National Treasures of Shiga

The keep of Hikone Castle in Shiga, finished in 1606, has three tiers with gables and stepped roofs. It and its two turrets became National Treasures in 1952.

Finds from the site of Sufukuji in Otsu, Shiga, recovered in 1938 from a cavity in the pagoda's foundation stone. Four nested containers held three crystal relics.

A hall of 1640 at Enryakuji on Mount Hiei in Shiga. Its earthen inner sanctuary lies three metres below the boarded worship space, keeping the basic esoteric plan.

A middle Muromachi-period shrine hall in Shiga Prefecture. Its own name and its address here use two quite different characters for the one same sound.

A Momoyama-period golden hall in Shiga Prefecture, dated to 1599. Its commentary field stands empty, while the structural field of it is a fuller one.

An early Muromachi hall in Shiga Prefecture, rebuilt in 1347. A temple building, it is filed here under the shrines rather than under any temples at all.

A Momoyama-period guest hall in Shiga Prefecture, built in the year 1600. Its category field here reads residence rather than temple or else a shrine.

A Kamakura-period painting in several scrolls at Shojuraigoji in Otsu, Shiga. A copy of the work itself carries a prefectural listing entirely of its own.

A Heian-period sutra box owned by Enryakuji in Shiga Prefecture. Gold marks out the flowers and the rings, and silver marks out the leaves and the stems.

A Tang-period text owned by Enryakuji in Shiga Prefecture. Its own country field reads China, while its own period field gives the Tang dynasty of it.

A Heian-period scroll of iconographic drawings at Onjoji in Shiga, lacking its opening. A complete scroll shares the very same designation number with it.

A National Treasure cast in 858 on Mt. Hiei, this bell bears a dated mirror-script inscription and is Japan's sixth oldest dated bell, now at the Sagawa Art Museum.

Built in 1194 through the patronage of Minamoto no Yoritomo, the Tahōtō of Ishiyama-dera in Ōtsu is the oldest two-storied pagoda in Japan whose date of construction can be firmly confirmed. Its perfectly balanced form — a square lower story and a circular upper story — has earned it a place among Japan's Three Famous Pagodas, and it is a designated National Treasure. Inside are a seated statue of Dainichi Nyorai by the great sculptor Kaikei and early Kamakura pillar paintings.

The Main Hall of Ishiyamadera in Ōtsu, Shiga, is the oldest wooden building in the prefecture — a National Treasure uniting a 1096 inner sanctum with a cliff-hanging outer hall donated by Yodo-dono in 1602. Built on a natural-monument wollastonite outcrop, it preserves the Genji-no-Ma chamber where Murasaki Shikibu is said to have conceived The Tale of Genji, and remains a living icon of Japanese literary and Buddhist heritage.

Discover the Kojoin Guest Hall (Kojoin Kyakuden), a National Treasure at Miidera Temple in Otsu, Shiga. Built in 1601, this masterpiece of shoin-zukuri architecture features Kano school screen paintings and a stunning Muromachi-period garden.

Discover Kongōrinji Main Hall (Daihikaku), a National Treasure and masterpiece of Kamakura-era Japanese architecture nestled in the mountains of Aisho, Shiga. One of the Koto Sanzan temples, it offers breathtaking autumn foliage, historic gardens, and centuries of Buddhist heritage.

Discover the Saimyoji Three-Story Pagoda, a National Treasure in Shiga Prefecture's Koto Sanzan temple complex. This Kamakura-period masterpiece features exquisite cypress-bark roofing and rare polychrome Buddhist murals that have survived over 700 years.

Explore the Saimyoji Main Hall, a Kamakura-period masterpiece and one of Japan's first National Treasures. Nestled in Shiga's Koto Sanzan mountains, this nail-free cypress temple offers ancient Buddhist art, stunning gardens, and spectacular autumn foliage.

Discover the Jorakuji Three-Story Pagoda, a National Treasure built in 1400 in Konan City, Shiga Prefecture. Explore this masterpiece of Muromachi-period pure Japanese-style architecture, part of the Konan Sanzan temple trio near Lake Biwa.

The Main Hall of Jorakuji Temple in Konan City, Shiga Prefecture, is a National Treasure rebuilt in 1360. This magnificent Nanbokucho-period structure houses Important Cultural Property statues including the Thousand-Armed Kannon and Twenty-Eight Guardian Deities, alongside a National Treasure three-story pagoda amid spectacular autumn foliage.

Shiga’s registered properties across designations, with featured heritage and travel notes.

The complete kokuhō catalogue — browse by prefecture, period, and category.

Nationwide jūyō bunkazai — architecture, sculpture, painting, crafts, and documents.