National Treasure (Japan)

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of the government of Japan designates the most famous of the nation's cultural properties as National Treasures (国宝: kokuhō). Examples of the types of works that receive this designation are

Buildings such as castles, temples, shrines
Paintings, scrolls, sutras, and works of calligraphy
Statues in stone, bronze, wood, lacquer or other materials
Crafts, such as pottery, lacquer ware, carvings, metals, netsuke, swords and textiles
Archeological and historical artifacts, including burial objects, documents, and letters
People, called "Living National Treasures (人間国宝: ningen kokuhō)"

Many of Japan's national treasures are in museums such as the national museums in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Nara. The prefectural and city governments also operate public museums, and these and private museums also house national treasures. Many Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, castles and similar installations also open their buildings and grounds to the public, and some have museums as well. The Imperial Household of Japan holds many national treasures. Kyoto boasts about one in five national treasures.

Living National Treasure is an informal designation for a person whom the government has recognized as exemplary in carrying on Japanese traditions. Performing artists in genres including noh, bunraku, and kabuki, and artists and artisans in traditional crafts, have received this distinction.

Former and present national treasures

"National Treasure" has been used since 1897, though the term's pre-1950 and post-1950 significance is different. Before 1950, all the state-designated cultural properties were called "National Treasure"s. At that time, 5,824 art works and 1,059 buildings were National Treasures. On August 29, 1950, the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties came into forced and all National Treasures became "Important Cultural Properties" (重要文化財: jūyō bunka zai). Some of them have been designated as new "National Treasures" since June 9, 1951.

The number of National Treasures of Japan

As of August 1, 2006, the numbers of national cultural properties are:

National Treasures (arts and crafts): 860, of which there are:
- 233 in Tokyo
- 204 in Kyoto
- 143 in Nara
- 55 in Osaka
- 33 in Shiga prefectures
National Treasures (structures): 213, of which there are:
- 64 in Nara
- 48 in Kyoto
- 22 in Shiga
- 11 in Hyogo
- 7 in Hiroshima and Wakayama Prefectures

Prefecture	Building Structures	Art Works
Hokkaido	0	0
Aomori	0	2
Iwate	1	7
Miyagi	3	3
Akita	0	1
Yamagata	1	4
Fukushima	1	2
Ibaragi	0	2
Tochigi	6	10
Gunma	0	0
Saitama	0	1
Chiba	0	8
Tokyo	1	233
Kanagawa	1	18
Niigata	0	1
Toyama	1	0
Ishikawa	0	3
Fukui	2	4
Yamanashi	2	3
Nagano	5	2
Gifu	3	3
Shizuoka	0	11
Aichi	3	6
Mie	0	4
Shiga	22	33
Kyoto	48	207
Osaka	5	55
Hyogo	11	9
Nara	64	143
Wakayama	7	29
Tottori	1	2
Shimane	2	2
Okayama	2	4
Hiroshima	7	12
Yamaguchi	3	6
Tokushima	0	0
Kagawa	2	4
Ehime	3	9
Kochi	1	1
Fukuoka	0	12
Saga	0	0
Nagasaki	3	0
Kumamoto	0	0
Oita	2	2
Miyazaki	0	0
Kagoshima	0	1
Okinawa	0	1
Total	213	860