nntsuzu/KFTT huggingface dataset:
English: Under the old laws that existed prior to enforcement of the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, there was no distinction made between 'national treasure' and 'important cultural property,' meaning that all the items (from buildings to works of art and crafts) designated by the state as tangible cultural assets were called national treasures.
Japanese: 文化財保護法施行以前の旧法では「国宝」と「重要文化財」の区別はなく、国指定の有形文化財（美術工芸品および建造物）はすべて「国宝」と称されていた。
English: In the legal world, the first time the term 'national treasure' was ever employed was in the 1897 Ancient Temples and Shrines Preservation Law.
Japanese: 法令上、「国宝」の語が初めて使用されたのは1897年（明治30年）の古社寺保存法制定時である。
English: The first item to be designated a national treasure under the provisions of this law was so designated on December 28, 1897.
Japanese: 同法の規定に基づき、1897年（明治30年）12月28日付けで初の国宝指定が行われた。
English: Thereafter, in 1929 the Law for the Preservation of National Treasures took the place of the Ancient Temples and Shrines Preservation Law; this new law remained in force until it was replaced in 1950 by the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties.
Japanese: その後1929年（昭和4年）には古社寺保存法に代わって国宝保存法が制定され、同法は文化財保護法が施行される1950年（昭和25年）まで存続した。
English: As of 1950, the number of items and so forth designated national treasures under either the Ancient Temples and Shrines Preservation Law or the Law for the Preservation of National Treasures reached 5,824 valuable objects (art or craft works) and 1,059 buildings.
Japanese: 古社寺保存法および国宝保存法の下で指定された「国宝」は1950年（昭和25年）現在で宝物類（美術工芸品）5,824件、建造物1,059件に及んだ。
English: All of the designated items (the 'old' national treasures) were relabeled 'important cultural properties' on August 29, 1950, the day the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties came into effect, while within that larger group of important cultural properties, those items considered to possess great cultural worth from the viewpoint of world culture, as well as those items considered peerless treasures by Japan's citizens, were re-designated 'national treasures.'
Japanese: これらの指定物件（いわゆる「旧国宝」）は文化財保護法施行の日である1950年（昭和25年）8月29日付けをもってすべて「重要文化財」に指定されたものと見なされ、その「重要文化財」の中から「世界文化の見地から価値の高いもの」で「たぐいない国民の宝」たるものがあらためて「国宝」に指定されることとなった。
English: To avoid confusion, the national treasures designated under the prior laws were labeled 'old national treasures,' while those specified under the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties were named 'new national treasures.'
Japanese: 混同を避けるため旧法上の国宝を「旧国宝」、文化財保護法上の国宝を「新国宝」と通称することがある。
English: The first item to become one of these 'new national treasures' under the provisions of the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties was so designated on June 9, 1951.
Japanese: 文化財保護法による、いわゆる「新国宝」の初の指定は1951年（昭和26年）6月9日付けで実施された。
English: Because the actual relationship, as described above, between the 'old' and 'new' national treasures, and 'Important Cultural Properties' is very convoluted, many have mistakenly assumed simply that 'all the items designated before the Second World War as National Treasures were downgraded to Important Cultural Properties after the war.'
Japanese: 以上のように「（旧）国宝」「（新）国宝」「重要文化財」の関係が錯綜しているため、「第二次世界大戦以前には国宝だったものが、戦後は重要文化財に格下げされた」と誤って理解されることが多い。
English: However, the (old) 'national treasure' defined under the old laws (the Ancient Temples and Shrines Preservation Law and the Law for the Preservation of National Treasures) and the 'important cultural property' defined under the new law (the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties) actually both refer to the same thing, namely an item designated a tangible cultural asset by the state, and as such the change cannot be considered a 'downgrading.'
Japanese: 旧法（古社寺保存法、国宝保存法）における「国宝」（旧国宝）と新法（文化財保護法）における「重要文化財」は国が指定した有形文化財という点で同等のものであり、「格下げ」されたのではない。
English: Moreover, among those items designated (new) national treasures under the provisions of the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, not a single item has ever been 'downgraded' to the status of important cultural property.
Japanese: また、文化財保護法によって国宝（新国宝）に指定された物件のうち、重要文化財に「格下げ」された例は1件もない。
English: The items that can be designated national treasures as specified in the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties are any items considered tangible cultural assets; specifically, they are broken down into the following categories: buildings, paintings, sculptures, crafts, calligraphy work, books, ancient documents, archaeological materials, and historical materials (for more information, see the first part of item one under Article 2 of the abovementioned law).
Japanese: 文化財保護法による国宝の指定対象となるものは有形文化財であり、具体的には建造物、絵画、彫刻、工芸品、書跡、典籍、古文書、考古資料、歴史資料である（同法第2条第1項第1号参照）。
English: It follows from this that items such as kofun (keyhole tumuli), shell mounds, or habitation sites cannot become national treasures.
Japanese: したがって、古墳、貝塚、住居跡などは国宝指定の対象とはなっていない。
English: Note however that in the case of the Takamatsu Tumulus in Nara Prefecture, although the keyhole tumulus itself was designated a 'special historical landmark' as per item two of Article 109 of the abovementioned law, the wall paintings inside the stone chamber were classified as paintings and designated a national treasure.
Japanese: ちなみに奈良県・高松塚古墳の場合は古墳自体は同法第109条第2項に基づき「特別史跡」に指定され、石室内の壁画が「絵画」として国宝に指定されている。
English: Moreover, based on the specifications that appear in the first part of item one under Article 2 of the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, namely, 'the designation national treasure shall include--for any items whose value, considered as a unified whole, depends in part on the land on which they were created or on any other item--any and all such land and/or items,' there have been cases where the land on which buildings that were designated national treasures were built is also considered part of the designation.
Japanese: なお、文化財保護法第2条第1項第1号の「これらのものと一体をなしてその価値を形成している土地その他の物件を含む」という規定に基づき、国宝建造物とともに「土地」が併せて指定される場合がある。
English: Examples of such cases, where the land underneath and surrounding a structure is included in that structure's designation as a national treasure, include the Main Hall of Kiyomizu-dera Temple (in Kyoto), the Inner Shrine of Ujigami-jinja Shrine (in Kyoto), and the Main Hall of Jodo-ji Temple (in the city of Onomichi in Hiroshima Prefecture).
Japanese: 建造物が周辺の土地を含んで国宝に指定されている例としては清水寺本堂（京都府）、宇治上神社本殿（京都府）、浄土寺(尾道市)本堂（広島県）がある。
English: It is not uncommon to see terms like 'XX Temple, a national treasure' or 'XX Castle, a national treasure,' but strictly speaking it is always individual buildings, not the entire temple or castle complex, that are designated as national treasures.
Japanese: 「国宝○○寺」あるいは「国宝○○城」のような表記がまま見られるが、厳密に言えば寺院や城郭全体が国宝に指定されているのではなく、指定の対象はあくまでも個々の建造物である。
English: Taking Himeji-jo Castle as an example, only two structures, the four-roof donjon and the connected four-roof watari-yagura (the roofed-passage turret), have been designated national treasures; the other turrets, gates, walls and so forth of the castle complex have been designated important cultural properties.
Japanese: 姫路城の場合を例にとれば、国宝指定物件は4棟の天守とそれらをつなぐ4棟の渡櫓（わたりやぐら）のみであって、これら以外の櫓、門、塀などは重要文化財となっている。
English: As for items that are considered tangible cultural assets yet are designated neither national treasures nor important cultural properties, items connected to the Imperial household fall into this category.
Japanese: 有形文化財でありながら国宝・重要文化財の指定対象とされていないものに、皇室関係品がある。
English: Any Imperial property (that is, items privately owned by the Imperial house) or other cultural assets under the purview of the Imperial Household Agency (like those in the Imperial Household Archives, the Museum of the Imperial Collections, in their Kyoto Office, or in the Shosoin Office of the Imperial Household Agency) are excluded, under the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, from consideration and cannot be designated national treasures, important cultural properties, historical landmarks, or special historical landmarks.
Japanese: 御物（ぎょぶつ、皇室の私有品）および宮内庁（書陵部、三の丸尚蔵館、京都事務所、正倉院事務所）管理の文化財は文化財保護法による国宝、重要文化財、史跡、特別史跡等の指定の対象外となっている。
English: This exclusion from consideration regarding being designated national treasures, etc. is not due to an actual clause in the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, but rather to precedent, which has been in place since before World War II.
Japanese: これらを国宝等の指定対象外とするということは文化財保護法に明文規定があるわけではなく、第二次世界大戦以前からの慣例となっている。
English: Consequently, the Shosoin Treasures, the Katsura Imperial Villa, the Shugakuin Imperial Villa and other such cases have not been designated national treasures.
Japanese: したがって正倉院宝物、桂離宮、修学院離宮などは国宝の指定対象となっていない。
English: There are however exceptions to this general rule, as for example the 'one-roof warehouse of the Shosoin,' one of the buildings in the Shosoin, was designated a national treasure in 1997, at the same time that World Heritage registration was underway for the 'cultural assets of Nara, Japan's ancient capital.'
Japanese: 例外は正倉院の建物で、「古都奈良の文化財」の世界遺産登録を期に1997年（平成9年）に「正倉院正倉1棟」として国宝に指定されている。
English: This is due to the fact that, as a prerequisite for World Heritage registration, each item or site being registered is desired to be already under the protection of the laws of its origin county as a cultural asset, so the exceptional step was taken of designating the warehouse a national treasure.
Japanese: これは世界遺産登録の前提条件として登録物件が所在国の法律により文化財として保護を受けていることが求められるため、例外的措置として指定されたものであった。
English: The summaries provided below are based on the most current data on designations available (current as of 2008).
Japanese: 以下の説明は、2008年（平成20年）現在の指定状況を元にしている。
English: As of 2008, the total number of buildings designated national treasures is 214: of the structures so designated, 37 appear in shrines, 154 in temples, 8 in castles, 12 in public residences, 0 in private homes, and 3 are miscellaneous structures.
Japanese: 2008年（平成20年）現在国宝の建造物は神社37件、寺院154件、城郭8件、住宅12件、民家0件、その他3件、計214件である。
English: The term 'public residences' is used to refer to the palaces in castles, to the shoin (studies) in shrines or temples, to reception halls, and so forth, whereas 'private homes' refers to merchant or farmer houses.
Japanese: なお、ここで言う「住宅」は城郭の御殿、社寺の書院、客殿などを指し、「民家」は町屋、農家などを指す。
English: Beginning in 1972, when the Kofuzo (a type of storehouse) of Horyu-ji Temple was designated a national treasure, a period of 25 years elapsed in which no new buildings were designated national treasures; but in 1997, in addition to the Shosoin warehouse, three structures in the Zuiryu-ji Temple complex in the city of Takaoka (Toyama Prefecture), namely the Buddhist temple, the lecture hall, and the temple gate, were designated national treasures.
Japanese: 1972年（昭和47年）に法隆寺綱封蔵が指定されて以後、国宝建造物の新規指定は25年間にわたり行われていなかったが、1997年（平成9年）には正倉院正倉と瑞龍寺(高岡市)（富山県）仏殿・法堂・山門が指定された。
English: Examples of rather more unique structures that have been made national treasures include the five-story miniature pagodas of both Ganko-ji and Kairyuo-ji Temples (both of which are in Nara Prefecture).
Japanese: 異色の指定物件としては元興寺と海龍王寺（ともに奈良県）の五重小塔がある。
English: The Ganko-ji Temple pagoda stands 5.5 meters tall, while the Kairyuo-ji Temple pagoda is truly miniature at just 4 meters; despite the fact that they are both placed indoors, it was as structures, not as craft works, that they were designated national treasures.
Japanese: 元興寺塔は高さ5.5メートル、海龍王寺塔は4メートルほどの小品で、当初から屋内に置かれたものだが工芸品ではなく建造物として国宝に指定されている。
English: Many different types of paintings have been made national treasures, including Buddhist paintings, picture scrolls, portraits, monochrome ink paintings, and wall paintings.
Japanese: 国宝指定物件には仏画、絵巻物、肖像画、水墨画、障壁画など各種のものがある。
English: As of 2008, the only kofun (keyhole tumulus) wall painting designated a national treasure remains that of the Takamatsuzuka Tumulus.
Japanese: 古墳壁画では高松塚古墳壁画が2008年（平成20年）現在、唯一の指定物件である。
English: Sections of certain buildings that have been designated national treasures occasionally feature paintings that have also been made national treasures, like for example the wall and door paintings in Byodoin Temple's Phoenix Hall, the wall paintings in the five-storey pagoda of Daigo-ji Temple, and the wall paintings adorning Muro-ji Temple's Golden Hall.
Japanese: 平等院鳳凰堂壁扉画、醍醐寺五重塔初層壁画、室生寺金堂壁画のように、国宝建造物の一部が「絵画」としても国宝に指定されているものもある。
English: Paintings designated national treasures are not limited to those paintings made in Japan; many (Song- and Yuan-era) Chinese paintings that have been handed down since ancient times within Japanese families have also been designated national treasures.
Japanese: 日本の作品だけでなく、古くから伝来していた中国（宋・元）の絵画で国宝に指定されているものも多い。
English: Of the painters who have created one or more paintings designated national treasures, Japanese painters include Sesshu, Masanobu KANO, Eitoku KANO, Tohaku HASEGAWA, Sotatsu TAWARAYA, Korin OGATA, Okyo MARUYAMA, IKE no Taiga, Buson YOSA, Kazan WATANABE, and Gyokudo URAGAMI, while Chinese painters include LIANG Kai, DI Li, and Emperor Huizong.
Japanese: 作品が国宝に指定されている画家としては、日本人では雪舟、狩野正信、狩野永徳、長谷川等伯、俵屋宗達、尾形光琳、円山応挙、池大雅、与謝蕪村、渡辺崋山、浦上玉堂など、中国では梁楷、李迪、徽宗皇帝などが挙げられる。
English: The collection of Heike Nokyo (sutras donated by the Taira clan) owned by Itsukushima-jinja Shrine was designated a national treasure in the category of painting, not in the calligraphy or book category.
Japanese: 厳島神社の平家納経は「書跡・典籍」の部ではなく「絵画」の部で国宝に指定されている。
English: There are several other examples of similar situations in which sutras (that is, Buddhist scriptures) were despite their written nature designated national treasures as paintings, like for example 'the Senmen Hokekyo Sasshi' (Booklet of the Lotus Sutra Inscribed on a Fan, owned by Shitenno-ji Temple and held by the Tokyo National Museum) and 'the Hakubyo eryoshi Konkomyo kyo' (Sutra on Paper Decorated with Line Drawings, in the Kyoto National Museum).
Japanese: 同様に経典でありながら「絵画」の部で指定されているものとしては「扇面法華経冊子」（四天王寺、東京国立博物館）、「白描絵料紙金光明経」（京都国立博物館）などがある。
English: This choice of categories is due to the fact that it is the painting below the inscribed sutra, not the sutra itself, that is considered to have the greater material and aesthetic value.
Japanese: これらは、経典そのものよりも下絵の絵画の方に資料的・美術的価値を認められたものである。
English: All of the sculptures designated national treasures are connected to Buddhism or Shinto, and nearly all are specifically Buddhist or Shinto statues; the oldest sculptures to be made national treasures date back as far as the Kamakura period.
Japanese: 国宝指定物件はすべて仏教・神道関係で仏像・神像がそのほとんどを占め、時代的には鎌倉時代までの作品に限られている。
English: An example of a more unconventional sculpture that was made a national treasure is the sculpture of the reed hood adorning the head of Amitabha Tathagata (Amida Nyorai in Japanese), the principal image in Phoenix Hall of Byodoin Temple, which separate from the sculpture of Amitabha was made a national treasure by itself.
Japanese: 異色の指定品としては平等院鳳凰堂本尊阿弥陀如来の頭上の天蓋があり、単独で「彫刻」の部の国宝に指定されている。
English: Most of the aforementioned sculptures designated national treasures are concentrated in the Kinki (Kansai) region, but there are some sculptures located outside the Kinki region, including the bronze seated statue of Amitabha Tathagata in Kotokuin Temple in Kanagawa (the Big Buddha of Kamakura), the wooden statue of Samantabhadra (Fugen Bosatsu in Japanese) riding an elephant in the Okura Shukokan Museum of Fine Arts in Tokyo (it is not known at which temple this statue originally resided), the statues and the canopy in the Golden Hall of Chuson-ji Temple in Iwate, the three wooden statues that comprise the Yakushi Triad housed in Shojo-ji Temple in Fukushima, and the Usuki Magaibutsu (the stone-cliff Buddha) owned by the city of Usuki in Oita.
Japanese: 既指定物件は近畿地方に集中しており、近畿以外の地区に所在するものは神奈川・高徳院の銅造阿弥陀如来坐像（鎌倉大仏）、東京・大倉集古館の木造普賢菩薩騎象像（本来どこの寺院にあったものか不明）、岩手・中尊寺の金色堂堂内諸像及天蓋、福島・勝常寺の木造薬師三尊像、大分・臼杵市所有の臼杵磨崖仏がある。
English: Almost all sculptures designated national treasures are owned by temples or shrines, though some exceptions do exist, including the seated statue of Bhaisajyaguru (Yakushi Nyorai, the Healing Buddha) under the care of the Nara National Museum in Nara (formerly in the possession of the Nyakuoji-sha Shrine in Kyoto), the wooden statue of Samantabhadra (Fugen Bosatsu in Japanese) riding an elephant owned by the Okura Shukokan Museum of Fine Arts (of the Okura Culture Foundation; the original owner is unknown), and the Usuki Magaibutsu (the stone-cliff Buddha) owned by the city of Usuki in Oita.
Japanese: 国宝彫刻のそのほとんどを寺社が所有しているが、例外として奈良・奈良国立博物館保管の薬師如来坐像（京都・若王子社旧蔵）、東京・大倉集古館（大倉文化財団）所有の木造普賢菩薩騎象像（伝来不明）、大分・臼杵市所有の臼杵磨崖仏がある。
English: This category includes a wide variety of craftworks including those made of metal, lacquer, works of dyeing and weaving, ceramics, swords, and armor; swords account for roughly half the total number of crafts considered national treasures.
Japanese: 金工、漆工、染織、陶磁、刀剣、甲冑など各種のものがあり、このうち刀剣類が全体のほぼ半数を占めている。
English: Among the lacquerworks are inkstone cases, small boxes for personal items, and the like; among these, pieces featuring both gold-and-silver and mother-of-pearl inlay work--a distinctive feature of Japanese lacquerwork--are numerous.
Japanese: 漆工は硯箱、手箱などがあり、日本漆工の特色である蒔絵と螺鈿を併用した作品が多い。
English: Among the works featuring dyeing or weaving, in addition to the varieties of kesa (Buddhist stole) designated national treasures, many of the other works are also connected to Buddhism in some way, like the Shishu Shakyanyorai seppo-zu (embroidery illustrating Sakyamuni Preaching) held by the Nara National Museum and the Tsuzureori Taima Mandala-zu (a type of embroidered mandala) of Taima-dera Temple.
Japanese: 染織は袈裟類のほか奈良国立博物館の刺繍釈迦如来説法図、当麻寺の綴織当麻曼荼羅図など、やはり仏教関連のものが多い。
English: With regards to ceramic and porcelain ware, perhaps because so many such artworks were mass-produced and bear considerable resemblance to each other, the number designated national treasures remains relatively low.
Japanese: 陶磁器については大量生産型の美術品で類似の作品が多数あるためか、国宝指定物件は比較的少ない。
English: And among this small pool of designated items, the fact that most, including for example the Yohen Tenmoku tea bowls (held by the Seikado Bunko Art Museum among others), are of Chinese manufacture is noteworthy.
Japanese: 少ない指定物件の中では曜変天目茶碗（静嘉堂文庫ほか）など、中国製品の多いのが目立つ。
English: In the sub-category of swords, in many cases, only the blade of the tachi (long sword), tanto (dagger) or other swords are made a national treasure, while in the case of kazari-tachi (decorative swords), most often it is the exterior bodywork (the hilt, etc.), not the blade, that is named a national treasure.
Japanese: 刀剣は太刀、短刀などの刀身のみ指定されているものと、飾剣（かざりたち）のようにおもに外装が指定対象になっているものとがある。
English: In addition to the above-mentioned works, certain miscellaneous items exist--namely 'the Koshinhorui' (Sacred Treasures) held by Kumano Hayatama-taisha Grand Shrine, Itsukushima-jinja Shrine, Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu Shrine, and so forth--that do not fall into any single category.
Japanese: このほか、1つのジャンルに納まらないものに熊野速玉大社、厳島神社、鶴岡八幡宮などの「古神宝類」がある。
English: Such sacred treasures are bundles of various clothing and furnishings offered to the god of the shrine in question, and so each such bundle includes items of multiple categories such as dyeing and weaving, lacquerwork, sword fittings and so forth.
Japanese: これらは各神社の祭神に奉納された衣服調度類一括で、1件のうちに染織、漆工、刀装具など各種のものを含む。
English: Calligraphy work' refers to Imperial letters, examples of handwriting by well-known calligraphers of Japan and China, ancient writings, ink calligraphy, calligraphy copybooks, and any other written works (in Japan) of historical significance by deceased calligraphers.
Japanese: 「書跡」は宸翰、和漢名家筆跡、古筆、墨跡、法帖等で日本の書道史上の遺品を指す。
English: Books' refers to various written works like sutras, monogatari (tales), waka poetry anthologies, and history books; among all these books, some works, like for example the Koyagire-bon (copied manuscript) of the "Kokin wakashu" (A Collection of Ancient and Modern Japanese Poetry), are by past calligraphy masters and are considered historically valuable as calligraphy pieces but are still included in the Books sub-category, yet most of the items designated national treasures as books are more highly regarded for their value as ko denpon (ancient books transcribed and still extant) texts of literature or history rather than for their value as calligraphy works.
Japanese: 「典籍」は経典、物語、和歌集、歴史書などの著作物のことでこの中には高野切本（こうやぎれぼん）古今和歌集のように書道史上貴重な遺品も含まれるが、書道史上の価値よりも文学作品・歴史書などの古伝本・テキストとしての価値が評価されて指定されたものも多い。
English: As is the case with paintings made national treasures, many books so designated were actually imported from China; these importations are not limited only to handwritten manuscripts but also include many printed copies dating from the Song period.
Japanese: 絵画と同様、中国からの渡来品の指定も多く、その中には写本だけでなく宋時代の刊本も多数含まれている。
English: At one time the category 'Ancient Documents' was included as a subcategory of 'Calligraphy and Books,' but beginning in 1985, 'Calligraphy and Books' and 'Ancient Documents' were separated into two distinct categories; this new distinction was then retroactively applied to all the items formerly designated national treasures, putting each into either the 'Calligraphy and Books' or the 'Ancient Documents' category.
Japanese: かつては古文書類も「書跡・典籍」の部に含まれていたが、1985年（昭和60年）度から「書跡・典籍」の部と「古文書」の部は別個に指定されるようになり、既指定物件についても「書跡・典籍」と「古文書」とにあらためて区分されている。
English: The items classified as Ancient Documents are not strictly speaking limited to 'letter documents' (which notably are those documents written to have both a sender and an addressee, and with some kind of specific goal or purpose in mind), but also include diaries and other kinds of documents of record.
Japanese: 古文書の部に分類されている物件には厳密な意味での「文書」（特定の発信元と宛て先があり、何らかの目的を達するために作成するもの）だけではなく、日記などの記録類をも含む。
English: Among the items previously made national treasures in this category, there are many of the letter variety, as well as some general archives like the Todai-ji Temple Archives, the To-ji Temple 100-document Archive, the Shimazu House Archives, and the Uesugi House Archives, and other types of documents including notebooks of historical materials of temples and shrines, diaries, prayer documents, wills, and genealogies.
Japanese: 既指定物件には書状（手紙）類が多く、その他、東大寺文書、東寺百合（ひゃくごう）文書、島津家文書、上杉家文書などの一括文書、寺院の資材帳、日記、祈願文、遺告（遺言）、系図などがある。
English: The letters of such men as Kukai, Saicho, and FUJIWARA no Sukemasa are highly valued both for their value as ancient historical documents and as important documents in the history of calligraphy.
Japanese: 空海、最澄、藤原佐理などの書状は、古文書としての史料的価値とともに、書道史上においても貴重な遺品である。
English: Unique works designated national treasures in this category include the personal letter from the vice-King of Portugal, held by Myoho-in Temple in Kyoto, and the Nasu no Kuni no Miyatsuko no Hi (an ancient stone monument) of Kasai-jinja Shrine in Tochigi.
Japanese: 異色の指定品としては京都・妙法院の「ポルトガル国印度副王親書」、栃木・笠石神社の那須国造碑などがある。
English: In addition to the artifacts from a variety of ancient eras including the Jomon, Yayoi, and Kofun (Tumulus) periods, the most numerous are kyozuka (sutra mound) relics, epitaphs, and other items dating from after the beginning of written history.
Japanese: 縄文時代・弥生時代・古墳時代の各時代の出土品のほか、経塚遺物や墓誌など歴史時代に入ってからのものも多い。
English: The item dated closest to modern times is the Sekido (stone structure) of Fusai-ji Temple in Tokyo, which dates from Japan's period of Northern and Southern Courts.
Japanese: もっとも時代が降るのは東京・普済寺の「石幢」で、南北朝時代_(日本)のものである。
English: The timeline for items in this category being named national treasures is still quite short; the first such designation was the collection (owned by the Sendai City Museum) of 'materials related to the Keicho-era mission to Europe' (it was so designated during the December 2000 designations of national treasures).
Japanese: この分野の国宝指定は歴史が浅く、最初の指定物件は「慶長遣欧使節関係資料」（仙台市博物館蔵、2000年（平成12年）12月国宝指定）であった。
English: The greatest concentration of national treasures were so named in the decade immediately after the promulgation of the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, from 1950 to 1960; subsequent to 1960, designations have been limited to a few each year.
Japanese: 国宝は文化財保護法施行直後の1950年代から1960年代に集中的に指定され、以降は年に数件の指定に留まっている。
English: As a reference, here follows a list of all those items designated national treasures so far in the twenty-first century (beginning in 2001).
Japanese: 参考までに21世紀（2001年（平成13年）以降）に入ってからの指定物件を挙げておく。