The term "National Treasure" has been used in Japan to denote cultural properties since 1897, although the definition and the criteria have changed since the introduction of the term. The crafts items in the list adhere to the current definition and have been designated National Treasures according to the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties that came into effect on June 9, 1951.
The items are selected by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology based on their "especially high historical or artistic value". The list presents 132 entries from Classical to early modern Japan, spanning from the 7th century Asuka to the 18th century Edo period. The number of items is higher, however, since groups of related objects have been joined as single entries. The listed objects are of many types and include household goods, objects related to Buddhism, armour and harnesses. Some of the oldest objects were imported from China at the time.
The listed items consist of materials such as wood over clay or to bronze. Often the articles were decorated using a variety of artistic techniques like gilding of precious metals, line engraving, maki-e, mother of pearl inlay or lacquer. The objects are housed in Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines or museums.
The objects in this list represent about half of the 254 National Treasures in the category "crafts". They are complemented by 110 swords and 12 Japanese sword mountings National Treasures of the List of National Treasures of Japan (crafts: swords).
Statistics Prefecture City National Treasures Aichi Nagoya 1 Akita Daisen 1 Aomori Hachinohe 2 Chiba Katori 1 Ehime Imabari 5 Fukui Echizen 1 Sakai 1 Tsuruga 1 Fukuoka Dazaifu 1 Fukuoka 1 Gifu Gifu 1 Gunma Shibukawa 1 Hiroshima Hatsukaichi 7 Ishikawa Kanazawa 1 Iwate Hiraizumi 4 Kagawa Zentsūji 1 Kanagawa Kamakura 5 Kyoto Kyoto 13 Uji 2 Nagano Suwa 1 Nara Gojō 1 Ikaruga 4 Ikoma 1 Katsuragi 1 Nara 25 Sakurai 1 Ōita Usa 1 Okayama Okayama 1 Osaka Fujiidera 1 Habikino 1 Izumi 1 Osaka 6 Shiga Moriyama 1 Nagahama 1 Ōtsu 3 Shimane Izumo 2 Shizuoka Atami 1 Mishima 1 Tokyo Ōme 2 Tokyo 20 Wakayama Kinokawa 1 Kōya 1 Shingu 1 Yamaguchi Hōfu 1 Yamanashi Kōshū 1 PeriodOnly the oldest period is counted, if a National Treasure consists of items from more than one period. National Treasures Silla dynasty 1 Asuka period 4 Sui dynasty 1 Tang dynasty 11 Nara period 16 Heian period 50 Southern Song dynasty 7 Kamakura period 27 Yuan dynasty 1 Muromachi period 2 Nanboku-chō period 3 Joseon dynasty 1 Momoyama period 1 Edo period 6
Usage The table's columns (except for Remarks, Type and Image) are sortable pressing the arrows symbols. The following gives an overview of what is included in the table and how the sorting works. Not all tables have all of the following columns. Name: name as registered in the Database of National Cultural Properties Artist: name of the artist if known Remarks: additional information such as style, special materials, techniques or notable owners Date: period and year; the column entries sort by year. If the entry can only be dated to a time-period, they sort by the start year of that period Type: general nature of object, main materials and dimensions Present location: "temple/museum/shrine-name town-name prefecture-name"; column entries sort as "prefecture-name town-name temple/museum/shrine-name" Image: a picture of the item
Treasures
Pottery Japanese pottery is one of the country's oldest art forms dating to the Neolithic period, and some of the world's oldest earthenware from about 14,000 BC has been discovered in Japan. Early pottery objects were made of clay, unglazed and without ornamentation. Later, during the Jōmon, Yayoi and Kofun periods, simple patterned designs and molded ornamentations were added. Such early techniques were formed by coiling or scratching and firing pieces at low temperatures. High-fired Korean Sue ware, and with it the pottery wheel, arrived in Japan around the 6th century, marking the beginning of major technological advances imported from the mainland. Stoneware originated in Japan with the development of green-glazed and other color glazed pottery in the second half of the 7th century. The oldest item in this list is a green-glazed funerary pot from the 12th century.
The popularity of the tea ceremony among the ruling class had a significant influence on ceramic production. To satisfy the demand for high quality pottery items necessary to the tea ceremony a large number of celadon vases and tenmoku ash-glazed teabowls initially were imported from China from the mid-11th to the 16th centuries. These imported items were copied and produced locally at the Seto kiln in Owari Province. Around the mid-16th century adjacent Mino took over as a production center of conservative Chinese inspired Seto style pottery. The Japanese invasions of Korea from 1592 to 1598, and subsequent relocation of Korean potters to Kyushu, brought new pottery styles to Japan. From the late-16th century, Mino potters developed new, distinctly Japanese techniques such as Shino ware or Raku ware. This was also motivated by a general shift of tastes among teamasters and others, who came to prefer simpler unglazed tea bowls formed by hand rather than on a pottery wheel. Of the 14 pottery items in this list, eight entries are chawan bowls used in the tea ceremony, three are flower vases, one is an incense burner, one a tea-leaf jar and one a funerary pot. Eight objects originated in China, five in Japan and one in Korea.
Japan Name Artist Remarks Date Type Present location Image named Honami Kōetsu Thought to have been a wedding present by Honami Kōetsu1600Edo period, 17th century Chawan; Raku ware; height: , diameter: Nagano Suwa Sunritz Hattori Museum of ArtsSunritz Hattori Museum of Arts, Suwa, Nagano Nonomura Ninsei Life-sized, cock pheasant shaped incense burner composed of two parts; lifelike coloration with green, navy blue, red and gold pigments; used in the tea ceremony1600Edo period, 17th century Incense burner; Kyoto-ware, ; length: , width: , height: Ishikawa Kanazawa Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of ArtIshikawa Prefectural Museum of Art, Kanazawa, Ishikawa Nonomura Ninsei Blooming wisteria flowers painted over a warm white glaze in enamels of red, purple, gold and silver; base is orange and has a stamp mark reading "Ninsei"; passed down in the Kyogoku family of the Marugame domain, present day Kagawa Prefecture1600Edo period, 17th century Tea-leaf jar; stoneware (Kyoto-ware) with overglaze enamels; height: , bore diameter: , trunk diameter: , bottom diameter: Shizuoka Atami MOA Museum of ArtMOA Museum of Art, Atami, Shizuoka named unknown Distorted shape1573Momoyama period Chawan; thick white glaze, red scorch marks, and texture of small holesTokyo Tokyo Mitsui Memorial MuseumMitsui Memorial Museum, Tokyo unknown Discovered in the Hakusan Burial Mound; mouth bending slightly outward, bulging upper body, narrow base; covered with green glaze and drawings of autumn grasses (Japanese silver grass, melon) scratched in with a spatula; character "上" in the inside of the mouth1150Heian period, second half of the 12th century Funerary pot; Atsumi ware; height: , diameter at neck: , diameter at body , diameter at base Tokyo Tokyo Keio UniversityKeio University, Tokyo; currently at Tokyo National Museum
China, Korea Name Remarks Date Type Present location Image or One of four extant tea bowls in the yōhen tenmoku style (three are National Treasures); passed from the Tokugawa clan to Inaba Masayasu and handed down in the Inaba clan1200Southern Song, 12–13th century Chawan; karamono (唐物), natural ash (yōhen) tenmoku glaze; height: , mouth diameter: , base diameter: Tokyo Tokyo Seikado Bunko Art MuseumSeikadō Bunko Art Museum, Tokyo One of four extant tea bowls in the yōhen tenmoku style (three are National Treasures); produced in the Jian kilns in Fujian (福建省建窯) in south China1200Southern Song, 12–13th century Chawan; karamono (唐物), natural ash (yōhen) tenmoku glaze; blue and green spot marks; height: , mouth diameter: , base diameter: Osaka Osaka Fujita Art MuseumFujita Art Museum, Osaka One of four extant tea bowls in the yōhen tenmoku style (three are National Treasures)1200Southern Song, 12–13th century Chawan; karamono (唐物), natural ash (yōhen) tenmoku glaze; height: , mouth diameter: , base diameter: Kyoto Kyoto Ryukoin (Daitoku-ji), Kyoto Produced in the Jizhou kiln (吉州窯) in Yonghe, Ji'an County1127Southern Song Chawan; tenmoku glazeKyoto Kyoto ShokokujiShōkoku-ji, Kyoto Formerly in possession of Toyotomi Hidetsugu; later handed down in Nishi Hongan-ji, the Mitsui family and the Sakai clan1200Southern Song, 12–13th century Chawan; tenmoku glaze; diameter: Osaka Osaka Museum of Oriental CeramicsMuseum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, Osaka Produced in the kiln1100Southern Song, 12th century Flower vase; celadon; height: Gunma Shibukawa Hara Museum ARCcustody of , Shibukawa, Gunma; owned by , Tokyo or Produced in the kiln1127Southern Song, 13th century Flower vase; celadon; height: , bore diameter: Osaka Izumi Kuboso Memorial Museum of ArtsKubosō Memorial Museum of Arts, Izumi, Osaka Pear-shaped bottle; about of glaze at the foot has been scraped away and turned red in the fire; produced in the kiln; handed down through the Konoike family1300Yuan dynasty, 13–14th century Flower vase; celadon; height: Osaka Osaka Museum of Oriental CeramicsMuseum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, Osaka or Name refers to Takeda Kizaemon, an Osaka merchant and former owner of the bowl; later in possession of Matsudaira Fumai; said to bring sickness and death to its owner1500Joseon dynasty, 16th century Chawan; bore diameter: Kyoto Kyoto Kohoan, Kyoto
Metalwork Bronze and iron casting were introduced to Japan from the mainland in the Yayoi period, initially bringing to Japan from Korea and China iron knives and axes, and later bronze swords, spears and mirrors. Eventually all of these and other metal objects were produced locally.
Mirror icons Mirror icons or kyōzō (鏡像) are drawings on the surface of a mirror. They first appeared around the mid-Heian period and are a representation of honji suijaku, fusing Buddhist deities with local Shinto kami. Three early mirror icons with line engravings of various deities have been designated as National Treasures. Name Remarks Date Type Present location Image Thousand-armed Goddess of Mercy surrounded by the ; waterfowl and butterfly on backside; shintai of Sui Shrine1099late Heian period, end of the 11th century Mirror; bronze, line engraving; diameter: , thickness: , weight: Akita Daisen Sui Shrine, Daisen, Akita Shaka image on top, Samantabhadra, Manjusri and Acala on both sides and below Shaka1100Heian period, 12th century Mirror; cupronickel, line engraving; diameter: , weight: Kyoto Kyoto Senoku Hakuko KanSen-oku Hakuko Kan, Kyoto with 32 family members; Sanskrit characters engraved on back1001Heian period, 1001 Mirror; cast bronzeTokyo Tokyo Nishiarai Daishi Soji-jiNishiarai Daishi Soji-ji, Tokyo
Temple bells The introduction of Buddhism to Japan in the mid-6th century led to the development of large hanging bronze bells without a clapper rung with a mallet or hanging beam. They are generally suspended in dedicated bell towers or shōrō. The oldest extant of these bells date to the late-7th century and have been designated as National Treasures. The bells were either engraved or cast in relief, with outer surfaces showing vertical and horizontal relief bands, a boss ornament on the upper wall that sometimes included text, and handles typically shaped in a dragon motif. Thirteen Japanese and one Korean temple bell have been designated as National Treasures.