List of National Treasures of Japan (writings: Japanese books)

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".

[8][9] By the late 7th century, reading and writing had become an integral part of life of some sections of the ruling and intellectual classes, particularly in government and religion.

Since longer passages written in this system became unmanageably long, man'yōgana was used mainly for poetry while classical Chinese was reserved for prose.

[22] This new script enabled Japanese authors to write more easily in their own language and led to a variety of vernacular prose literature in the 10th century such as tales (monogatari) and poetic journals (nikki).

[27] Being the language of scholarship, government and religion, Chinese was still practiced by the male nobility of the 10th century while for the most part aristocratic women wrote diaries, memoirs, poetry and fiction in the new script.

[28] The Tale of Genji written in the early 11th century by a noblewoman (Murasaki Shikibu) is according to Helen Craig McCullough the "single most impressive accomplishment of Heian civilization".

[29] Another literary genre called setsuwa ("informative narration") goes back to orally transmitted myths, legends, folktales, and anecdotes.

[nb 5][20][42] The early 9th century, however, was a period of direct imitation of Chinese models making kanshi the major form of poetry at the time.

[46][47] The main poetic subjects were love and the four seasons; the standards of vocabulary, grammar and style, established in the Kokinshū, dominated waka composition into the 19th century.

[45][48][49] For aristocrats to succeed in private and public life during the Heian period, it was essential to be fluent in the composition and appreciation of waka, as well as having thorough knowledge of and ability in music, and calligraphy.

[50] At the end of the Heian period, the aristocracy lost political and economical power to warrior clans, but retained the prestige as custodians of high culture and literature.

The collections include the two first imperial waka anthologies: Kokinshū (905, ten treasures) and Gosen Wakashū (951); seven private anthologies: Man'yōshū (after 759, four treasures), Shinsō Hishō (1008), Nyūdō Udaijin-shū (before 1065), Sanjūrokunin Kashū (c. 1112), Ruijū Koshū (before 1120), Shūi Gusō (1216), Myōe Shōnin Kashū (1248); and five utaawase contents: including one imaginary content (Kasen utaawase), the Konoe edition of the Poetry Match in Ten Scrolls (three treasures), Ruijū utaawase, the Poetry competition in 29 rounds at Hirota Shrine and the Record of Poetry Match in Fifteen Rounds.

[4] There are eleven National Treasures of seven works of Japanese prose and mixed Chinese-Japanese poetry compiled from between the early 9th and the first half of the 13th century.

[92] One of the earliest kana materials and one of the oldest extant works of Japanese prose fiction is the Tosa Diary written by Ki no Tsurayuki in 935.

[93][94][95] It is also the oldest Japanese travel diary, giving an account of a return journey to Kyoto after a four-year term as prefect of Tosa Province.

[101] The original manuscript by Ki no Tsurayuki had been stored at Rengeō-in palace library, and later was in the possession of Ashikaga Yoshimasa, after which its trace is lost.

[110][115] Three manuscripts of the Wakan Rōeishū written on decorated paper have been designated as National Treasures: the two scrolls at the Kyoto National Museum contain a complete transcription of the work and are a rare and fully developed example of calligraphy on an ashide-e[nb 13] ground;[116] the Konoe edition at Yōmei Bunko is a beautiful example of karakami[nb 14] with five-colored design (saisen);[117] and the Ōtagire is written on dyed paper decorated with gold drawings.

[140][143][144] The oldest of these historical books is the Kojiki ("Record of ancient matters") dating from 712 and composed by Ō no Yasumaro at the request of Empress Genmei.

[9][145][146] Written in ancient Japanese style using Chinese ideographs, it presents the mythological origin of Japan and historical events up to the year 628.

[146][152] In 713, Empress Genmei ordered provincial governors to compile official reports on the history, geography and local folk customs.

[155][156] Of more than 60 provincial records compiled in the early 8th century only five survived: one, the Izumo Fudoki (733), in complete form and four, Bungo (730s), Harima (circa 715), Hitachi (714–718) and Hizen (730s) as fragments.

All of these treasures are later copies and with the exception of the Eiga Monogatari, the complete content of the works has to be assembled from several of these (and other) fragmentary manuscripts or be inferred from other sources.

They cover 14 works of various types, including biographies, law or rulebooks, temple records, music scores, a medical book and dictionaries.

[179][181] The oldest extant manuscript of the 803 Enryaku Kōtaishiki, a compendium of rules concerned with the change of provincial governors from 782 to 803, has been designated as a National Treasure.

[183] Based on the Chinese Yupian, the Tenrei Banshō Meigi was compiled around 830 by Kūkai and is the oldest extant character dictionary made in Japan.

[187][188][189] It is based on a large number of Chinese medical and pharmaceutical texts and contains knowledge about drug prescription, herbal lore, hygiene, acupuncture, moxibustion, alchemy and magic.

[188][189] Compiled between 905 and 927 by Tadahira, the Engishiki is the most respected legal compendium of the ritsuryō age and an important resource for the study of the Heian period court system.

[193] Two National Treasure manuscripts are related to music: the oldest extant kagura song book (Kagura wagon hifu) from around the 10th century and the oldest extant Saibara score (Saibara fu) which is traditionally attributed to Prince Munetaka but based on the calligraphy it appears to date to the mid-11th century.

[196][197] Around the early 12th century a Shingon Buddhist priest compiled a dictionary with a large number of variant form characters known as Ruiju Myōgishō.