the Yupian, a Chinese dictionary lost in China. Copied in 904, its back bears an Ise priesthood register.

The former precinct of Jionji in Sagae, Yamagata, a Historic Site since 2014, with halls, sub-temple plots, medieval fortifications and an ascetic training ground.

A curved blade signed "Nobufusa," among Japan's oldest signed swords. Forged in Heian-period Bizen, given by Tokugawa Ieyasu, now a National Treasure in Tsuruoka.

Thatched hall at Gachirinji in Tokuji, Yamaguchi, said to have been rebuilt by the monk Chogen in 1189 and thought to be the oldest building in the prefecture.

The eighth volume of the Koyagire, the oldest surviving copy of Japan's first imperial poetry anthology and one of only three left whole, at the Mori Museum in Hofu.

Held at the Mōri Museum in Hōfu, this single handscroll is Japan's oldest dated copy of Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian, brushed and annotated in 1073.