Edo

The Ishiba house in Hirosaki, Aomori, the 18th-century home of a straw-goods merchant to the domain, faces the castle gate behind a komise and is open for a fee.

Iwakiyama Shrine's Romon in Aomori is a vermilion five-bay tower gate built in 1628 as a Buddhist temple's gate, inherited by the shrine after the Meiji reforms.

The Edo Family Residence in Gonohe, Aomori, was home to rural samurai of the Nanbu domain. The large thatched house dates from around 1783; exterior viewing only.

The Former Kasaishi Residence, a thatched 18th-century farmhouse in Towada, Aomori, gives a third of its floor to a stable, the mark of a horse-rearing region.

Hirosaki's oldest surviving samurai house, named in a 1756 register. A national Important Cultural Property built in hiba, its roof frame left open. Free entry.

The Tsugaru Family Mausolea, five structures designated as Important Cultural Properties of Japan, stand within the grounds of Choshoji Temple in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture. Built between 1631 and 1753, these mausolea honor successive lords and ladies of the Hirosaki Domain. Their austere unpainted wood exteriors conceal brilliantly painted ceilings featuring dragons and celestial beings. Located at the end of Zenringai — a unique avenue of 33 Soto Zen temples — they offer a profound encounter with the feudal history and sacred architecture of northern Japan.

The Toshogu Shrine Main Hall in Hirosaki, built in 1628, is an Important Cultural Property of plain unpainted wood with Momoyama-period carving and a karahafu porch.

The Mausoleum of Nanbu Toshiyasu in Nanbu, Aomori, built about 1631, is a tiny Important Cultural Property hall of black lacquer, bright paint and gilt metalwork.

A late Edo thatched house in Kuroishi's old samurai quarter: six bays by five, a hipped roof, an early alcove inside. Registered 2006, and still a private home.