Meiji

A 20-square-metre earthen storehouse of about 1902 in Yurihonjo, Akita, where vegetables were cured in sake lees left over from pressing at the brewery.

Built around 1902 in Yurihonjo, Akita, this storehouse stands beyond the garden on the working side of the property and still holds the brewery's sake tanks.

At 17 square metres this 1902 storehouse in Yurihonjo, Akita, is the smallest of the eleven, sheltered by a shed finished to imitate an earthen storehouse.

A two-storey earthen storehouse of about 1902 in Yurihonjo, Akita, built for ledgers and valuables, its gable boarded and hooded against wind-driven snow.

A small copper-roofed gate of about 1902 in Yurihonjo, Akita, with wicket doors in the samurai manner. It led guests to the reception rooms, not the shop.

A magnificent Meiji-era thatched farmhouse in the Yuwa district of Akita City, originally built for the village headman of the Ōmiya family. This Registered Tangible Cultural Property showcases the distinctive chūmon-zukuri style and offers kiritanpo-making experiences and traditional room rentals.

The Great Buddha Hall of Chokokuj Temple in Yurihonjo City, Akita, houses the magnificent Akada Great Buddha — a gold-leafed Eleven-Faced Kannon standing nearly nine meters tall. This Registered Tangible Cultural Property is Akita's only large-scale Buddhist hall, faithfully rebuilt in the Meiji era with exquisite carvings and paintings by renowned artisans.

Deep in Akita's Nyūtō Onsen Village, the Honjin of Tsuru-no-Yu Onsen is a long thatched-roof lodging that preserves the atmosphere of an Edo-era therapeutic hot spring retreat. Originally the quarters of samurai guards accompanying Lord Satake Yoshitaka on his 1638 visit, the current Meiji-era structure was registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property in 2010. Its milky-white outdoor baths and irori hearth meals offer a rare immersion in a vanishing slice of rural Japan.

The only Naba Kamiten building with a firm date, 1897, and the largest storehouse at 157 square metres. Black plaster outside, a boat bracket at the ridge.

Rebuilt after Akita's 1886 Tawaraya Fire and registered in 2014, this 463-square-metre townhouse still trades as a washi paper shop. Low Edo roof, exposed beams.

An earthen archive storehouse of 106 square metres, its roof run into the main house so the two read as one. Middle Meiji fabric, moved here in 1908. Closed.

At 70 square metres, the smallest of the five registered buildings, standing alone across the street. Once the internal storehouse of a house that no longer stands.

Hachimori-en in Yashima, Yurihonjo City, Akita Prefecture is the former residence of the Sato family, senior retainers of the Ikoma clan who relocated from Sanuki (Shikoku) in 1640. This National Registered Tangible Cultural Property features a Meiji-era main house, a Taishō-era annex with rare timbers, and an Enshū-style tea room and garden.

The Koji-gura in Masuda is an early-Meiji earthen storehouse, still used as Hinomaru Jozo's koji room for culturing rice. Its interior is closed to visitors.

The Chuo-gura is the largest building at Hinomaru Jozo in Masuda, an early-Meiji earthen storehouse about 24 metres long, still used for storage. It is closed.

The Hinomaru Jozo shop faces the old highway in Masuda, its gable end showing tiered beams in the local townhouse style. A sales counter runs on site.

The Higashi-mae-gura in Masuda is the older half of a paired storehouse at Hinomaru Jozo, its stacked-beam roof keeping the look of early-Meiji work. It is closed.

The Bunko-gura at Hinomaru Jozo in Masuda is a 1908 earthen storehouse in black plaster, its interior lined with lacquered cypress columns. It alone is open to visitors.

The Minami-gura is the smallest registered building at Hinomaru Jozo in Masuda, an early-Meiji storehouse about 11 metres long, still used to store rice. It is closed.

The Yamanaka Kichisuke Shoten Zashiki-gura in Masuda, Yokote City, Akita Prefecture, is a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property built in 1886. Featuring a striking contrast of black and white plaster walls and finely spaced alternating chestnut and cedar columns, this two-story earthen parlor storehouse exemplifies the distinctive architectural tradition of the Masuda merchant district, a nationally designated preservation area for traditional buildings.