Heian

A National Treasure at Onjo-ji in Otsu, these ninth-century documents tied to the monk Enchin include two Tang travel passes, the world's only surviving originals.

Saichō's 805 handscroll at Enryaku-ji lists the texts he carried home from Tang China. Partly in his own hand, it bears a Tang prefect's colophon and seals.

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.

Six documents in Saichō's own hand, this National Treasure scroll at Enryaku-ji traces how Tendai won state recognition and its own ordination platform on Mt. Hiei.

A decorated Heian copy of the Lotus Sutra's first chapter, named for Chikubushima island where it was long kept, with birds and flowers in gold and silver.

A National Treasure Eleven-Headed Kannon at Kogen-ji in Shiga, carved from one cypress block in the early Heian period and known for the laughing face at its back.

At Shiga's Mii-dera, a National Treasure portrays Shinra Myojin, a guardian deity said to have appeared to the monk Enchin at sea. Carved in cypress, rarely shown.

A tenth-century National Treasure at Onjō-ji in Ōtsu, Shiga: the seated portrait of Chishō Daishi, the Naka-son Daishi, a secret image opened only on 29 October.

At Onjo-ji in Otsu, this older of two National Treasure portraits of the monk Enchin is said to hold his cremated remains. A concealed image, it is rarely opened.

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.