Eaves Tile with Arabesques in Green Glaze from the Imperial Palace of Ancient Kyoto

平安京大内裏瓦緑釉唐草文軒平瓦

At a glance — Archaeological Object · Heian period · held by Kyoto National Museum · designated Important Cultural Property of Japan.

Fact Sheet

Designation: Important Cultural Property (重要文化財)
Category: Archaeological Objects
Period: Heian period
Dimensions: Width34.2cm
Held by: Kyoto National Museum
Location: Higashiyama, Kyoto
Catalogue ID: cobas-513

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Same period: Heian archaeological objects →
At this museum: All 680 works here →

Ryokuyû is a type of glaze, which contains lead and turns green when fired at low temperatures. At Heijôkyô, the imperial palace of ancient Nara, ryokuyû tiles were used for the first time to cover the roofs of the palace, halls, and pagodas. At Heiankyô, the imperial palace of ancient Kyoto, the roofs of the main buildings, including Daigokuden (Great Hall), and the halls and pagodas of Tôji and Saiji Temples were also covered with ryokuyû tiles. These tiles were made not to cover the entire roof, but to decorate the eaves, the main ridge, and descending ridges of the roof.

— Museum description: Kyoto National Museum (CC BY 4.0), via ColBase / Japan Search.

Record & Sources

Designation: Important Cultural Property (重要文化財), Government of Japan
Catalogue ID: cobas-513 (permanent)
Official record: Japan Search — jpsearch.go.jp/item/cobas-513
Holder's collection: ColBase — Kyoto National Museum
Photograph: Kyoto National Museum, via ColBase — CC BY 4.0. CC BY 4.0 licence

Cite this page: “Eaves Tile with Arabesques in Green Glaze from the Imperial Palace of Ancient Kyoto（平安京大内裏瓦緑釉唐草文軒平瓦）.” Treasures of Japan, catalogue no. cobas-513. Kyoto National Museum. https://treasures.yamato-kenkou.com/treasures/eaves-tile-with-arabesques-in-green-glaze-from-the-imperial-palace-of-ancient-kyoto/ — entry last verified 1 November 2026.

Full record data (as published in the official catalogue record)

Cultural property designation: Important Cultural Property
Category: Archaeology:Media:Earthenware, stoneware, porcelain|Archaeology:Region:Japan
Size: Width34.2cm
Genre: Archaeological Artifacts
員数: 1点
種別: 考古:材質:土・陶・磁|考古:地域:日本
分類: 考古
法量: :幅34.2cm

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Important Cultural Property