National Treasure (Japan)
In Japan, National Treasure (国宝, kokuhō), refers to Tangible Cultural Properties designated by Japanese law as “having exceptionally high value.” It applies to buildings, artwork, and crafts, selected from Important Tangible Cultural Properties by the Agency for Cultural Affairs (a special body of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology). 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 demonstrate outstanding workmanship, high value for world cultural history, or exceptional value for scholarship.
Approximately 20 percent of the National Treasures are structures, such as castles, Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, or residences. The remaining 80 percent are works of art, which include: paintings, scrolls, sutras, calligraphy, sculptures (in wood, bronze, lacquer, or stone), and craft pieces such as pottery, lacquerware, metalwork, swords, textiles, and archaeological artifacts. These items are from ancient to early modern Japan periods before the Meiji period, including pieces of the world's oldest pottery from the Jōmon period and 19th-century documents and writings. The designation of the Akasaka Palace in 2009, the Tomioka Silk Mill in 2014, and the Kaichi School added three modern, post-Meiji Restoration National Treasures.
Japan has a comprehensive network of legislation for preserving and classifying its cultural patrimony. The regard for physical and intangible properties is typical of Japanese preservation and restoration practices. Methods of protecting designated National Treasures include restrictions on alterations, transfers, and exports, as well as financial support in the form of grants and tax reductions. The Agency for Cultural Affairs provides owners with advice on restoration, administration, and public display of the properties. These efforts are supplemented by laws that protect the built environment of designated structures, and the necessary techniques for the restoration of works.
Kansai, home to Japan's capital from ancient times to the 19th century, has the most National Treasures, with Kyoto alone accounting for one-fifth of the total. Fine arts and crafts properties are usually privately owned or housed in museums—including national museums in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Nara—as well as public prefectural, city and private museums. Religious items are often housed in temples and shrines, or in an adjacent museum or treasure house.