National Treasures of Shiga

Discover the National Treasure main hall of Zensuiji Temple in Konan, Shiga Prefecture. This 14th-century Tendai Buddhist temple houses over 30 Buddhist statues, sacred healing water, and stunning autumn foliage as part of the Konan Sanzan temple trio.

Discover Chojuji Temple's National Treasure Main Hall in Konan, Shiga. This early Kamakura-period masterpiece of pure Japanese (wayo) architecture features a rare dual-hall structure and cypress bark roof. One of the Konan Sanzan temple trio, it offers serene beauty amid stunning seasonal foliage.

Discover the National Treasure main hall of Tsukubusuma Shrine on Chikubu Island in Lake Biwa, Shiga Prefecture. Relocated from Fushimi Castle, this architectural masterpiece showcases exquisite Momoyama-period art including gold maki-e lacquerwork, Kano school paintings, and ornate metalwork.

The West Main Hall (Nishi Honden) of Namura Shrine in Ryūō, Shiga Prefecture, is a National Treasure of Japan rebuilt in 1308 during the late Kamakura period. This three-bay nagare-zukuri shrine with cypress bark roofing features exquisite frog-leg bracket carvings and a distinctive diamond-lattice front chamber. Explore the shrine grounds filled with Important Cultural Properties including the Rōmon Gate, East Main Hall, and a dynamic Fudō Myō-ō statue, along with access details and festival information.

Standing on Chikubushima Island in northern Lake Biwa, Hogonji Temple houses a National Treasure gate — the sole surviving structure from Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Osaka Castle — along with the oldest of Japan's Three Great Benzaiten sanctuaries and the 30th station on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage. Accessible only by ferry, this sacred island offers a journey through 1,300 years of faith, Momoyama-period architectural splendor, and breathtaking lake scenery.

The Main Hall of Mikami Shrine in Yasu City, Shiga Prefecture, is a National Treasure built in the late Kamakura period at the foot of Mt. Mikami, known as Ōmi Fuji. Featuring the unique Mikami-zukuri architectural style found nowhere else in Japan, this 700-year-old masterpiece stands alongside Important Cultural Property buildings within the shrine grounds. The annual Zuiki Matsuri harvest festival is designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property.

Unearthed on Mount Hiei in 1924, this Heian gilt-bronze box held a Lotus Sutra copied by Empress Jotomon-in in 1031. Its lid bears the title in hollow script.

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.

A National Treasure of Enryaku-ji: a Sui-dynasty patchwork silk robe Saicho brought back from Tang China, said to have belonged to the Tiantai founder Zhiyi.

Discover the Ecchū no Kuni Kansō Nōkoku Kōtaiki Zankan, a National Treasure scroll at Ishiyama-dera Temple in Shiga Prefecture. This rare Nara-period document records grain storage transfers in ancient Etchū Province, offering a unique window into Japan's 8th-century governance system.

Held at Ishiyamadera, this National Treasure carries the Enryaku Kotaishiki, an 803 law on handing over provincial office, with a Sanskrit primer on its reverse.

Saichō wrote this fire-damaged Enryaku-ji scroll in 811, listing the Buddhist ritual objects he carried home from Tang China, each entry signed in his own hand.

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 Jinsho-ji in Shiga, sixteen copper trays cut with gold-and-silver openwork florals once held petals scattered at Buddhist rites. A peak of Japanese metalwork.

Onjo-ji's National Treasure near Lake Biwa: the oldest surviving painting of Fudo Myoo alone, a yellow deity in empty space, born of the monk Enchin's vision.

A scroll Emperor Saga wrote in 823 certifying the monk Kojo's ordination on Mount Hiei. The only authenticated example of his hand, now a National Treasure.

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.

A Heian-period Japanese copy of Du Yu's Confucian commentary, this National Treasure scroll at Ishiyama-dera carries esoteric Buddhist ritual on its reverse side.

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.