National Treasures
Buildings designated as National Treasures. Where a site has several, each building’s era and structure are listed.
Heian · Temples · National Treasures
Chuson-ji
Hiraizumi, Iwate
Built in 1124 by Fujiwara no Kiyohira, first lord of the Northern Fujiwara clan, the Konjikido Golden Hall enshrines Amida Buddha in an interior covered with gold and mother-of-pearl inlay, and four generations of the Fujiwara rest beneath its altar. It is the one building that survives from Chuson-ji's founding.
Momoyama · Shrines · National Treasures
Osaki Hachimangu
Sendai, Miyagi
At Osaki Hachimangu you can see the shrine building completed for Date Masamune in 1607, an ishi-no-ma (gongen-zukuri) structure adorned with black lacquer and richly colored carvings. The contrast with the plain wooden Nagatoko hall in front of it is also worth a look.
Momoyama · Temples · National Treasures
Zuiganji
Matsushima, Miyagi
At Zuiganji you can see the rooms adorned with sliding-door paintings and the Onari Genkan entrance in the National Treasure main hall completed by Date Masamune in 1609, and next to it the National Treasure Kuri with its bold arabesque carvings and great roof topped by a smoke vent.
Muromachi · Temples · National Treasures
Haguro-san Five-Story Pagoda
Tsuruoka, Yamagata
A plain, unpainted five-story pagoda over 29 meters tall, standing among the cedar trees and stone steps of Mount Haguro's main approach. Built in 1372, it is best seen as part of the sacred path of the Dewa Sanzan mountains.
Edo · Shrines · National Treasures
Nikko Toshogu
Nikko, Tochigi
The shrine dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, with buildings completed in 1636 in the great rebuilding ordered by the third shogun, Iemitsu. Eight structures are National Treasures, including the Yomeimon Gate, the gongen-style main sanctuary, the Karamon gates, the openwork fences and the corridors.
Edo · Temples · National Treasures
Rinno-ji Taiyuin
Nikko, Tochigi
At Rinno-ji Taiyuin, the mausoleum of the third Tokugawa shogun Iemitsu, you can see the National Treasure mausoleum (Haiden, Ai-no-ma and Honden) finished in gold and black, and the approach through the Niomon, Nitenmon and Yashamon gates. The precinct is lined with 315 lanterns, and inside the mausoleum you can see Chinese lions by Kano Tan'yu and dragon paintings on the ceiling.
Muromachi · Temples · National Treasures
Engaku-ji
Kamakura, Kanagawa
At Engaku-ji you can see the Zen-style Shariden (a National Treasure), known for the fan rafters of its eaves, and the Great Bell, a National Treasure and the largest temple bell in the Kanto region. The temple's events calendar includes three special openings of the Shariden a year.
Edo · Temples · National Treasures
Zuiryu-ji
Takaoka, Toyama
At Zuiryu-ji you can walk through an early Edo-period Zen temple compound where the gates and halls stand in a straight line, linked by corridors. Its three National Treasures are the Sanmon, about 18 meters tall and rebuilt in 1818, the lead-roofed Butsuden, and the Hatto, which holds Maeda Toshinaga's memorial tablet.
Momoyama · Castles · National Treasures
Matsumoto Castle
Matsumoto, Nagano
Five connected buildings form this National Treasure keep: the main keep, the Inui small keep and the linking turret, joined by the Tatsumi turret and the Moon-Viewing Turret. Wartime defenses of the late 16th century sit beside a peaceful early-Edo moon-viewing pavilion, and the main keep is considered the oldest surviving five-tier, six-floor keep in Japan.
Edo · Temples · National Treasures
Zenko-ji
Nagano, Nagano
The main hall, rebuilt in 1707 and now a National Treasure, stands about 27 meters tall with a T-shaped shumoku-zukuri roof, and is among the largest wooden National Treasure buildings in eastern Japan. The non-sectarian temple enshrines a triad of Amida Buddha in one halo, and visitors can walk the pitch-dark Okaidan passage beneath the inner sanctuary.
Edo · Shrines · National Treasures
Kunozan Toshogu
Shizuoka, Shizuoka
At Kunozan Toshogu you can see the National Treasure shrine buildings (Honden, Ishi-no-ma and Haiden), built in 1617 on Mount Kuno where Ieyasu was buried, whose gongen-zukuri style became the model for Toshogu shrines across Japan. You can also take in the black and red lacquer and flower-and-bird carvings, the stone-step approach overlooking Suruga Bay, and Ieyasu's tomb.
Momoyama · Castles · National Treasures
Inuyama Castle
Inuyama, Aichi
Standing on a hill above the Kiso River, Inuyama Castle's keep is a National Treasure that the castle's official site calls the oldest surviving keep in Japan. Climb its steep stairs to the top-floor lookout for views over the river, the old castle town and the Nobi Plain.
Muromachi · Temples · National Treasures
Onjo-ji (Mii-dera)
Otsu, Shiga
At Mii-dera you can see the large Momoyama-period Kondo and the Shinra Zenjin-do with its graceful cypress-bark roof. The shoin-style guest halls of Kangaku-in and Kojo-in can be seen on a special visit arranged in advance.
Momoyama · Shrines · National Treasures
Hiyoshi Taisha
Otsu, Shiga
At Hiyoshi Taisha you can see the main sanctuaries of the Nishi Hongu and Higashi Hongu, built in the Hiyoshi-zukuri style found only at this shrine. The grounds at the foot of Mt. Hiei, with about 40 shrines, are a well-known spot for autumn leaves.
Edo · Temples · National Treasures
Enryaku-ji
Otsu, Shiga
Founded by the monk Saicho, Enryaku-ji on Mt. Hiei is a World Heritage temple known as the mother of Japanese Buddhism. Its National Treasure, the Konponchudo main hall in the Todo area, houses the Eternal Flame, said to have burned before the principal image for 1,200 years.
Heian · Temples · National Treasures
Ishiyama-dera
Otsu, Shiga
At Ishiyama-dera you can see two National Treasures: the Heian-period Main Hall, whose worship hall is built out over the wollastonite bedrock, and the Tahoto Pagoda of 1194, the oldest of its kind with a known date. There is also the Genji Room, where Murasaki Shikibu is said to have begun The Tale of Genji.
Momoyama · Castles · National Treasures
Hikone Castle
Hikone, Shiga
Hikone Castle, long the seat of the Ii family, has a three-story National Treasure keep said to have been moved here from Otsu Castle. The highlight is not its size but its roof, layered with a varied mix of curved and triangular gables.
Momoyama · Shrines · National Treasures
Tsukubusuma Shrine
Nagahama, Shiga
At Tsukubusuma Shrine you can see the National Treasure Main Sanctuary, which joins two buildings of different periods, and try kawarake throwing at the Ryujin Haisho that juts out over Lake Biwa. The sanctuary is linked to the Kannon Hall of Hogon-ji by a roofed corridor.
Momoyama · Temples · National Treasures
Hogon-ji
Nagahama, Shiga
At Hogon-ji you can see the National Treasure Karamon Gate, noted as possibly the only surviving building of Hideyoshi's Osaka Castle, the partly cliff-hung Kannon Hall and the Funa-roka corridor leading to Tsukubusuma Shrine. Stone steps lead up to the main hall of the Great Benzaiten.
Momoyama · Shrines · National Treasures
Kitano Tenmangu
Kyoto, Kyoto
The head shrine of all the Tenmangu and Tenjin shrines that honor Sugawara no Michizane. Its National Treasure sanctuary, built by Toyotomi Hideyori in 1607, is a Momoyama building linking the main sanctuary and worship hall through the Ishi-no-ma, and the grounds open seasonal plum and maple gardens.
Momoyama · Temples · National Treasures
Nishi Hongan-ji
Kyoto, Kyoto
The head temple of the Hongwanji branch of Jodo Shinshu, which grew from the mausoleum of Shinran. Eight National Treasure buildings stand here, including the vast Founder's Hall and Amida Hall, the richly carved Karamon Gate, the gold-painted shoin halls, the oldest surviving Noh stage and the three-story Hiunkaku Pavilion.
Momoyama · Castles · National Treasures
Nijo Castle
Kyoto, Kyoto
Built by Tokugawa Ieyasu, Nijo Castle keeps the Ninomaru Palace, six linked halls that form the only castle palace complex surviving in Japan. Inside are Kano school wall paintings, "nightingale" floors that chirp underfoot, and the Ohiroma hall where the shogun returned power to the emperor in 1867.
Momoyama · Temples · National Treasures
Sanpo-in
Kyoto, Kyoto
At Sanpo-in you can see the National Treasure Omote Shoin, which borrows from the shinden style, and the National Treasure Karamon Gate, its black lacquer set off by gold crests. In front of the Omote Shoin spreads the garden, a Special Place of Scenic Beauty whose basic design Toyotomi Hideyoshi drew up for the Daigo Cherry Blossom Viewing.
Heian · Temples · National Treasures
Daigo-ji
Kyoto, Kyoto
At Daigo-ji you can see the Five-Story Pagoda, said to be the oldest wooden building in Kyoto Prefecture, and the Kondo in the lower precinct, and the Yakushi Hall and the cliff-hung Seiryu-gu Worship Hall on the mountaintop at Kami-Daigo. The temple counts six National Treasure buildings in all; the two at Sanpo-in are covered on the Sanpo-in page.