The National Treasure (国宝, kokuhō) refers to Tangible Cultural Properties designated by Japanese law as: “having exceptionally high value”. It applies to buildings, artworks, 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 of 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% of the National Treasures are structures such as castles, Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, or residences. The remaining 80% include paintings, scrolls, sutras, calligraphy, sculptures in wood, bronze, lacquer or stone, as well as crafts such as pottery, lacquerware, metalworks, swords, textiles, and archaeological artifacts. The items span the period from ancient to early modern Japan 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, public prefectural and city museums; and private museums. Religious items are often housed in temples and Shinto shrines or in an adjacent museum or treasure house.

Japanese cultural properties were originally in the ownership of Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, and aristocratic or samurai families. Feudal Japan ended abruptly in 1867–1868 when the Tokugawa shogunate was replaced by the Meiji Restoration. During the ensuing Haibutsu kishaku ("abolish Buddhism and destroy Shākyamuni") triggered by the official policy of separation of Shinto and Buddhism and anti-Buddhist movements propagating the return to Shinto, Buddhist buildings and artwork were destroyed. In 1871, the government confiscated temple lands, considered symbolic of the ruling elite. Properties belonging to the feudal lords were expropriated, historic castles and residences were destroyed, and an estimated 18,000 temples were closed. During the same period, Japanese cultural heritage was impacted by the rise of industrialization and westernization. As a result, Buddhist and Shinto institutions became impoverished. Temples decayed, and valuable objects were exported.

In 1871, the Daijō-kan issued a decree to protect Japanese antiquities called the Plan for the Preservation of Ancient Artifacts (古器旧物保存方, koki kyūbutsu hozonkata). Based on recommendations from the universities, the decree ordered prefectures, temples, and shrines to compile lists of important buildings and art. However, these efforts proved to be ineffective in the face of the rapid Western influence. In 1880, the government allotted funds for the preservation of ancient shrines and temples. By 1894, 539 shrines and temples such as the five-storied pagoda of Daigo-ji, the kon-dō of Tōshōdai-ji, and the hon-dō of Kiyomizu-dera, had received government funded subsidies to conduct repairs and reconstruction during this period. A survey conducted in association with Okakura Kakuzō and Ernest Fenollosa between 1888 and 1897 was designed to evaluate and catalogue 210,000 objects of artistic or historic merit. The end of the 19th century was a period of political change in Japan as cultural values moved from the enthusiastic adoption of Western ideas to a newly discovered interest in Japanese heritage. Japanese architectural history began to appear in curricula, and the first books on architectural history were published, stimulated by the newly compiled inventories of buildings and art.

On June 5, 1897, the Ancient Temples and Shrines Preservation Law (古社寺保存法, koshaji hozonhō) (law number 49) was enacted; it was the first systematic law for the preservation of Japanese historic art and architecture. Formulated under the guidance of architectural historian and architect Itō Chūta, the law established (in 20 articles) government funding for the preservation of buildings and the restoration of artworks. The law applied to architecture and pieces of art relating to an architectural structure, with the proviso that historic uniqueness and exceptional quality were to be established (article 2). Applications for financial support were to be made to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (article 1), and the responsibility for restoration or preservation lay in the hands of local officials (article 3). Restoration works were financed directly from the national coffers (article 3).

A second law was passed on December 15, 1897, that provided supplementary provisions to designate works of art in the possession of temples or shrines as "National Treasures" (国宝, kokuhō). The new law also provided for pieces of religious architecture to be designated as a "Specially Protected Building" (特別保護建造物, tokubetsu hogo kenzōbutsu). While the main criteria were "artistic superiority" and "value as historical evidence and wealth of historical associations", the age of the piece was an additional factor. Designated artworks could be from any of the following categories: painting, sculpture, calligraphy, books, and handicrafts. Swords were added later. The law limited protection to items held at religious institutions, while articles in private ownership remained unprotected. Funds designated for the restoration of works of art and structures were increased from 20,000 yen to 150,000 yen, and fines were set for the destruction of cultural properties. Owners were required to register designated objects with newly created museums, which were granted the first option of purchase in case of sale. Initially, 44 temple and shrine buildings and 155 relics were designated under the new law, including the kon-dō at Hōryū-ji.