Kamakura

An unsigned National Treasure tanto by Soshu Sadamune at the Tokyo National Museum, once owned by a Karatsu lord, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and the Tokugawa shoguns.

Discover the Kumano Junisha Gongen Mishōtai, an Important Cultural Property featuring thirteen Buddhist deities on a gilded bronze mirror disc. Explore the beauty of Shinto-Buddhist syncretism at Nara National Museum.

Held at the Kyushu National Museum, this Important Cultural Property is a Yuan-dynasty Chinese tea bowl from the 13th–14th century. A rare kiln effect at the boundary of its black and brown glazes produces a silvery 'rainbow' band that gave the bowl its name. Its provenance traces back to the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa.

The Thirteen-Story Stone Pagoda in Yatsushiro City, Kumamoto Prefecture, is an early Kamakura-period stone multi-tiered pagoda dating to 1230. Designated a nationally Important Cultural Property in 1933, it features a rare inscription naming its patron and craftsmen, along with striking carvings of four-directional Buddhas and fierce demon faces.

Discover the Chorakuji Hoto, a rare Kamakura-period stone pagoda inscribed with the year 1276, standing atop an ancient burial mound at Chorakuji Temple in Ota, Gunma. Explore the Tokugawa clan's ancestral temple and the surrounding Nitta-sho heritage sites.

Preserved at Fudō-ji Temple in Gunma Prefecture, this stone standing statue of Fudō Myōō bears the inscribed signatures of two In-pa (院派) school sculptors — In-ryū and a second master whose name is partially illegible. Stone Buddhist statues bearing the signatures of named sculptural masters are exceedingly rare in Japan, where wooden images dominate. This article explores the work's iconography, the history of the In-pa school, the reasons for its cultural designation, and recommendations for visitors planning a trip to Gunma.

Discover the Komyobo Thirteen-Story Stone Pagoda, an Important Cultural Property built in 1294 on Ikuchijima Island along the Shimanami Kaido. This 8.5-meter granite tower reflects the artistry and Buddhist devotion of the Kamakura period.

Discover the Asagi Aya-odoshi Yoroi, a rare National Treasure suit of samurai armor from the late Kamakura period, housed at the UNESCO World Heritage Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima Island, Hiroshima.

The National Treasure Tachi signed Kunimune, housed at the Fukuyama Museum of Art in Hiroshima Prefecture, is a masterwork forged by the legendary Kamakura-period swordsmith Bizen Saburo Kunimune. Celebrated for its spectacular layered clove-blossom hamon pattern, this blade is considered the finest among all Kunimune works. Discover this extraordinary sword within the renowned Komatsu Yasuhiro Collection.

Discover the National Treasure tachi signed by Norifusa, a masterwork of the Katayama Ichimonji school from the Kamakura period. Once owned by the Tokugawa shoguns, this magnificent sword is now displayed at Fukuyama Museum of Art in Hiroshima Prefecture.

Discover the National Treasure tachi signed Yoshifusa, a masterpiece of Kamakura-period swordsmithing by the Fukuoka Ichimonji school. View this magnificent blade at Fukuyama Museum of Art in Hiroshima Prefecture.

Discover the National Treasure tantō by Shintōgo Kunimitsu, the founder of the Sōshū swordsmithing tradition. Once cherished by warlord Gamō Ujisato and the Tokugawa shoguns, this Kamakura-era masterpiece is now housed at Fukuyama Museum of Art in Hiroshima Prefecture.

Built in the late Kamakura period on reused Nara lecture-hall foundations, Sanuki Kokubunji's main hall shelters a 5.2-meter Thousand-Armed Kannon, a hidden Buddha.

Discover the Main Hall of Motoyamaji Temple, a National Treasure built in 1300 in Mitoyo, Kagawa. This Kamakura-period esoteric Buddhist hall is Temple No. 70 on the Shikoku 88 Pilgrimage and home to the route's only Horse-Headed Kannon.

Discover the Kofukuji Hokyointo, an Important Cultural Property in Higashimatsuyama, Saitama. This elegant 2.1-meter stone memorial pagoda from 1323 uniquely blends Kanto and Kansai styles, offering a rare glimpse into medieval Buddhist heritage.

A nationally designated Historic Site in Ogawa Town, Saitama Prefecture, the Shimosato-Aoyama Itabi Production Site is the confirmed primary production center for Musashi-type itabi — medieval Buddhist stone memorial tablets made from green chlorite schist. With 19 identified quarrying and processing sites spanning the Kamakura through Sengoku periods, this remarkable archaeological landscape reveals the complete production chain from raw stone extraction to semi-finished memorial tablets that were distributed throughout the Kanto region.

Discover the Amida Sutra at Jikoji Temple in Saitama, part of Japan's National Treasure "Jikoji-kyo" — one of Japan's Three Great Decorated Sutras. Learn about its imperial origins, golden artistry, and how to visit.

A National Treasure tachi forged in 1329 by Osafune Kagemitsu with Kagemasa. Its tang names the smiths, the warrior patron, and the shrine it was made for.

A National Treasure short sword by Osafune Kagemitsu, dated 1323, bearing a carved deity's name and later kept by warlord Uesugi Kenshin, in Omiya, Saitama.

Discover the Heart Sutra (Hannya Shingyō) at Jikō-ji Temple in Tokigawa, Saitama — a National Treasure and one of Japan's three great decorated sutras, created in the early 13th century under the patronage of Retired Emperor Go-Toba. Learn about its history, artistic significance, and how to visit.