Registered Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan

Named for the pen name of scholar Takano Choei, this tiny 1932 earthen-walled library in Mizusawa has a copper door and iron grilles to guard his legacy.

The Former Tohoku Crushed Stone Factory in Higashiyama, Ichinoseki City, Iwate Prefecture, is a lime fertilizer production facility built in 1924 and the first limestone-industry site in Japan to be registered as a national Tangible Cultural Property. It is also known as the place where the beloved poet and scientist Kenji Miyazawa worked as an engineer in his final years, striving to improve farmland through affordable lime. Together with the adjacent Stone and Kenji Museum, it offers a unique encounter with industrial heritage and literary legacy.

Built in 1925, the Former Tono Homotsukan was the first reinforced concrete building in the Tono region of Iwate Prefecture. Featuring geometric exterior ornamentation, column-free interior spaces, and earthquake-resistant design, it was registered as a national Tangible Cultural Property in 2017. Today it serves as a storage facility for the Tono Municipal Museum in the heartland of Japanese folklore.

The Former Nanbu Family Villa Main House in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property built in 1908 as a retreat for the former feudal lords of the Morioka Domain. Designed by Kasai Manji, who also worked on Tokyo Station, this elegant villa masterfully blends Japanese and Western architectural styles. Together with its nationally registered stroll garden, it offers a window into the refined lifestyle of Meiji-era Japanese aristocracy.

Built in 1912, the Former Morioka Cathedral is a refined wooden church inspired by Romanesque architecture. Tracing the history of Catholic evangelization in Morioka by the Paris Foreign Missions Society, this remarkable structure features a three-aisled basilica plan with vaulted ceilings — European stone church elements realized entirely in wood. It was registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property in 2024.

Discover the Former Army Horse Supplement Division Rokuhara Branch Officers' Quarters Building No. 1, a nationally registered tangible cultural property in Kanegasaki, Iwate. Built around 1911, this rare Meiji-era Western-style wooden residence served senior military officers overseeing Japan's wartime horse breeding operations.

Built around 1911 in Kanegasaki Town, Iwate Prefecture, this single-story wooden building is one of three surviving officers' quarters from the Imperial Japanese Army Horse Supplement Department Rokuhara Branch. Featuring English-bond brick foundations, weatherboard cladding, and sash windows, it was registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property in 2017.

Discover the Former Imperial Japanese Army Horse Supplement Department Rokuhara Branch Official Residence Building No. 2 in Kanegasaki, Iwate. This 1911 wooden residence is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property showcasing Meiji-era Western-Japanese hybrid architecture.

Discover the Former Temporary Latitude Observatory Main Building in Oshu, Iwate, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property built in 1900 where astronomer Kimura Hisashi discovered the Z-term. Now the Kimura Hisashi Memorial Hall, it showcases historic instruments and Japan's role in international geodetic science.

The Former Temporary Latitude Observatory Visual Zenith Telescope Room, preserved on the NAOJ Mizusawa Campus in Oshu City, Iwate Prefecture, was built in 1899 as a dedicated facility for the International Latitude Observation Service. Closely linked to the discovery of the Z-term by first director Kimura Hisashi, this Registered Tangible Cultural Property tells the story of Japan's pioneering role in modern international science.

Built in 1900 on the Mizusawa Campus of the National Astronomical Observatory in Oshu City, Iwate, this rare calibration facility for a visual zenith telescope is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property that witnessed Japan's pioneering role in the international latitude observation project and the discovery of the Z-term.

The Goto-Haku Memorial Community Hall in Oshu City, Iwate Prefecture, is recognized as Japan's first building to bear the name 'kominkan' (community hall). Built in 1941 by Shoriki Matsutaro as a tribute to statesman Goto Shinpei, this two-story wooden structure features distinctive half-timbered gable walls and layered rooflines. It was designated a Nationally Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2019.

The Sato Family Residence Western Building is a wooden two-story Western-style annex completed in 1924 in Senmaya, Ichinoseki City, Iwate Prefecture. Designated as a national Registered Tangible Cultural Property, it was commissioned by sake brewer Sato Shuhei of the Yokoya Brewery and grafted onto the family's earlier Meiji-era residence. Distinctive slate "namako-kabe" walls, copper drip awnings, and a central pediment make it a refined example of Taisho-era hybrid architecture. Today it is part of the Senmaya Sake Storehouse Cultural Exchange Facility and houses a cafe on its ground floor, with free admission.

The Koiwai Station Main Building on the JR Tazawako Line in Takizawa City, Iwate Prefecture, is a wooden station building constructed in 1921 (Taisho 10) at the opening of the Hashiba Light Railway. Registered as a Nationally Registered Tangible Cultural Property in August 2025, it is also known as a place once visited by the poet Miyazawa Kenji. After a careful restoration in 2023, it serves both as a working station and as a beloved community gathering hub.

Standing on the banks of the Iwai River in Ichinoseki, Iwate, the Sekinoichi Sake Brewery Former Sales Warehouse is a single-story earthen storehouse built in 1919 during the Taishō era. Its white-plastered gable is elegantly framed in dark, over-fired clay bricks. Designed by Kohara Yūsuke, an architect in the school of Tatsuno Kingo of Tokyo Station fame, it was registered together with six other brewery buildings as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 1999, and remains in active use as part of a working sake and craft beer brewery.

Bandaikan in Ichinohe, Iwate Prefecture is a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property that began as a puppet theater in 1909 and was rebuilt as a cinema in 1956. As the only surviving active cinema from Iwate's golden age of film, it now hosts cultural events including the Cassiopeia Film Festival and jazz concerts.

The front gate and wall of the Imao Family Residence in Kakamigahara City, Gifu Prefecture, is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property that preserves the legacy of the Imao family, who served as personal physicians to the Tsubouchi hatamoto clan since the late Edo period. Discover this stately architectural ensemble along the old Nakasendo highway.

The Imao Family Residence Rice Storehouse in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture, is a traditional kura storehouse registered as a national Tangible Cultural Property in 2007. Part of a six-building estate along the historic Nakasendō highway rest stop of Shin-Kanō, it preserves the architectural heritage and prosperity of a prominent family in this Edo-period post town.

Discover the Imao Family Residence Middle Gate and Wall (Imao-ke Jutaku Chumon oyobi Hei), a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture. This traditional wooden gate and wall stand within a historic compound along the former Nakasendo post town of Shinkano.

Discover the Imao Family Residence Annex, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in Kakamigahara City, Gifu Prefecture. Part of a six-building compound along the historic Nakasendo highway's Shinkano post town, this elegant annex showcases traditional Japanese domestic architecture and the legacy of a prominent local family.

The complete kokuhō catalogue — browse by prefecture, period, and category.

Nationwide jūyō bunkazai — architecture, sculpture, painting, crafts, and documents.

UNESCO-inscribed cultural and natural sites across the archipelago.