Nara

The Toji Hyakugo Monjo is a collection of 24,067 historical documents spanning approximately 1,000 years from the 8th to 18th century, originally preserved at Toji temple in Kyoto. Designated a National Treasure of Japan in 1997 and inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2015, this extraordinary archive is named after the one hundred paulownia boxes donated by feudal lord Maeda Tsunanori. Now housed at the Kyoto Institute, Library and Archives, the entire collection is digitized and freely accessible online.

The National Treasure Bronze Seated Shakyamuni Buddha at Kanimanji Temple in Kizugawa City, Kyoto, is a monumental gilt-bronze statue standing 240 cm tall and weighing 2.2 tons, dating back over 1,300 years to the Hakuhō period. As one of only four surviving large-scale gilt-bronze Buddhas from this era, it can be viewed at remarkably close range in this tranquil temple famous for its 'Grateful Crabs' legend.

The National Treasure 'Ink Writing by Wuzhun Shifan: Certificate of Enlightenment for Enni' at Tofuku-ji Temple in Kyoto is a formal inka certificate written on silk in 1237 by the great Chinese Chan master Wuzhun Shifan for his Japanese disciple Enni Ben'en. This masterpiece of Zen calligraphy documents a pivotal moment in the transmission of Zen Buddhism from China to Japan, and stands as one of the finest examples of Southern Song dynasty calligraphy preserved in Japan.

Kyoto's Myōshin-ji holds a bonshō with a 698 inscription, the oldest date on any Japanese temple bell. Cast in Kyushu, it is also prized for its ōshikichō tone.

Discover the National Treasure bokuseki (Zen calligraphy) by Mi'an Xiangjie, a revered Southern Song dynasty Chan master. This sole surviving work, housed at Ryōkōin in Kyoto's Daitoku-ji, inspired a dedicated tea room and centuries of devotion from Zen monks and tea masters alike.

Discover the National Treasure Eleven-faced Kannon at Omido Kannon-ji Temple in Kyotanabe, Kyoto. This 8th-century wood-core dry lacquer masterpiece can be viewed up close without barriers — a rare and intimate encounter with Nara-period Buddhist art.

Seiryo-ji's National Treasure Shaka was carved in Song China in 985 and brought to Japan by the monk Chonen. Inside lay silk organs, among the oldest known.

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.

Discover the E Inga-kyō, a National Treasure illustrated handscroll from 8th-century Japan. Owned by Jōbon Rendai-ji Temple and deposited at the Kyoto National Museum, this rare Nara period painting depicts the life of Shakyamuni Buddha with vivid colors and elegant calligraphy.

Daigo-ji's eighth-century Illustrated Sutra of Cause and Effect runs painted scenes of the Buddha's life above the text, an early root of Japan's picture scrolls.

Discover the National Treasure "Autumn Pasture with Cattle" (Akino Bokugyu-zu), a masterpiece of Southern Song Chinese painting attributed to court artist Yan Ciping. Housed at the Sen-oku Hakukokan Museum in Roppongi, Tokyo, this exquisite silk scroll once belonged to the Ashikaga Shogun's famed Higashiyama Collection.

Located in Fuchū Town, Hiroshima Prefecture, the Shimo-okada Kanga Site is a Nara-period government facility designated as a National Historic Site in 2021. Almost certainly the 'Aki Umaya' post-station on the ancient Sanyō Highway, the site preserves two L-shaped tile-roofed stone-foundation buildings and yielded wooden tablets (mokkan), illuminating how Japan's early centralized state managed long-distance administration.

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.

Two scrolls at Ishiyama-dera preserve the Book of Han, China's history of the Former Han, copied by hand in eighth-century Japan, with a Buddhist text on the back.

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, one of the oldest copies of the Shiji sits on paper a Heian monk later reused for a Shingon ritual. The scroll is a National Treasure.

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.

Copied in 768 by order of Empress Shōtoku for a departed sovereign's repose, this scroll of the Sarvāstivāda monastic code survives at Ishiyama-dera in Shiga.

Kept at Taiheiji in mountainous Shiga, these 142 volumes are the oldest dated copy of the Great Wisdom Sutra in Japan, brushed in 712 at the wish of Prince Nagaya.

Twenty-seven sutra volumes kept at Jomyoji Temple in Koka, Shiga, copied in 712 for Prince Nagaya: Japan's oldest dated Daihannya-kyo, a National Treasure.