List of National Treasures of Japan (temples)

A large wooden building with a hip-and-gable main roof and a secondary roof giving the impression of a two-storied building. Between these roofs there is an open railed veranda surrounding the building. Below the secondary roof there is an attached pent roof. Behind the building there is a five-storied wooden pagoda with surrounding pent roof below the first roof.
Kon-dō and five-storied pagoda at Hōryū-ji, two of the world's oldest wooden structures dating to around 700[1][2]

The term "National Treasure" has been used in Japan to denote cultural properties since 1897.[3] The definition and the criteria have changed since the inception of the term. The temple structures in this list were designated national treasures when the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties was implemented 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".[4][5] This list presents 158[nb 1] entries of national treasure temple structures from the late 7th-century Classical Asuka period to the early modern 19th-century Edo period. The number of structures listed is more than 158, because in some cases groups of related structures are combined to form a single entry. The structures include main halls such as kon-dō, hon-dō, Butsuden; pagodas, gates, belfries (鐘楼,, shōrō), corridors, other halls and structures that are part of a Buddhist temple.[5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference horyuji-kondo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference horyuji-gojyunoto was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ CoaldrakeNishi Honganji, William Howard (2002) [1996]. Architecture and authority in Japan. London, New York: Routledge. p. 248. ISBN 0-415-05754-X. Retrieved 2009-11-01.
  4. ^ "Cultural Properties for Future Generations" (PDF). Tokyo, Japan: Agency for Cultural Affairs, Cultural Properties Department. March 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-12-16. Retrieved 2017-12-17.
  5. ^ a b 国指定文化財 データベース [Database of National Cultural Properties] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. 2008-11-01. Archived from the original on 2005-12-28. Retrieved 2009-04-16.


Cite error: There are <ref group=nb> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=nb}} template (see the help page).