The term "National Treasure" has been used in Japan to denote cultural properties since 1897.[1] The definition and the criteria have changed since the inception of the term. These paintings adhere to the current definition, and were designated national treasures when the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties was implemented on June 9, 1951. As such, they are restricted in transfer and may not be exported.[2] Owners are required to announce any changes to the National Treasures such as damage or loss and need to obtain a permit for changes in location, transfer of ownership or intended repairs.[3] The items are selected by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology based on their "especially high historical or artistic value".[4][5] This list contains 166 paintings from 7th-century Asuka period to the early modern 19th-century Edo period. In fact the number of paintings presented is more than 166, because in some cases groups of related paintings are combined to form a single entry. The paintings listed show Buddhist themes, landscapes, portraits and court scenes. Some of the paintings were imported directly from China. The titles of the works are descriptive rather than the artists' titles; therefore it is possible to find alternate names in the literature for a given work.[5]
Beginning in the mid-6th century, as Buddhism was brought to Japan from Baekje, religious art was introduced from the mainland. The earliest religious paintings in Japan were copied using mainland styles and techniques, and are similar to the art of the Chinese Sui dynasty (581–618) or the late Sixteen Kingdoms around the early 5th century. They comprise the oldest extant non-primitive paintings in Japan. By the mid-Nara period (ca. 750) Japanese paintings showed influences of the Chinese Tang dynasty (618–907) and in the 9th century early Heian period evolved into the Kara-e genre. Wall murals in the Takamatsuzuka Tomb, the Kitora Tomb and the Portrait of Kichijōten at Yakushi-ji exemplify the Kara-e style. Generally, Nara period paintings show religious subjects, and the artists are unknown. During that period, sculptures rather than paintings were more prevalent.[6]
Mandalas became predominant in the paintings of the early Heian period as esoteric Buddhism emerged with the Shingon and Tendai sects in the 8th and 9th centuries. The evolution of Pure Land Buddhism caused raigō-zu to be developed as a genre, characterised by depictions of the Amida welcoming the souls of the faithful to his Western Paradise as seen in a 1053 painting in the Phoenix-Hall of Byōdō-in.[7] By the mid-Heian period, Chinese style kara-e painting was replaced with the classical Japanese yamato-e style, in which the images were painted primarily on sliding screens and byōbufolding screens.[8] At the close of the Heian period around 1185, the practice of adorning emakimono hand scrolls with yamato-e paintings flourished. Examples of illustrated hand scrolls include novels such as Genji Monogatari Emaki, historical writings like The Tale of Great Minister Ban, or religious works such as the Scroll of Hungry Ghosts.[9] These genres continued to be produced into the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. As during the Nara period, sculpture remained the preferred art form of the period.
Influenced by the Chinese Song and Yuan dynasties, Japanese monochrome ink painting called suibokuga largely replaced polychrome scroll paintings. By the end of the 14th century, monochrome landscape paintings (sansuiga) became the preferred genre for Zen painters, evolving to a unique Japanese style from the Chinese origin. Shūbun, who created Reading in a Bamboo Grove (1446), and his student Sesshū, author of Landscape of the Four Seasons, are the most well known priest-painters of the period. As with most of the early Japanese paintings, these works were created for Buddhist temples. At the end of the Muromachi period around 1573, ink painting had migrated out of the Zen monasteries, and was practised by artists from the Kanō school.[10]
In contrast to the previous period, the paintings of the Momoyama period(1573–1615) were characterised by a grandiose polychrome style with extensive use of gold and silver foil. Large scale paintings were commissioned to adorn the castles and palaces of the military rulers. The Kanō school, patronized by the ruling class, was the most influential school of the period and, with 300 years of dominance, endured for the longest period in the history of Japanese painting.[11][12] The trends of large polychrome paintings continued into the Edo period (1603–1868). The Rinpa school, best represented by Tawaraya Sōtatsu and Ogata Kōrin, used vibrant colors to depict classical themes from Japanese literature and Heian period poetry.[13] In the 18th century, paintings of Yuan dynasty scholar-amateur painters were brought to Japan and imitated, giving rise to the Nanga or Bunjinga style of painting. Two of the most prominent painters of this school were Ike no Taiga and Yosa Buson.[14]
Statistics
The 166 entries in the list consist of the following: 92 are hanging scrolls; 40 are hand scrolls or emakimono; 24 are byōbufolding screens or paintings on fusuma sliding doors; five are murals; and three are albums. Two items, the portrait of Kichijōten and Illustrated Biography of Prince Shōtoku do not fall in any of these categories. The paintings are located in museums, Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, private collections, a university and two are located in tombs (Takamatsuzuka Tomb and Kitora Tomb). A large proportion of items are housed in the national museums of Tokyo, Kyoto and Nara. The city containing the greatest number of National Treasure paintings is Kyoto with 51 and Tokyo with 51 of which 28 are located in the Tokyo National Museum which is the structure housing the most painting National Treasures.
1 2 3 Several entries in the list date to multiple periods: The Portraits of Seven Shingon Patriarchs (Tang dynasty and Heian period), The Five Abhisambodhi (Tang dynasty and Heian period), Scrolls of Frolicking Animals and Humans (Heian and Kamakura period), The Coming of Amida Buddha and Saints of the Pure Land (Heian and Kamakura period). All of these are counted double in this table. For instance, the National Treasure "Portraits of Seven Shingon Patriarchs" appears twice in this table: under "Tang dynasty" and under "Heian period".
Usage
An overview of what is included in the table and the manner of sorting is as follows: the columns (with the exceptions of Remarks and Pictures) are sortable by pressing the arrows symbols.
Name: the name as registered in the Database of National Cultural Properties[5]
Author: the name of the artist and—if applicable—name of the person who added an inscription
Remarks: detailed location, provenance, general remarks
Date: period and year; The column entries sort by year. If only a period is known, they sort by the start year of that period.
Format: primary type of painting, technique and dimensions; The column entries sort by the main type and in some cases further by subcategories: album; byōbu (2 section -> pair or single, 6 section -> pair or single, 8 section -> pair or single); hand scroll (emakimono other); hanging scroll (mandala, portrait, deity, landscape, other); mural; other.
Present location: "building-name temple/museum/shrine-name town-name prefecture-name"; The column entries sort as "prefecture-name town-name temple/museum/shrine-name building-name".
Image: picture of the painting, or of a characteristic painting in a group of paintings
Treasures
Name
Author
Remarks
Date
Format
Present location
Image
Buddhist Paradise with Golden Pagoda (紺紙著色金光明最勝王経金字宝塔曼荼羅図, konshichakushoku konkōmyō saishō ōkyō kinji hōtō mandarazu)[15][16]
byobu 6sect pOne pair of six-section folding screens (byōbu), ink and color on paper with gold leaf background, each 162.2cm ×341.8cm (63.9in ×134.6in)
"III" was cut later to make the three paintings into a triad likely during the time of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. Passed down from the Ashikaga shogunate as part of the Higashiyama Treasure. Marked with the zakkeshitsu-in seal found on Chinese paintings imported to Japan by the Ashikaga. Originally designated as three distinct National Treasures, they came to be designated as a single National Treasure in 2007.
byobu 6sect pOne pair of six-section folding screens (byōbu), ink and color on paper with gold leaf background, each 150.9cm ×338.8cm (59.4in ×133.4in)
Painting of the chapters Sekiya and Miotsukushi from The Tale of Genji (紙本金地著色源氏物語関屋及澪標図, shihonkinji chakushoku genji monogatari sekiya oyobi miotsukushi zu)[43]
byobu 6sect pOne pair of six-section folding screens (byōbu), ink and color on paper with gold leaf background, each 152.3cm ×355.6cm (60.0in ×140.0in)
Oldest surviving monogatari scroll and oldest non-Buddhist scroll covering chapters 38 (The Bell Cricket (鈴虫, suzumushi)), 39 (Evening Mist (夕霧, yūgiri)) and 40 (Rites (御法, minori)) of the novel.
handscroll emakiHand scroll (emakimono) cut into four illustrations and nine pages of text, color on paper, 21.8cm x (23.4–48.3)cm (8.6in x (9.2–19)in)
handscroll emakiHand scroll (emakimono) cut into three illustrations and three pages of text, color on paper, 21.0cm x (46.4–51.9)cm (8.3in x (18.3–20.4)in)
Heiji Monogatari Emaki (illustrated stories about the Heiji Civil War) (紙本著色平治物語絵詞, shihon chakushoku heiji monogatari ekotoba) or 平治物語絵巻 (heiji monogatari emaki), Vol. of the Removal of Imperial Family to Rokuhara (六波羅行幸巻, rokuhara gyōkō no maki)[58]
Detached segment of the Deeds of the Zen Masters (紙本墨画禅機図断簡, shihon bokuga zenkizu dankan): Tanka burning Buddhist statues (丹霞焼仏図, tanka shōbutsuzu)[68]
Detached segment of the Deeds of the Zen Masters (紙本墨画禅機図断簡, shihon bokuga zenkizu dankan): Priest Zhichang and courtier Libo (智常・李渤図, chijō ribotsuzu)[69]
Sutra scroll decorated with line under drawings. This work is the first volume of the four volume Konkōmyōkyō Sutra. Volume 3, a National Treasure, is also preserved complete while volumes 2 and 4 only exist in fragments.
Ten Advantages and Ten Pleasures of Country Life (紙本淡彩十便図, shihon tansai jubenzu) and shihon tansai jugizu (紙本淡彩十宣図) or Album of the Ten Expediencies and the Ten Merits[80][81][82]
handscroll otherTwo hand scrolls with iconographic line drawings, one complete and one with part of the first half missing, ink on paper, 30.0cm ×1,796cm (11.8in ×707.1in)
Five portraits were brought back by Kūkai from his trip to Tang dynasty China in 805. Two portraits (of Ryūmō (竜猛) and Ryūchi (竜智)) were added later, in 821, in Japan.
Paintings in five-storied pagoda (五重塔初重壁画, gojūnotō shojūhekiga)[120]
—
The paintings covered every interior surface of the first floor of the pagoda. About half of the original paintings remain. They are located on pillars, window shutters, doors, wainscoting and so on. Motifs include deities from the Mandala of the Two Realms and portraits of seven of the eight Shingon patriarchs (Zenmui (善無畏) is missing).
Pictures on room partitions: (a) Pine tree and flowering plants (松に草花図, matsu ni kusabanazu), (b) Cherry and maple trees (桜楓図), (c) Pine and plum trees (松に梅図, matsu ni ume zu), (d) Pine tree, sunset hibiscus and chrysanthemum (松に黄蜀葵及菊図)
fusumaPaintings on walls and sliding doors of the Great drawing room (大書院, daishoin) of Chishaku-in. (a) four paintings on alcove and two paintings on wall, (b) nine paintings on wall and two paintings on fusuma, (c) four paintings on fusuma, (d) four paintings on alcove.
handscroll emakiSix hand scrolls (emakimono), color on paper, each width: 31.5cm (12.5in), lengths of vol. 1/2/3/4/5/6: 1583.0/1219.0/154.5/1420.0/1531.0/865.0cm (623.2/479.9/60.8/559.1/602.8/340.6in)
handscroll emakiHand scroll (emakimono), illustrated biographies of famous priests (高僧伝絵, kousōdene), 48 volumes, color on paper, ca. 33.0cm ×1,100cm (13.0in ×433.1in)
Sutra scroll decorated with line under drawings possibly showing the Tale of Genji or "Parting at dawn" (Ariake no wakare). Together with the Rishukyō sutra (National Treasure) this work is part of the four volume Konkōmyōkyō Sutra. Volumes 2 and 4 only exist in fragments.
Paintings on room partitions in the abbot's quarters (hōjō) (方丈障壁画, hōjō shōhekiga): (a) Birds and flowers of the four seasons (紙本墨画花鳥図, shihon bokuga kachōzu), (b) Four Accomplishment or Four elegant pastimes: Music, Go, Calligraphy and Painting (紙本墨画淡彩琴棋書画図, shihon bokuga tansai kinki shogazu), (c) Eight Views of Xiaoxiang (紙本墨画瀟湘八景図, shihon bokuga shōshō hakkeizu), (d) shihon bokuga chikko yūenzu (紙本墨画竹虎遊猿図)
fusuma38 paintings on fusuma and wall panels of the abbot's quarters (方丈, hōjō) at Jukō-in, sub-temple of Daitoku-ji. (a) 16 panels on fusuma in ritual room (室中), ink on paper (b) eight panels on fusuma in upper second room (上二之間), ink and light color on paper (c) eight panels on fusuma in lower second room (下二之間), ink on paper (d) two panels on wall, four panels on fusuma in upper first room (上一之間), ink on paper
Paintings in the Phoenix Hall (鳳凰堂中堂壁扉画, hōō-dō chū-dō hekihiga): (a) The nine possible levels of birth into Amida's Paradise (九品来迎図, kubon raigōzu), (b) (日想観図), (c) Wall painting (本尊後壁画, honzonkō hekiga)[7]
mural14 paintings, color on wood: (a) eight former door paintings and three murals, (b) two door paintings, (c) one painting on the wall behind the principal image of Buddha
Kyoto Uji Byodoin Phoenix HallPhoenix Hall (Byōdō-in), Uji, Kyoto
Divinely inspired Reception of the Two Great Sutras (絹本著色両部大経感得図, kenpon chakushoku ryōbutai kyōkantokuzu): (a) zenmui (善無畏), (b) ryūmyō (龍猛)[140][141]
albumFan paper in folding book form, 98 pages, color on paper, height: 25.6cm (10.1cm), width: 49.4cm (19.4cm) or 19.0cm (7.5cm) (along upper/lower arc)
Depicted are the Four Symbols on the corresponding walls of the burial chamber, animals of the Chinese zodiac beneath them and an astronomical chart on the ceiling.
Also known as tobi mandara (飛曼荼羅) or hikō mandara (飛行曼荼羅) and originally kept at Kojimadera (子嶋寺), Takatori. According to tradition, Shink (真興), who restored Kojimadera, received the mandalas from Emperor Ichijō during the Chōhō era (999–1004).
handscroll emakiThree hand scrolls (emakimono), color on paper, 31.5cm ×827cm (12.4in ×325.6in), 31.25cm ×1,270.3cm (12.30in ×500.12in) (exorcism of the emperor), 31.5cm ×1,416cm (12.4in ×557.5in) (story of the Nun)
Taishakutenmandala (板絵著色伝帝釈天曼荼羅図（金堂来迎壁）, itae chakushoku den Taishaku-ten mandara zu (kondō raikō kabe))[5]
—
Currently located in the middle of three bays on the wall behind the chief object of worship in the kondō (main hall) of the temple, but might not have always been located there. As the temple was previously a Shinto/Buddhist temple associated with the dragon god, there is a possibility this painting was originally intended as a dragon god mandala, or a mandala of praying for rain.
hanging scroll deityThree hanging scrolls, colors on silk, triptych
Wakayama Mount Koya Yushi Hachimanko JuhakkainYūshi Hachimankō Jūhakkain (有志八幡講十八箇院) (in custody at Reihōkan), Mt. Kōya, Wakayama
Portrait of Buddhist monk Gonsō (絹本著色勤操僧正像, kenpon chakushoku gonsō sōshō zō)[171]
—
The inscription on the top tells of a wooden sculpture of Gonsō being created after his death by his pupils praying for happiness in the next world and praising Gonsō's learning and virtue.
Ogata Kōrin was a Japanese landscape illustrator, lacquerer, painter, and textile designer of the Rinpa School.
A National Treasure is the most precious of Japan's Tangible Cultural Properties, as determined and designated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs. A Tangible Cultural Property is considered to be of historic or artistic value, classified either as "buildings and structures" or as "fine arts and crafts". Each National Treasure must show outstanding workmanship, a high value for world cultural history, or exceptional value for scholarship.
Rinpa is one of the major historical schools of Japanese painting. It was created in 17th century Kyoto by Hon'ami Kōetsu (1558–1637) and Tawaraya Sōtatsu. Roughly fifty years later, the style was consolidated by brothers Ogata Kōrin (1658–1716) and Ogata Kenzan (1663–1743).
The Nezu Museum, formerly known as the Nezu Institute of Fine Arts, is an art museum in the Minato district of Tokyo, Japan.
Anrakuju-in (安楽寿院) is a Buddhist temple in Fushimi, Kyoto, Japan, built by former-Emperor Toba in 1137. The temple houses a number of Important Cultural Properties and the emperors Toba and Konoe are buried in the grounds. The Ashikaga estate from which the Ashikaga clan derived its name once belonged to Anrakuju-in.
Cypress Trees is a Kanō-school byōbu or folding screen attributed to the Japanese painter Kanō Eitoku (1543–1590), one of the most prominent patriarchs of the Kanō school of Japanese painting. The painting dates to the Azuchi–Momoyama period (1573–1615). Now in Tokyo National Museum, it has been designated a National Treasure.
Jōdo-ji (浄土寺) is a temple of Shingon Buddhism in Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. As a site sacred to the boddhisattva Kannon, it is the 9th temple on the Chūgoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage. The temple, built at the end of the Kamakura period, is noted for two national treasures: the temple's main hall (hondō) and the treasure pagoda (tahōtō). In addition it holds a number of Important Cultural Property structures and artworks.
Kōyasan Reihōkan is an art museum on Kōya-san, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, preserving and displaying Buddhist art owned by temples on Kōya-san. The collection is centered around articles from the Heian and Kamakura periods and includes paintings, calligraphy, sutras, sculpture and Buddhist ritual objects. Among these are a set of the complete Buddhist canon (issaikyō), writings of Kūkai and Minamoto no Yoritomo, founder of the Kamakura Shogunate, mandalas and portraits of priests. The most valuable objects have been designated as National Treasure or Important Cultural Property.
Shaka rising from the Gold Coffin (絹本著色釈迦金棺出現図) is an anonymous hanging scroll from the 11th century depicting the resurrection of Shakyamuni Buddha as described in the Mahamaya Sutra.
Kongō-ji (金剛寺) is a Buddhist temple in Kawachinagano, Osaka, Japan. It is the head temple of the Shingon Omuro sect. and also known under its mountain-name as Amanosan Kongō-ji. It is the 7th temple on the Shin Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage (新西国三十三箇所) and is notable for the large number of designated cultural properties. The precincts of the temple were designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1934 with the area under protection expanded in 2011.
↑ Varley, Paul (2000) [1973], Japanese culture (4thed.), University of Hawaii Press, p.223, ISBN0-8248-2152-1, retrieved November 7, 2009, The leading Japanese bunjin artists of the eighteenth century were Ike no Taiga (1723–76) and Yosa Buson (1716–83).
↑ NHKアーカイブス 保存番組検索： 国宝探訪[NHK archives preservation program particulars: National Treasure hunt] (in Japanese), NHK, archived from the original on August 11, 2011, retrieved May 22, 2009
↑ Harrist Jr., Robert E. (November 1991), ""Watching Clouds Rise": A Tang dynasty Couplet and Its Illustration in Song Painting", The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 78 (7), Cleveland Museum of Art: 301–323, ISSN0009-8841
↑ DAITOKUJI TEMPLE No.3 (in Japanese), Leo Masuda Architectonic Research Office, archived from the original on May 21, 2008, retrieved May 27, 2009
↑ Ishizawa, Masao; Ichitaro, Kondo; Okada, Jo; etal., eds. (1957) [1954], Pageant of Japanese Art (1st reprinted.), Toto Shuppan, p.vii, retrieved January 1, 2010
↑ 両部大経感得図[Divinely inspired Reception of the Two Great Sutras] (in Japanese), Nippon-Kichi, archived from the original on July 19, 2011, retrieved May 28, 2009
↑ 国宝 両部大経感得図[National Treasure: Divinely inspired Reception of the Two Great Sutras], Fujita Art Museum, archived from the original on September 15, 2009, retrieved October 8, 2009
↑ 日月山水図[Landscape of the four seasons] (in Japanese). Kongō-ji. Archived from the original on October 18, 2019. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
↑ 日月山水図[Landscape of the four seasons] (in Japanese). Kawachinagano. Archived from the original on March 31, 2016. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
↑ 国宝・重要文化財（美術工芸品）の指定について～[Designation of National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties in the arts and crafts category](PDF) (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. March 9, 2018. Archived from the original(PDF) on March 10, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
↑ 国宝 柴門新月図[National Treasure: New Moon over the brushwood gate], Fujita Art Museum, archived from the original on September 15, 2009, retrieved May 29, 2009
↑ 国宝・重要文化財の指定について[Designation of National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties](PDF), Hyōgo Prefectural Institute for Educational Research and In-Service Training, 2009, archived from the original(PDF) on July 26, 2011, retrieved November 30, 2009
↑ 吉祥天女画像【国宝】慈恩大師【国宝】二天像-薬師寺公式サイト[Portrait of Kichijōten (National Treasure) Jion Daishi (National Treasure) Two Devas, Yakushi-ji official site] (in Japanese), Yakushi-ji, archived from the original on April 20, 2009, retrieved June 2, 2009
↑ 国宝（美術工芸品）の指定[Designation of arts and crafts national treasures](PDF) (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. 2019. Archived(PDF) from the original on March 19, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
↑ "Mural Paintings". Center for Preservation of Kitora Tumulus Mural Paintings. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
↑ 薬師寺国宝・重要文化財・指定文化財一覧[List of Designated Cultural Properties, Important Cultural Properties, and National Treasures of Yakushi-ji] (in Japanese), Yakushi-ji, 2005, archived from the original on April 13, 2009, retrieved May 20, 2009
↑ 高野山霊宝館【収蔵品紹介：絵画（仏画）】[Mt. Kōya Reihōkan – Introduction of the Collection: Paintings (Buddhist images)] (in Japanese), Mt. Kōya Reihōkan, retrieved May 20, 2009
↑ 普門院縁起[Origin of Fūmon-in] (in Japanese), Fūmon-in, archived from the original on July 21, 2010, retrieved September 24, 2011
↑ "国宝 絹本著色 普賢菩薩像"[National Treasure color on silk Fugen Bosatsu] (in Japanese). Chizu town. Archived from the original on July 1, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
↑ 絹本著色宮女図（伝桓野王図）/倉敷市[Kenpon chakushoku kyūjozu (denkanyaōzu) / Kurashiki city] (in Japanese), Kurashiki city, retrieved November 3, 2009
Ohishi, Kazuyoshi (Designed by) (1990), Tokyo National Museum (compiler); Kogeisha, Otsuka (Printing and binding) (eds.), 日本国宝展—National Treasures of Japan (in Japanese), Yomiuri Shimbun .
Mason, R. H. P.; Caiger, John Godwin (1997) [1973], A history of Japan (2nd revised, illustrateded.), Tuttle Publishing, ISBN0-8048-2097-X, retrieved November 7, 2009
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