605–623Tori Busshi and the Hōryū-ji Shaka Triad
鞍作止利と法隆寺釈迦三尊像
Why it mattersThe Hōryū-ji Shaka Triad connects sculptural skill, religious dedication and royal commemoration with traditions transmitted across East Asia.
1005-1010Murasaki Shikibu Serves in Empress Shōshi’s Household
紫式部の彰子への出仕
Why it mattersMurasaki's service in Shōshi's household connects literary production to patronage, court competition and the circulation of writing.- 1400-1424
Zeami Writes the Fūshikaden and Later Treatises
『風姿花伝』と世阿弥の伝書
Why it mattersZeami's treatises turned performance experience into sustained reflection on training, audiences and the transmission of theatrical knowledge. 
1703The Premiere of The Love Suicides at Sonezaki
『曽根崎心中』の初演
Why it mattersThe Sonezaki play brought the pressures of love, work and urban reputation onto the puppet stage for a commercial audience.
1774Publishing Kaitai Shinsho
『解体新書』の刊行
Why it mattersCollaborative translation, illustration, and print made unfamiliar anatomy open to further study and correction, strengthening the practice of Dutch learning.
1689Bashō and Sora Depart for the Northern Journey
芭蕉と曾良の旅立ち
Why it mattersBashō's journey with Sora joined travel, observation and remembered literature in a work whose later form was carefully composed.- 1821
The Completed Inō Map Reaches the Shogunate
伊能図の完成と幕府への提出
Why it mattersThe completed coastal map gathered years of measurement into a resource for the shogunate, linking practical surveying to geographical knowledge. 
1830Publishing Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji
『冨嶽三十六景』の刊行
Why it mattersHokusai's print series made Mount Fuji a recurring presence in scenes of labor, travel and changing viewpoints for a commercial market.
1872–1876Publishing Gakumon no Susume
『学問のすゝめ』の刊行
Why it mattersFukuzawa's essays connected learning with independence and practical life, bringing arguments about the new society to a broad readership.
1892–1898Shiki Uses Newspaper Serials to Challenge Poetic Conventions
子規の新聞連載と詩歌革新
Why it mattersShiki used newspaper publication to question poetic conventions and promote new ways of describing experience.