Muromachi

Explore the National Treasure "Summer Mountain Landscape," a 12th-century Song Dynasty masterpiece housed at Tokyo National Museum. Learn about its journey from Imperial China to Mt. Minobu's Kuon-ji Temple, and discover the spiritual beauty of this UNESCO-worthy destination in Yamanashi, Japan.

Discover Ōsasahara Shrine's National Treasure main hall in Yasu, Shiga Prefecture. Built in 1414, this masterpiece of Muromachi-period architecture features exquisite Higashiyama-culture carvings and a serene atmosphere far from the tourist crowds.

Discover the magnificent Shinra Zenshin-do Hall, a 14th-century National Treasure showcasing classic nagare-zukuri architecture. Learn about its connection to samurai history and how to visit this hidden gem near Lake Biwa.

Discover Kuwanomi-ji Temple Main Hall, a nationally designated Important Cultural Property from the early Muromachi period. Explore its elegant cypress bark architecture, healing Buddha legend, and rich connection to samurai history in Shiga Prefecture.

Discover Engaku-ji's Shariden, Kanagawa's only National Treasure building and Japan's oldest example of Chinese Zen architecture. This sacred hall housing Buddha's tooth relic opens just 3 days annually. Learn about its 600-year history, architectural significance, and how to visit this exclusive Kamakura treasure.

Discover Kanshinji Temple's Golden Hall, Osaka's oldest National Treasure building featuring the unique "Kanshinji style" architecture. This 14th-century masterpiece harmoniously blends Japanese, Chinese Zen, and Indian Buddhist elements. Home to the secret Nyoirin Kannon statue and connected to samurai hero Kusunoki Masashige.

Discover Jinkakuji Hondo, a remarkable Important Cultural Property built in 1369, nestled atop Mount Jinkakuji in Oita Prefecture. Experience ancient Muromachi architecture, Kamakura-era guardian statues, and stunning rhododendron blooms at this serene mountain temple—one of Bungo's Three Great Temples.

Discover Shofukuji Jizo Hall in Higashimurayama, Tokyo's only wooden National Treasure building. Built in 1407, this rare Zen Buddhist temple showcases exceptional medieval architecture and houses nearly 1,000 sacred Jizo statues.

Discover the mystical beauty of Yohen Tenmoku tea bowl (Inaba Tenmoku) at Seikado Bunko Art Museum in Marunouchi, Tokyo. Experience this 12th century National Treasure with its celestial blue iridescence and explore the sophisticated culture of Japanese tea ceremony.

Discover the enigmatic Ink Painting of Hanshan and Shide attributed to Kaō, a 14th-century masterwork representing the dawn of Japanese ink painting. Learn about the legendary Zen eccentrics, their spiritual symbolism, and how to experience this registered art treasure at Tokyo National Museum.

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 National Treasure "Landscape in Ink and Light Color on Paper" by Sesshū Tōyō, one of Japan's greatest ink painters. This masterpiece from the Muromachi period is believed to be his final work, held in the Ōhara family collection in Kurashiki, Okayama.

Discover the Persian Manuscript in Japan, a remarkable 13th-century document brought from Song-dynasty Quanzhou by the monk Keisei. This Important Cultural Property contains Persian poetry and reveals the vibrant maritime Silk Road connections between medieval Japan, China, and Persia.

Housed at the Kyoto National Museum, the Hanada-ito Odoshi Dōmaru is an Important Cultural Property of Muromachi-era armor laced with pale indigo cords and complete with its helmet and large shoulder guards. Its akoda-shaped helmet, intricate shakudō chrysanthemum fittings, and connection to the Nasu family — famed for the legendary archer Nasu no Yoichi — make it a rare window into medieval Japanese martial and craft heritage.

An Important Cultural Property of Japan held privately in Kyoto Prefecture. This hanging scroll is a Zen ink-trace (bokuseki) brushed in 1268 by the Southern Song Chan master Wu'er Kexuan (also known as Shiqiao Kexuan), giving a verse-poem to his disciple Ming, who served as the temple's head of guests. As a precisely dated late-Southern-Song original, it is a primary document of Sino-Japanese Zen exchange and an exemplar of the calligraphy that came to be revered as the highest form of hanging scroll in the Japanese tea ceremony.

This Important Cultural Property is an ink calligraphy (bokuseki) by Lingshi Ruzhi, a Yuan-dynasty Chan monk and direct disciple of the celebrated master Xutang Zhiyu. Written in 1330 as a gatha for the monk Zhèngtáng, this work connects the spiritual lineage of Rinzai Zen with Japan's tea ceremony culture and is privately held in Kyoto Prefecture.

A Muromachi-era Noh hunting robe in Kurokawa, Yamagata. Ming figured silk, tailored in Japan, bears a gold-leaf heavenly palace, sun, moon, stars and cranes.

Discover the Kasho Ship Flag and Noshima Murakami Family Documents, an Important Cultural Property revealing the maritime world of Japan's legendary Seto Inland Sea pirates. Learn about the Murakami Kaizoku's naval pass system and historic correspondence with feudal lords.

A Southern Song-period silk painting of a quail bearing the "Zakkashitsu-in" connoisseurship seal of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori, this Important Cultural Property descends from the celebrated Higashiyama lineage of Chinese paintings cherished by the Ashikaga shogunal house, and is privately preserved in Tokyo as a quiet witness to Japan's medieval engagement with classical Chinese art.

A hanging scroll in ink and color on silk, named an Important Cultural Property in 1959. Lan Ying, who painted it, was a leading landscape master of the late Ming.