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).
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）。