Kamakura

Experience the Ikakeji Shishimon Kenukigata Tachi, Japan's earliest kenukigata sword with unique gold lacquer and three lion designs. Visit this National Treasure at Kasuga Taisha Museum in Nara.

Experience the magnificent 6.5-meter Da-daiko ceremonial drums at Nara's Kasuga Taisha shrine. These Important Cultural Properties from the Kamakura period showcase dragons, phoenixes, and 900 years of unbroken gagaku court music tradition.

Explore the remarkable Iron Pagoda at Saidaiji Temple, a National Treasure showcasing medieval Japanese metalwork. Learn about this hidden gem's history, visiting tips, and why it's worth adding to your Nara itinerary.

Experience Japan's only National Treasure building in Kobe - Taisan-ji Temple Main Hall. This 700-year-old Buddhist masterpiece features unique hybrid architecture blending Japanese and Chinese styles, rare demon exorcism ceremonies, and serene forest settings just 30 minutes from downtown Kobe.

Experience the 14th-century Fudōdō at Mount Koya, a National Treasure uniquely blending Heian aristocratic architecture with Buddhist sacred space. Home to Unkei's masterpiece sculptures and offering authentic esoteric rituals in UNESCO World Heritage Koyasan.

Discover Kandani Shrine's National Treasure main hall in Kagawa - Japan's oldest shrine building with a confirmed date of 1219. Experience pristine Kamakura-period architecture, the nagare-zukuri style, and 1200 years of continuous worship at the foot of Mt. Goshikidai.

Experience Akishino-dera Temple's 8th-century National Treasure hall, Japan's only ancient Gigeiten statue, and enchanting moss garden with 120 varieties. This hidden Nara sanctuary offers intimate access to 1,300 years of Buddhist art away from crowds.

Preserved in Aichi Prefecture and designated an Important Cultural Property in 1957, this unsigned katana is attributed to the Yoshioka Ichimonji school of Bizen Province, active from the mid to late Kamakura period. Although shortened (o-suriage), the blade retains a vivid midare-utsuri and a richly varied hamon of choji clove-blossoms mixed with gunome and tobiyaki—hallmarks of this celebrated school. With its excellent workmanship and remarkably healthy condition, it offers a rare window into the Bizen tradition, the apex of Japan's five great sword-making schools (Gokaden).

A grandly proportioned katana attributed to the Kamakura-to-Nanbokucho master Sadamune, this Important Cultural Property descended through the Owari Tokugawa family and is now displayed at the Nagoya Sword Museum (Touken World) in Aichi.

Shortened long ago and unsigned, this Kamakura blade in Nagoya is attributed to the Kyoto smith Kunitoshi by its temper and point, and is unusually well preserved.

An unsigned Kamakura katana attributed to Moritoshi of Bitchu's Old Aoe school, an Important Cultural Property since 1950, and where to see Aoe blades in Nagoya.

Discover the Sword (Unsigned, Rai Kunimitsu), an Important Cultural Property held privately in Aichi and once part of the Tokugawa shogunal collection. Forged in late Kamakura-period Kyoto by the master Rai Kunimitsu, this 69.6 cm blade exemplifies the refined Yamashiro tradition. Explore its history, artistry, 1960 designation, and where to see Kunimitsu's other works in Nagoya.

Discover the Three-Eared Jar with Chrysanthemum Design (Tamba ware), an Important Cultural Property of Japan housed at the Aichi Prefectural Ceramic Museum. Crafted in the early 13th century at one of Japan's Six Ancient Kilns, this exquisite jar features bold chrysanthemum incisions and a pristine form. Learn about its history, artistic significance, and visitor information.

A Kamakura-period silk mandala of Butsugen Butsumo, the Buddha-Eye Mother whose eye embodies wisdom. It served an esoteric rite and survives privately in Aichi.

A late-Kamakura tachi by Kyoto's Rai Kunimitsu, slender for the master and shortened yet still signed. An Important Cultural Property now held in Nagoya, Aichi.

Discover the National Treasure 'Portrait of a Court Lady' (Kyūjo-zu), a Yuan Dynasty masterpiece depicting a woman in male court attire with a flute at her sash. Explore its storied provenance from the Ashikaga Shogunal collection to the legendary collector Ohara Magosaburō, its connection to the ancient flute virtuoso Huan Yi, and how to view this enigmatic painting at the Kyoto National Museum and the 2026 special exhibition at the Ohara Museum of Art in Kurashiki.

Discover the Okuiri, a National Treasure commentary on The Tale of Genji handwritten by the legendary poet Fujiwara no Teika around 1233. Learn about this invaluable manuscript's history, significance, and its role in preserving Japan's greatest literary masterpiece.

An Important Cultural Property preserved in Kyoto, this silk-mounted hanging scroll portrays Bai Juyi (Hakurakuten), the Tang dynasty Chinese poet whose verse most profoundly shaped Heian-period Japanese literature. Famous for the Song of Everlasting Sorrow and the Song of the Pipa, Bai Juyi inspired masterpieces such as The Tale of Genji and The Pillow Book. The painting embodies refined silk-painting craftsmanship and the deep cultural dialogue between East Asian civilizations, complemented by the Kyoto National Museum and the Gion Festival's Hakurakuten-yama float.

Discover the Hōrōkaku Mandala (Color on Silk), a rare esoteric Buddhist painting linked to Kyoto's Shingon tradition. Explore its symbolism, the Pavilion of Treasures, and how to experience this spiritual heritage.

The Koogimi-shu copies a Heian poet's verse in a Kamakura hand. Named an Important Cultural Property in 1939, it is now missing. Where her calligraphy survives.