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Chogakuji Temple
Buddhist Image Amida Triad Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
奈良県天理市柳本町508
Visiting Status Regular viewing available
DignityRefinementDepth
The Important Cultural Property Amida Triad is enshrined as the principal image of Chogakuji Temple's Main Hall. It consists of Amida Nyorai in the center, flanked by Kannon Bosatsu and Seishi Bosatsu, and bears an inscription dated 1151 from the late Heian period. The figures combine substantial volume with realistic modeling and are regarded as the oldest Buddhist statues in Japan to use crystal eyes. It is also unusual that both attendant bodhisattvas are shown seated in a half-lotus posture on chairs. The Main Hall is normally open to visitors, and the temple is open year-round from 9:00 to 17:00.
Todaiji Temple
Buddhist Image Standing Amida Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
奈良県奈良市雑司町406-1
Visiting Status Normally closed to the public (special opening every July 5 and December 16)
RefinementNobilityStillness
The Important Cultural Property standing Amida Nyorai is enshrined in Todaiji Temple's Shunjo-do Hall. Created by the Buddhist sculptor Kaikei in 1203 during the Kamakura period, the wooden statue stands 98.7 cm tall. Its surface is finished with gold pigment and intricate kirikane decoration; a metal five-element stupa is placed inside the head and two scrolls are contained in the right leg. At Todaiji it is also known as the “Kugiuchi no Mida.” Shunjo-do is normally closed to the public and is specially opened each year on July 5 for the Shunjo memorial service and on December 16 for the Roben memorial service.
Toshodaiji Temple
Buddhist Image Seated Portrait of Ganjin Wajo Category Other
奈良県奈良市五条町13-46
Visiting Status Normally closed to the public (special opening June 5–7 each year; dates may change)
StillnessDepthNobility
The National Treasure seated portrait of Ganjin Wajo is enshrined in Toshodaiji Temple's Miei-do Hall. Dating to the 8th century of the Nara period, it is a hollow dry-lacquer statue with polychrome decoration, measuring 80.1 cm high. Made by layering lacquer-soaked hemp cloth over a form, it is regarded as Japan's oldest portrait sculpture. Tradition holds that Ganjin's disciple Ninki supervised its production. Its calm expression conveys the spiritual strength of the monk who endured repeated hardships in reaching Japan. It is normally closed to the public and is specially unveiled during the temple's annual memorial observances on June 5–7, though dates may change.
Kinpusenji Temple
Buddhist Image Three Standing Kongo Zao Gongen Images Category Other
奈良県吉野郡吉野町吉野山2498
Visiting Status Hidden images (special opening October 24–November 30, 2026)
PowerDignitySolemnity
The three Important Cultural Property wooden standing images of Kongo Zao Gongen are enshrined in the enormous shrine inside Kinpusenji Temple's Zaodo Hall. They were created in 1590 during the Momoyama period by the Nara Buddhist sculptors Sotei, Soin, and others. The central image exceeds seven meters in height, while each of the two flanking images exceeds five meters, making them among Japan's largest hidden wooden Buddhist images. Their dark blue bodies and fierce wrathful forms embody the principal deity of Shugendo revealed to En no Gyoja; the three figures are understood as manifestations of Shaka Nyorai, Thousand-Armed Kannon, and Maitreya. Normally hidden from view, they will be specially unveiled from October 24 to November 30, 2026.
Murouji Temple
Buddhist Image Seated Shaka Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
奈良県宇陀市室生78
Visiting Status Regular viewing available
DignityRefinementStillness
The National Treasure seated Shaka Nyorai is housed in Murouji Temple's Treasure Hall. Carved from a single piece of kaya wood in the early Heian period, it was formerly enshrined as a guest image in Miroku-do Hall. The statue has a solid, stable body and a composed, gentle expression, while its robes are carved with clear honpa-style folds resembling flowing waves. It is known as one of the outstanding works of early Heian sculpture and is now displayed in the Treasure Hall, completed in 2020 for improved preservation. The hall is normally open from 9:00 to 16:30, and in winter from 9:30 to 15:30, with admission until 15:00.
Hozanji Temple
Buddhist Image Fudo Myo-o and Attendant Figures Category Myo-o (Wisdom King)
奈良県生駒市門前町1-1
Visiting Status Regular viewing available
PowerDignityTense Presence
The Important Cultural Property group of Fudo Myoo and attendant figures is enshrined as the principal image of Hozanji Temple's Main Hall. The central Fudo Myoo was carved in 1680 by Tankai, the monk who revived the temple, and is displayed on the main altar together with attendant figures including two youthful acolytes. Its wrathful expression and powerful body are regarded as representative of Tankai's Fudo imagery. The image remains the focus of worship in the Main Hall, where goma fire rituals are still performed. The temple grounds are normally open around 8:00–16:30 in summer and 8:00–16:00 in winter.
Todaiji Temple
Buddhist Image Standing Shukongojin Category Tenbu (Deva)
奈良県奈良市雑司町406-1
Visiting Status Hidden image (special opening every December 16)
PowerTense PresenceDignity
The National Treasure standing Shukongojin is enshrined in a shrine behind the principal image, the standing Fukukensaku Kannon, in Todaiji Temple's Hokkedo Hall. Dating to the Nara period, it stands 173 cm tall. Shukongojin is a guardian deity who protects the Buddhist teaching while holding a vajra. The statue is distinguished by its fiercely wrathful pose, with wide-open eyes and mouth, capturing the instant before the vajra seems ready to strike. Long renowned and even mentioned in the Nihon Ryoiki, it is normally kept hidden and is specially unveiled each year on December 16, from around the latter part of the 9 o'clock hour until 16:00.
Horyuji Temple
Buddhist Image Seated Yakushi Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
奈良県生駒郡斑鳩町法隆寺山内1-1
Visiting Status Regular viewing available
DignityPeacefulnessDepth
The National Treasure dry-lacquer seated Yakushi Nyorai is the principal image of Horyuji Temple's Saiendo Hall. Created in the Nara period as a large hollow dry-lacquer statue, it is known as the “Mine no Yakushi” and remains deeply venerated by people praying for recovery from illness. The Buddha sits on an octagonal draped pedestal and holds a medicine jar in the left hand. The halo was added in the Kamakura period and has a double circular form decorated with the Seven Yakushi Buddhas and a thousand small Buddha images. Saiendo Hall stands on higher ground at the northwest of Horyuji's western precinct and can normally be visited.
Horyuji Temple
Buddhist Image Standing Four Heavenly Kings Category Tenbu (Deva)
奈良県生駒郡斑鳩町法隆寺山内1-1
Visiting Status Regular viewing available
DignityStillnessRefinement
The National Treasure standing Four Heavenly Kings occupy the four corners of the altar in Horyuji Temple's Kondo. Carved from single blocks of camphor wood in the mid-7th century during the Asuka period, they are regarded as the oldest surviving Four Heavenly Kings statues in Japan. Jikokuten guards the east, Zochoten the south, Komokuten the west, and Tamonten the north, protecting the Buddhist world in all four directions. Unlike the dynamic and intimidating guardians of later periods, these figures retain an ancient Asuka style through their linear, calm standing forms. The Kondo is part of the regular western precinct admission area and is open 8:00–17:00 from February 22 to November 3 and 8:00–16:30 from November 4 to February 21.
Horyuji Temple
Buddhist Image Standing Kannon Bosatsu (Nine-Faced Kannon) Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
奈良県生駒郡斑鳩町法隆寺山内1-1
Visiting Status Regular viewing available
RefinementNobilityMystery
The National Treasure standing Kannon Bosatsu known as the Nine-Faced Kannon is housed in Horyuji Temple's Daihozoin. Made in China during the Tang dynasty, it is a sandalwood image carved from a single piece of wood, with even the ornaments and flowing garments worked from the same material. Though small, the statue is renowned for extraordinarily refined carving in the faces above the head, jewelry, and drapery, preserving the high technical achievement of Tang Buddhist sculpture. The Daihozoin is part of the regular admission route and is open 8:00–17:00 from February 22 to November 3 and 8:00–16:30 from November 4 to February 21.
Taimadera Temple
Buddhist Image Standing Four Heavenly Kings Category Tenbu (Deva)
奈良県葛城市當麻1263
Visiting Status Regular viewing available
DignityPowerRefinement
The Important Cultural Property standing Four Heavenly Kings guard the principal image, the seated Maitreya, from the four directions in Taimadera Temple's Kondo Hall. Three figures—Jikokuten, Zochoten, and Komokuten—are dry-lacquer images from the Hakuho period and are regarded as Japan's oldest surviving dry-lacquer Four Heavenly Kings. Tamonten is a wooden image from the Kamakura period, yet all four retain archaic long-sleeved garments and a dignified appearance reminiscent of warriors from Central Asia. The Kondo is part of the temple's regular three-hall admission route and can be visited from 9:00 to 17:00.
Ryosenji Temple
Buddhist Image Seated Yakushi Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
奈良県奈良市中町3879
Visiting Status Hidden image (special opening October 23–November 8, 2026)
PeacefulnessDepthStillness
The Important Cultural Property seated Yakushi Nyorai is enshrined as the principal image of Ryosenji Temple's Main Hall. Dating to the late Heian period, it forms a Yakushi triad together with standing Nikko and Gakko Bosatsu. Normally kept hidden, it will be specially unveiled in 2026 during the Autumn Roses and Hidden Treasures Exhibition from October 23 to November 8, when visitors can enter the inner area of the Main Hall and view the image at close range. Yakushi devotion has long stood at the center of worship at Ryosenji, whose Main Hall is a National Treasure.
Akishinodera Temple
Buddhist Image Standing Taigen Myo-o Category Myo-o (Wisdom King)
奈良県奈良市秋篠町757
Visiting Status Hidden image (special opening every June 6)
PowerTense PresenceMystery
The Important Cultural Property standing Taigen Myoo is enshrined as the principal image of Akishinodera Temple's Daigendo Hall. This 229.5 cm wooden figure has one face and six arms, with snakes coiled around its body and an intensely wrathful expression. Believed to date from the Kamakura period, it is a rare sculptural representation of Taigen Myoo, a deity associated with esoteric rites for the protection of the state. Normally kept hidden, it is specially unveiled only on June 6 each year, providing a clearly defined opportunity for general visitors to see the image itself.
Horyuji Temple
Buddhist Image Seated Yakushi Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
奈良県生駒郡斑鳩町法隆寺山内1-1
Visiting Status Regular viewing available
DignityDepthStillness
The National Treasure seated Yakushi Nyorai is enshrined in the eastern bay of Horyuji Temple's Kondo. This gilt-bronze Buddha dates to the Asuka period. An inscription on the back of its halo records that Emperor Yomei vowed to establish a temple and a Yakushi image while praying for recovery from illness, and that Empress Suiko and Prince Shotoku later fulfilled his wish in 607. Closely tied to Horyuji's foundation tradition, the image has a quiet solemnity distinct from the Shaka Triad at the center of the hall. The Kondo is normally open from 8:00 to 17:00 from February 22 to November 3 and from 8:00 to 16:30 from November 4 to February 21.
Todaiji Temple
Buddhist Image Seated Portrait of Roben Sojo Category Other
奈良県奈良市雑司町406-1
Visiting Status Hidden image (special opening every December 16)
DignityDepthStillness
The National Treasure seated portrait of Roben Sojo is enshrined in an octagonal shrine at the center of Todaiji Temple's Kaisando. Roben, the temple's first chief administrator, played a major role in Todaiji's foundation. This 92.4 cm wooden portrait dates to the Heian period, around the 10th to 11th century, and is celebrated for its solid physique and powerful sense of presence, making it one of the masterpieces of early Japanese portrait sculpture. Normally kept hidden, it is specially unveiled every December 16 for the Roben memorial service, from around 10:00 after the morning rite until 16:00.
Todaiji Temple
Buddhist Image Standing Nikko and Gakko Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
奈良県奈良市水門町100
Visiting Status Permanent exhibition (temporary closures for exhibition changes, etc.)
RefinementStillnessPurity
The National Treasure standing Nikko and Gakko Bosatsu are permanently exhibited at the Todaiji Museum. These polychrome clay sculptures date to the 8th century of the Nara period and were originally transmitted at Hokkedo (Sangatsudo) Hall as a pair. Their quiet prayerful poses, balanced proportions, and soft modeling are celebrated as masterpieces of Tenpyo-period sculpture. For preservation and earthquake protection they were moved to the Todaiji Museum, where visitors can view the original statues at close range in a gallery designed to evoke the interior of Hokkedo. The museum is open 9:30–17:30 from April to October and 9:30–17:00 from November to March.
Kofukuji Temple
Buddhist Image Gilt-Bronze Buddha Head (Former Principal Image of the Tokondo) Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
奈良県奈良市登大路町48
Visiting Status Permanent exhibition
RefinementPurityDepth
This National Treasure gilt-bronze Buddha head is permanently exhibited in Kofukuji Temple's National Treasure Hall. It is the surviving head of a gilt-bronze Buddha created in 685 during the Hakuho period as the principal image of Yamadadera Temple in Asuka. In 1187, during Kofukuji's Kamakura-period reconstruction, the image was brought to the Tokondo and enshrined as Yakushi Nyorai. After the hall burned in 1411, the head survived and was discovered inside the principal-image pedestal during repairs to the Tokondo in 1937. Because its date of creation is known, it is highly valued as a standard work of Hakuho sculpture, preserving a youthful and refreshing facial expression.
Toshodaiji Temple
Buddhist Image Standing Bonten and Taishakuten Category Tenbu (Deva)
奈良県奈良市五条町13-46
Visiting Status Regular viewing available
DignityRefinementStillness
The National Treasure standing Bonten and Taishakuten flank the principal image, the seated Rushana Buddha, in Toshodaiji Temple's Kondo. Dating to the 8th century of the Nara period, they are wooden sculptures finished with dry-lacquer additions and polychrome decoration, and are thought to have been made at the same time and by the same workshop as the Four Heavenly Kings in the hall. Bonten stands to the viewer's right wearing a Buddhist robe, while Taishakuten stands to the left in armor with a skirt-like garment. Both have broad, gentle expressions that convey the weight and refinement of Tenpyo sculpture. They can normally be viewed in the Kondo.
Toshodaiji Temple
Buddhist Image Standing Four Heavenly Kings Category Tenbu (Deva)
奈良県奈良市五条町13-46
Visiting Status Regular viewing available
PowerDignityTense Presence
The National Treasure standing Four Heavenly Kings occupy the four corners of the altar in Toshodaiji Temple's Kondo. Dating to the 8th century of the Nara period, they are wooden sculptures with dry-lacquer additions and polychrome decoration, and are thought to have been made at the same time and by the same workshop as the hall's Bonten and Taishakuten figures. Wearing armor, the four guardians hold different weapons and assume distinct poses as protectors of the Buddhist teaching. Their rounded faces, weighty expressions, and powerful bodies convey the force of Tenpyo sculpture. They can normally be viewed in the Kondo from 8:30 to 17:00, with admission until 16:30.
Yakushiji Temple
Buddhist Image Maitreya Triad Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
奈良県奈良市西ノ京町457
Visiting Status Regular viewing available
DignityRefinementDepth
The Important Cultural Property Maitreya Triad is enshrined as the principal image of Yakushiji Temple's Daikodo. Dating to the Nara period, this monumental gilt-bronze triad consists of Maitreya Tathagata in the center, with Ho'onrin Bosatsu to the viewer's right and Daimyoso Bosatsu to the left. It is thought to have been modeled on the Yakushi Triad in the Kondo. Its strong frontal composition and symmetrical drapery preserve older stylistic features, while the full-bodied modeling reflects the expansive character of Nara-period sculpture. Tradition holds that the triad was once enshrined at Uetsukidera and was later moved to Yakushiji, where it can now be viewed regularly in the Daikodo.