Kamakura

A Kamakura tachi of the Aoe school at the Hikari Museum, Takayama, a National Treasure since 1955, given by Ashikaga Yoshiaki to the Shimazu of Satsuma.

The oldest copy, made in 1291, of Ennin's diary of his nine years in Tang China, a National Treasure since 1952, deposited at the Kyoto National Museum.

Discover a life-sized early Kamakura-period bronze statue of Akasagarbha Bodhisattva — a nationally designated Important Cultural Property preserved with its original canopy and halo in the remote mountain village of Itoshiro, Gifu. Once the sacred body of Hakusan Chukyo Shrine, this masterpiece embodies the flourishing of Hakusan mountain faith.

Cast in 1326 for Enpuku-ji Temple in Matsushima, the Unpan at Zuiganji is a rare Kamakura-period bronze gong shaped like a cloud, used to summon Zen monks. Discover this Important Cultural Property at the Seiryuden Treasure Hall.

Standing at the southern tip of Oshima Island in Matsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, the Oshu Mishima Raiken Stele is a slate monument over three meters tall, erected in 1307 by more than thirty disciples to honor the monk Raiken, who never left the island during twenty-two years of solitary practice. Its 643 characters of cursive script were both composed and brushed by the celebrated Chinese émigré monk Issan Ichinei. Designated an Important Cultural Property in 1955, it is one of the finest dated cursive stone inscriptions surviving from the late Kamakura period.

Originally preserved as a sacred treasure in an Ainu household in Hidaka, Hokkaido, this silver-mounted Kamakura-period tachi survives as a rare early example of Ezo-style ceremonial swords. Held by the Tohoku History Museum in Tagajo, Miyagi.

The Ebisu hall at Ishida Shrine in Ayabe is northern Kyoto's oldest shrine building, raised in 1311 and dated by its ridge tag, with rare early Zen-style detail.

The Gorinto of Iwashimizu Hachimangu, a late Kamakura stone pagoda nearly 6 metres high, is called the Seafaring Monument after a legend of a merchant saved at sea.

A 15.2-meter granite stupa raised in 1286 by the monk Eison alongside the rebuilt Uji Bridge. Japan's largest surviving pre-modern stone pagoda, standing on a small island just upstream of Byodo-in.

A late Kamakura one-bay nagare-style subsidiary shrine at Ujigami Shrine in Uji, Kyoto, designated in 1912 and now an Important Cultural Property.

The early Kamakura worship hall of Ujigami Shrine in Uji, Kyoto, a National Treasure since 1952, residential in style and the oldest surviving worship hall.

Uji Shrine's main hall is a three-bay nagare-zukuri of the Kamakura period. Until 1883 it was one shrine with Ujigami uphill. A looking-back rabbit guides you here.

The five-storied pagoda of Kaijusenji in Kizugawa, Kyoto, completed in 1214 and a National Treasure since 1952, with unique bracketing and a first-storey pent roof.

Five-ring stone pagoda of the late Kamakura period at Gansenji in Kizugawa, Kyoto, over 2 metres tall, a Yamato-style example said to be a Todaiji official's grave.

Granite thirteen-storey pagoda of the late Kamakura period at Gansenji in Kizugawa, Kyoto, 5.5 metres tall, carved with Sanskrit syllables of the four Buddhas.

Granite niche shrine of 1312 at Gansenji in Kizugawa, Kyoto: two posts carry a single-stone hipped roof over a low-relief Fudo Myoo and a dated inscription.

A Kamakura-period four-legged gate on Hachijo-dori marking Tō-ji's northern edge and opening onto Kushige-koji, a lane that keeps its Heian-period width.

An early Kamakura eight-legged gate on Omiya-dori at Tō-ji's northeast corner, where five Fushimi Inari portable shrines are welcomed every year on May 3.

A 1.6-meter wooden pagoda donated to Tō-ji in 1240 by Senyomon-in and found in the Founder's Hall in 1955. Its details, dating and when it may be on view.

Tō-ji's only National Treasure gate, an early Kamakura eight-legged gate on the west side, keeps archaic rafters, bargeboards and gable framing. Its story.