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 written materials 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 107 entries from the Western Wei dynasty to the Meiji period with most dating to the period of Classical Japan and Mid-Imperial China from the 7th to 14th century. The total number of items is higher, however, since groups of related objects have been joined as single entries.
The list contains various types of written materials such as sutra copies, Buddhist commentaries and teachings, poetry and letters. Some of the designated objects originated in China, and were imported at a time when writing was being introduced to Japan. The items in this list were predominantly made with a writing brush on manuscript scrolls, which was the preferred medium until the advent of commercial printing and publishing in the 17th century. In many cases the manuscripts are noted examples of calligraphy. They are housed in temples, museums, libraries or archives, shrines, universities and in private collections. The writings in this list represent about half of the 237 National Treasures in the category "writings". They are complemented by 72 Japanese and 58 Chinese book National Treasures of the List of National Treasures of Japan (writings: Japanese books) and the List of National Treasures of Japan (writings: Chinese books).
Statistics
Prefecture City National Treasures Chiba Ichikawa 2 Fukui Eiheiji 1 Fukushima Aizumisato 1 Hiroshima Hatsukaichi 1 Hyōgo Kobe 2 Iwate Hiraizumi 1 Kagawa Takamatsu 1 Zentsūji 1 Kanagawa Kamakura 3 Yokohama 1 Kyoto Kyoto 34 Mie Tsu 2 Nara Nara 6 Sakurai 1 Tenri 1 Yoshino 2 Osaka Osaka 1 Tadaoka 3 Saitama Tokigawa 1 Shiga Kōka 2 Nagahama 1 Ōtsu 3 Shizuoka Atami 1 Shizuoka 1 Tochigi Nikkō 1 Tokyo Tokyo 26 Wakayama Kōya 7
PeriodOnly the oldest period is counted, if a National Treasure consists of items from more than one period. National Treasures Western Wei 1 Asuka period 2 Tang dynasty 6 Nara period 23 Heian period 33 Northern Song dynasty 1 Goryeo 1 Southern Song dynasty 15 Kamakura period 18 Yuan dynasty 5 Nanboku-chō period 2
Usage The table's columns (except for Remarks 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. Name: the name as registered in the Database of National Cultural Properties Authors: name of the author(s) Remarks: information about the type of document and its content 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: principal type, technique and dimensions; The column entries sort by the main type: scroll (includes handscrolls and letters), book (includes albums, ordinary bound books and books bound by fukuro-toji) and other (includes hanging scrolls) Present location: "temple/museum/shrine-name town-name prefecture-name"; The column entries sort as "prefecture-name town-name". Image: picture of the manuscript or of a characteristic document in a group of manuscripts
Treasures
Buddhist writings
Sutras The concept of writing came to Japan from the Korean kingdom of Baekje in the form of classical Chinese books and sutras, likely written on paper and in the form of manuscript rolls (kansubon). This probably happened at the beginning of the 5th century (around 400), and certainly in conjunction with the introduction of Buddhism in the 6th century. The increasing popularity of Buddhism, strongly promoted by Prince Shōtoku (574–622), in the late-6th century and early-7th century was one of the factorsThe other factor was the establishment of a bureaucratic Chinese-style government in Japan around the same time leading to a rise in the importance of writing. Buddhism required the study of sutras in Chinese. To satisfy the growing demand for them, imported Sui and Tang manuscripts were copied, first by Korean and Chinese immigrants, and later in the mid-7th century by Japanese scribes. The Sangyō Gisho ("Annotated Commentaries on the Three Sutras"), traditionally attributed to Prince Shōtoku, is the oldest extant Japanese text of any length. By 673 the entire Buddhist canon had been systematically copied. Not a single sutra survives from before the end of the 6th century. The oldest extant complete sutra copied in Japan dates to 686 and has been designated a National Treasure. During the 7th and 8th centuries, the copying of Buddhist texts, including sutras, dominated writing. Few Chinese secular or local Japanese works (which were rare) were copied. The state founded a Sutra Copying Bureau (shakyōjo) before 727Probably much before this date. with highly specialized calligraphers, proofreaders and metal polishers to satisfy the large demand for Buddhist texts. Sutra copying was not only for duplication but also to acquire religious merit; thus nearly all Buddhist texts were hand-copied during the 8th century despite knowledge of printing.
The peak of sutra copying occurred in the Nara period at which time the Great Perfection of Wisdom (Daihannya) sutra and the Lotus Sutra were the sutras most often copied. Most of the sutras were written in black ink on paper dyed pale yellow.The traditional Chinese way to prevent insect damage. However, some were made with gold or silver ink on indigo, purple or other colored paper—particularly the ones that were produced in 741 when Emperor Shōmu decreed Konkōmyō Saishōō sutras written in gold letters be distributed among provincial temples. Many sutra copies contain a colophon with the name of the sponsor—often somebody from the ruling class—and the reason of copying, usually related to the health or salvation of people or the state.
After the shakyōjo closed at the end of the 8th century, the imperial family and leading aristocrats continued to sponsor sutra copying. Because of an enhanced belief in the powers of the Lotus Sutra, more Heian period copies of this sutra exist than of all other sutras combined. Starting in the early Heian period, styles became flowery and ornate with lavish decorations as sutras were not used only in recitation but for dedication and sacrifice. Devotional sutra copying was more often undertaken by the initiator than in the Nara period. New forms of decoration came in fashion by the early-11th century including placing each character in the outline of a stupa, on lotus pedestals or next to depictions of Boddhisattvas. Sutras were increasingly furnished with frontispieces starting in the 11th century. Calligraphy shifted from Chinese to Japanese style. Sutra copying continued into the Kamakura and subsequent periods, but only rarely to comparable artistic effect. With the import of printed Song editions in the Kamakura period, hand-copying of the complete scriptures died out and sutra copying was only practiced for its devotional aspect. Fifty-one sutras or sets of sutras from the 6th century Western Wei to 14th century Nanboku-chō period have been designated National Treasures. Some of the oldest items in this list originated in China.