Kamakura

Discover the National Treasure bokuseki by Yuan-dynasty Zen master Gulin Qingmao, bestowed upon his Japanese disciple Getsurin Dōkō in 1327. Now deposited at Kyoto National Museum, this masterpiece of Zen calligraphy embodies centuries of cross-cultural spiritual exchange between China and Japan.

Discover the Important Cultural Property "Dōto" — two powerful characters by Chinese Chan monk Gekkan Bunmei, housed at Shōkoku-ji's Jōtenkaku Museum in Kyoto. Learn about bokuseki (Zen calligraphy), its meaning, and how to visit.

A Tang seven-panel kesa of Toji, Kyoto, said to have come to Kukai from Huiguo, a National Treasure since 1953, woven with layered clouds in tsuzure-ori.

A National Treasure of Shōjōke-in, Kyoto: a Southern Song Amida triad in three signed scrolls by the Ningbo painter Fuetsu, now held at the Kyoto National Museum.

A 14th-century National Treasure of Chion-in, the 'Hayaraigo' shows Amida and twenty-five bodhisattvas plunging down a steep mountain to welcome a dying believer.

The National Treasure painting of Enma-ten (Yama) at Daigo-ji Temple in Kyoto is a masterpiece of Kamakura-period esoteric Buddhist art. Rather than the fearsome King of Hell, this silk scroll depicts Yama as an elegant, bodhisattva-like figure seated upon a white water buffalo—believed to have been created as the principal icon for safe-childbirth prayers. With its exquisite cut-gold leaf decoration and masterful brushwork, it stands as one of Japan's finest medieval Buddhist paintings.

At Daigo-ji in Kyoto, a National Treasure shows Kariteimo, once a child-devouring demon, now cradling an infant with a pomegranate, a goddess of safe childbirth.

Ninna-ji's National Treasure Kujaku Myōō, a Song-dynasty Chinese painting, shows the Peacock Wisdom King with three faces and six arms on a white peacock.

A Kamakura-period National Treasure at Daigo-ji in Kyoto: five silk scrolls of the Five Wisdom Kings, led by Fudo, painted as icons of an esoteric protection rite.

Two Southern Song scrolls at Kyoto's Konchi-in, the Autumn and Winter Landscapes are a National Treasure once owned by the Ashikaga shoguns and ascribed to Huizong.

At Tō-ji, the Twelve Devas appear not as separate scrolls but across a pair of six-panel folding screens, painted on silk in 1191 and attributed to Takuma Shōga.

A National Treasure six-panel screen at Jingo-ji near Kyoto, painted about 1200 for the Shingon kanjo rite. Its native yamato-e landscape is the oldest to survive.

A National Treasure portrait at Jingo-ji, traditionally Taira no Shigemori but possibly the shogun Ashikaga Takauji. Its sitter and date are still debated.

One of the Jingo-ji Three Portraits, a National Treasure traditionally called Fujiwara no Mitsuyoshi, though the sitter may instead be Ashikaga shogun Yoshiakira.

The Kamakura portrait at Jingoji, Kyoto, traditionally of Minamoto no Yoritomo and attributed to Fujiwara no Takanobu, a National Treasure since 1951.

Discover Daigo-ji's National Treasure painting of Manjushri descending from Mount Wutai on a lion, a masterpiece of Kamakura-period Buddhist art depicting the Bodhisattva of Wisdom with four attendants crossing cloud and sea.

A National Treasure at Kyoto's Zenrin-ji: Amida rises over the mountains, and five colored cords once tied to his hand were held by the dying to reach the Pure Land.

Two Southern Song ink landscapes attributed to Li Tang at Kotoin, Daitokuji, Kyoto, a National Treasure since 1952; the temple is closed in 2026.

Discover Muqi's "Kannon, Monkeys and Cranes" — a 13th-century Southern Song masterpiece and one of Japan's most revered National Treasures, held at Daitoku-ji in Kyoto. A cornerstone of the Ashikaga shogunate's Higashiyama Gyomotsu collection, this three-scroll ink painting will be a headline exhibit at the Tokyo National Museum's 2026 Daitoku-ji 700th anniversary exhibition.

Housed at Daitoku-ji in Kyoto, this National Treasure is a thirteenth-century hanging scroll by the Chinese Chan Buddhist monk-painter Muqi, depicting the White-Robed Kannon in ink and light color on silk. Once part of the Ashikaga shogunate's Higashiyama Gomotsu collection and bearing Yoshimitsu's Doyu seal, it forms the central panel of the famed Kannon, Gibbons, and Crane triptych and stands as a foundational model for Japanese ink painting. A full guide to its history, artistic significance, viewing opportunities, and access to Daitoku-ji.