Registered Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan

Saikyoji's 1858 main hall in Mima, Tokushima, is a registered property. Its 14 by 16 metre plan follows Jodo Shinshu practice, and dragon and tiger guard the porch.

Sadamitsu Theater (Sadamitsu Gekijo) is a striking wooden playhouse built in 1932 in the heart of an old merchant town in western Tokushima. Originally a shibai-goya, it was converted to a cinema in 1949 and operated until 2011, ending an unbroken run as Tokushima's longest-running movie theater. Distinctive features include a copper-clad gabled roof, a grand arched façade, sajiki box seats around the perimeter, and original Showa-era advertisements still visible on the coffered ceiling. Registered as a national Tangible Cultural Property on August 6, 2025, the theater stands at the center of Sadamitsu's celebrated two-tiered udatsu townscape.

Built in 1810 at Jizoji, fifth temple of the Shikoku pilgrimage in Tokushima, this plastered storehouse holds an octagonal revolving sutra case. Registered in 2011.

The inner sanctuary of Jizoji in Tokushima, rebuilt in 1922 after a fire, sets three halls in a U-shape where some two hundred life-size wooden rakan stand.

This hall of Kobo Daishi at Jizoji in Tokushima dates from 1711 to 1716 and was remodelled late in the Edo period. Carved transoms, celestial women on the ceiling.

Joined to the north flank of the main hall at Jizoji in Tokushima, this late Edo hall is built around a central goma fire altar, and its carved gable is admired.

The Shimao Family Residence Shop and Main House in Tsuji, Ikawa-cho, Miyoshi City, Tokushima Prefecture, is a nationally registered tangible cultural property that preserves the legacy of this riverside town's prosperity from the tobacco trade of the late Edo and Meiji periods. Discover the architectural charm of this historic merchant house and explore the surrounding attractions of the Iya Valley region.

Discover the Shimao Family Residence Annex (Shimao-ke Jutaku Hanare) in Miyoshi City, Tokushima Prefecture — a registered tangible cultural property showcasing traditional Japanese residential architecture amid the scenic mountains of the Iya Valley region.

Senkoin Hondo is an early Showa-period Shingon Buddhist main hall in Awa City, Tokushima, registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property in 2022. Discover its tile-roofed silhouette, tranquil interior, and the Shikoku pilgrimage region around it.

Tucked away in Tokushima City's historic Kokufu district, the Zoshu-in Tea Room is a refined late-Edo sukiya building registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property in 2021. Its five rooms—two tea rooms, a mizuya, a waiting room, and a formal upper room—showcase a remarkable variety of prized timbers and carefully varied designs. Set within a ninth-century temple and steps from four Shikoku Pilgrimage sites, it offers a rare, crowd-free glimpse into provincial Edo architectural refinement.

Discover Zoushuin Maikomi-izumi in Tokushima, a nationally registered Edo-period spiral well of a type rarely seen in western Japan. Explore its history, stone craftsmanship, and the rich heritage landscape of Kokufu-cho.

The Takahara Building in Tokushima City is a reinforced concrete Western-style building completed in 1932. Designed by Suzuki Teiji, the renowned architect known as 'the architect who built Nagoya,' it features scratch-tile walls and Romanesque ornamentation. The building miraculously survived the devastating 1945 Tokushima Air Raid thanks to its German-made fireproof windows and was registered as a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 1997.

Discover Takeyashiki-dō, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in Tsurugi Town, Tokushima. This Taishō-period pilgrimage hall serves as the 35th station of the Hata-Shikoku 88 Sacred Sites route, featuring traditional hōgyō-zukuri architecture amid the mountains of western Tokushima.

The Tahoto (multi-treasure pagoda) at Tatsue-ji, the 19th temple of the Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage in Komatsushima City, Tokushima Prefecture. Built in 1923 during the Taishō era, this elegant wooden two-story pagoda faithfully inherits the traditional tahoto form while incorporating exquisite carvings and a raised coffered ceiling characteristic of modern craftsmanship. It was registered as a national Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2024.

Chiiori, meaning 'House of the Flute,' is an approximately 300-year-old thatched-roof farmhouse nestled in the remote Iya Valley of Miyoshi City, Tokushima Prefecture. Registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property, this Edo-period minka was purchased and restored by American Japanologist Alex Kerr in 1973. Today it operates as an exclusive whole-house rental, offering guests an immersive experience in Japan's vanishing rural heritage.

The Main Hall of Tsubaki Hachiman Shrine in Anan City, Tokushima Prefecture, is a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property built in 1856. Despite its compact 4.7 m² footprint, this late Edo-period shrine showcases remarkably sophisticated craftsmanship including elaborate bracket complexes with diagonal tail rafters, double rainbow-beam gable ornamentation, and dense sculptural decoration. Located in a tranquil coastal village near Gamoda Cape, the easternmost point of Shikoku.

A rare purpose-built puppet playhouse on a Tokushima high-school campus, built in 1965 with a two-tier stage and box seats, home to a living Awa puppet-theater tradition.

Completed in 1926, this brick-and-granite well-house of barely 21 square metres held the intake of Tokushima's first modern water supply, matching the plant's design.

Completed in 1926, this is the only round building of the Sako plant's three registered structures, a cylindrical brick-and-granite well-house about 5.1 metres high.

Completed in 1926 for Tokushima's first modern water supply, this English-bond red-brick pump station became the prefecture's first registered cultural property.