Registered Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan

Built in 1919 for the Ōmi merchant Tanaka family, this two-storey timber house lays out grid-plan rooms open to the garden, and now houses the Ōmi Shōnintei restaurant.

The oldest of the five buildings, this 1892 plaster storehouse carries scrolling motifs and a family crest at its west door and a wave-formed eave on the east gable.

Explore the Former Toyosato Elementary School in Shiga Prefecture, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property designed by architect William Merrell Vories in 1937. Discover its Omi merchant heritage, iconic Tortoise and Hare staircase, and anime pilgrimage culture.

The Kurokabe Glass Hall in Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture, is a nationally registered tangible cultural property originally built in 1900 as the Nagahama Branch of Japan's 130th National Bank. Known locally as the 'Black Wall Bank' for its distinctive black-lacquered plaster exterior, this Japanese-Western eclectic wooden building was reborn as a glass art gallery in 1989 and now serves as the symbol of Kurokabe Square, a cultural district attracting approximately two million visitors annually.

Only 1.2 meters long, the stone bridge before the former Fujii estate flares toward the road and carries high railings with rounded posts over a Koto village canal.

A roofed timber wall about 30 meters long encloses the main house of the former Fujii estate, built differently on each face to divide private rooms from service areas.

A compact two-story storehouse at the former Fujii estate, its white plaster skirt faced with horizontal planks reused from old wooden river boats.

Rebuilt here in 1932, the plain main house of the former Fujii estate anchors the Gokasho folk museum and shows how thrifty Omi merchants once lived and worked.

Running nearly 114 meters, the concrete outer wall of the former Fujii estate carries a stone gate with iron doors, modern for a village of board and earthen walls.

Beside the front gate stands this two-story storehouse of the former Fujii estate, plain at a glance but finished with vertical boards and garden-side cedar bark.

This corridor of about 10 square meters joins the plain main house to the ornate guest hall of the former Fujii estate, finished with care despite its modest role.

Located steps from JR Kinomoto Station in Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture, Kohoku Library is one of Japan's rarest privately operated libraries, housed in a striking 1937 Western-style wooden building registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property in 2024. Founded in 1907 through the vision of lawyer Bunya Sugino, this beloved institution has been sustained by its community for over 120 years. Visitors can explore its atmospheric tatami reading room, semicircular arched windows, historic collection of 49,000 volumes, and the charming Kinomoto post town nearby.

Discover Saigan-ji Main Hall, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in Ōmi-Hachiman, Shiga. This thatched-roof Jōdo Buddhist temple from the mid-17th century blends farmhouse aesthetics with sacred architecture, set within Japan's first Important Cultural Landscape.

The Kanjō-zō at Saikyō-ji is an early-Shōwa clay storehouse for the gear of the esoteric kanjō rite, its thick plastered walls built to resist fire.

The Kanran-tei at Saikyō-ji is a late-Meiji sukiya room behind the guest hall, its vermilion walls framing a carved wave transom that echoes its name.

The Kyakuden Tsūyōmon at Saikyō-ji is a Taishō hira-karamon in the board fence along the guest hall, a plain gate carried by its fine proportion.

The Gobyō at Saikyō-ji is an 1842 grave hall on the hill west of the Main Hall, said to hold the founder Shinsei's stupa. Its rich carving marks it among the oldest here.

The Sōso Daishi-den at Saikyō-ji in Ōtsu honors Shinsei, founder of the Tendai-Shinsei school. Built in 1894 in a formal residential style, it faces the temple approach.

The Karamon before the Daishi-den at Saikyō-ji is a four-legged gate of 1917. Under a cypress-bark roof, dragons and lions are carved above the beam.

The everyday gate west of the Daishi-den at Saikyō-ji is a Taishō hira-karamon on a stone platform. Plain yet ample, it centers on a bold frog-leg strut along the ridge.