The Imperial Regalia of Japan, the Three Sacred Treasures, or Sanshu no Jingi, are a mirror, a sword and a curved jewel that together stand for the legitimacy of the Japanese emperor. The mirror is the Yata no Kagami, the sword the Kusanagi no Tsurugi, and the jewel the Yasakani no Magatama, and they are traditionally read as emblems of wisdom, valour and benevolence.
By the founding myth they were given by the sun goddess Amaterasu to her descendants and handed down through the imperial line, so that to possess them is to hold the mandate of the throne. They are unique among the great sacred objects of the world for their absolute concealment: they are never exhibited, never photographed, and are handled only wrapped and encased, even during the enthronement rites at which they are formally conveyed. Because no outside observer examines them, everything about their material form, their age and their continuity is a matter of tradition rather than record. Out of respect for that tradition, which restricts the very seeing of these objects, this entry describes them only as the tradition and the scholarship allow, and does not attempt to reconstruct their appearance.