Ryūjō ("Prancing Dragon") was a light aircraft carrier built for the Imperial Japanese Navy during the early 1930s. Small and lightly built in an attempt to exploit a loophole in the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922, she proved to be top-heavy and only marginally stable, and was back in the shipyard for modifications within a year of completion. With her stability improved, Ryūjō returned to service and was employed in operations during the Second Sino-Japanese War. During World War II, she provided air support for operations in the Philippines, Malaya, and the Dutch East Indies, where her aircraft participated in the Second Battle of the Java Sea. During the Indian Ocean raid in April 1942, the carrier attacked British merchant shipping with both her guns and her aircraft. Ryūjō participated in the Battle of the Aleutian Islands in June. She was sunk by American carrier aircraft at the Battle of the Eastern Solomons on 24 August 1942. (Full article...)

Fourteen National Treasures of Japan are residential structures from the 15th-century feudal Muromachi period to the early modern 17th-century Edo period. 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 residential structures adhere to the current definition, and were designated National Treasures when the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties was implemented on June 9, 1951. The structures listed include teahouses, shoin (the Ninomaru Palace pictured), guest or reception halls and other rooms which are part of Japanese domestic architecture. While most of the structures are located in temples, one is a castle. In 2009, the early 20th century Akasaka Palace was designated as a National Treasure in the category of "modern residences" (Meiji period and later). It is the only National Treasure in this category. (Full list...)

Ryūjō ("Prancing Dragon") was a light aircraft carrier built for the Imperial Japanese Navy during the early 1930s. Small and lightly built in an attempt to exploit a loophole in the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922, she proved to be top-heavy and only marginally stable, and was back in the shipyard for modifications within a year of completion. With her stability improved, Ryūjō returned to service and was employed in operations during the Second Sino-Japanese War. During World War II, she provided air support for operations in the Philippines, Malaya, and the Dutch East Indies, where her aircraft participated in the Second Battle of the Java Sea. During the Indian Ocean raid in April 1942, the carrier attacked British merchant shipping with both her guns and her aircraft. Ryūjō participated in the Battle of the Aleutian Islands in June. She was sunk by American carrier aircraft at the Battle of the Eastern Solomons on 24 August 1942. (Full article...)

Fourteen National Treasures of Japan are residential structures from the 15th-century feudal Muromachi period to the early modern 17th-century Edo period. 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 residential structures adhere to the current definition, and were designated National Treasures when the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties was implemented on June 9, 1951. The structures listed include teahouses, shoin (the Ninomaru Palace pictured), guest or reception halls and other rooms which are part of Japanese domestic architecture. While most of the structures are located in temples, one is a castle. In 2009, the early 20th century Akasaka Palace was designated as a National Treasure in the category of "modern residences" (Meiji period and later). It is the only National Treasure in this category. (Full list...)