Kofun

This National Treasure at the Kyoto National Museum is the oldest surviving copy of the Chinese classic Shishuo Xinyu, in seventh-century Tang regular script.

Discover the Dailōtan-kyō Volume 3, a National Treasure Buddhist sutra copied in 673 CE during the Tang Dynasty. Housed at Chion-in temple in Kyoto, this ancient cosmological scripture offers a rare glimpse into early Buddhist manuscript culture.

Tobatsu Bishamonten at Kyoto's To-ji, a Tang-dynasty National Treasure that once guarded Rashomon gate. The 189.4 cm figure stands on the palms of the earth goddess.

Designated a National Important Cultural Property, this collection from the late fifth-century Butai No. 1 Tumulus in Maebashi—including house-shaped haniwa, hundreds of talc miniatures, and rare clay food-offering vessels—vividly evokes a Kofun-period funerary ritual. The items, owned by the State, are on view at the Gunma Prefectural Museum of History in Takasaki.

At the Watanuki Kannonyama Tumulus in Takasaki, Gunma, an unlooted 6th-century chamber held grave goods linked to Baekje and China, now a National Treasure.

Discover the Important Cultural Property artifacts from Ama-Miyayama Kofun in Takatsuki, Osaka—including five bronze mirrors, one bearing the oldest dated inscription found in Japan (235 AD), possibly among the legendary "100 mirrors" gifted by Wei China to Queen Himiko of Yamatai.

Discover the National Treasure haniwa excavated from Takarazuka Tumulus No. 1 in Matsusaka, Mie Prefecture. Featuring Japan's largest boat-shaped haniwa with unique three-dimensional decorations, this 5th-century collection of 278 artifacts offers a rare window into ancient Kofun-period funeral rituals. Visit the Haniwa Museum to see these extraordinary clay figures.

Discover the Shichijō Shinō Kesa, a rare Tang dynasty hemp kesa designated as a National Treasure of Japan. Brought from China by the monk Saichō over 1,200 years ago, this sacred Buddhist vestment is preserved at Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Compiled in 543 and lost in China, the Yupian survives only in Tang manuscripts in Japan. This National Treasure at Ishiyama-dera is volume 27's latter half.

At Ishiyama-dera in Shiga, the Shaku Makaen Ron is a rare Tang-dynasty manuscript of a commentary on the Awakening of Faith, kept in five folding booklets.

Held at Enryaku-ji, this National Treasure is a single scroll of two Tang government permits issued to the monk Saichō in 804 and 805. Part is in his own hand.

A National Treasure at Onjo-ji near Lake Biwa, this Tang handscroll in ink line maps the deities of the Diamond World mandala, brought from China by Enchin in 855.

Discover the Bokuzeisho Volume 23 Fragment, an Important Cultural Property held by Shomyo-ji Temple and preserved at Kanagawa Prefectural Kanazawa Bunko. Explore how this rare divination manuscript reveals the scholarly world of medieval Japanese Buddhist learning.

Explore the Important Cultural Property clay products excavated from the Akezima Kofun Group in Iwata, Shizuoka. Over 1,064 miniature ritual objects reveal the rich spiritual world of Japan's Kofun period.

On five hills in Nomi City, Ishikawa, the Nomi Kofun Group holds 62 burial mounds built across three centuries, including the keyhole tomb of Akitsuneyama No.1.

Five tiny pure-gold bells from an undisturbed 1950 tomb in Kisarazu gave Kinreizuka its name. Its swords and gilt-bronze fittings are an Important Cultural Property.

Excavated in 1848 beside Emperor Ojin's tomb, these dragon-patterned gilt bronze saddle fittings count among Japan's oldest horse trappings, shown Saturdays.

A ninth-century Tang manuscript of China's first dictionary survives in Osaka as a National Treasure. See its seal-script columns at the Kyou Shooku library.

Kobe Site in Usa, Oita preserves a 3rd to 4th century moated settlement that evolved into a chief's residence, yielding pottery from Kinai and Kibi trade routes.

A Tang manuscript of the Book of Han, chapter 57 on poet Yang Xiong, at Kyoto National Museum. Taboo strokes and 948 reading marks trace ten centuries of study.