The term "National Treasure" has been used in Japan to denote cultural properties since 1897. The definition and the criteria have changed since the inception of the term. The temple structures in this list were designated national treasures when the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties was implemented on June 9, 1951. The items are selected by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology based on their "especially high historical or artistic value". This list presents 155 entries of national treasure temple structures from the late 7th-century Classical Asuka period to the early modern 19th-century Edo period. The number of structures listed is more than 155, because in some cases groups of related structures are combined to form a single entry.