Meiji

Beside the path to the main house, the middle gate of the Yamakawa residence opens to the north garden, just 1.5 metres wide, the smallest of five registered structures.

At the northwest corner of the Yamakawa compound stands a two-story earthen storehouse, its plaster walls faced with tall boarding and its windows shut by iron doors.

The detached room is the only one of the Yamakawa residence's five registered structures listed as a model of design; poet Tomiko died in its eight-mat room in 1909.

Discover the Former Kagetsu-ro Restaurant in Katsuyama, Fukui, a Nationally Registered Tangible Cultural Property built in 1897. Admire its famed umbrella-shaped ceiling over a 32-tatami great hall, and enjoy local cuisine in this beautifully preserved Meiji-era ryotei.

Built around 1902 and expanded in 1919, the Takakura Sabo Nishi-Takakura Dam has stood guard over the mountain village of Seto in Minami-Echizen, Fukui for more than a century. This 19-metre-long dry-stone sabo dam, featuring a distinctive nawadarumi (rope-sag) crest and massive dry-stone masonry, is the only one among twelve dams in the Takakuratanigawa group to be designated a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property.

Discover Tateishi Cape Lighthouse in Tsuruga, Fukui — a Registered Tangible Cultural Property and the first Western-style lighthouse designed and constructed solely by Japanese engineers in 1881. Perched on the Tsuruga Peninsula overlooking the Sea of Japan, this historic granite tower remains active today.

This 1912 shop in Echizen began as two wooden storeys and gained a third through two rebuilds. Four wide windows span the upper floors. Exterior views only.

A Meiji-period earthen-walled sake store in Ono, Fukui, standing south of the shop. The Agency for Cultural Affairs singles it out for its iron eaves braces.

The smallest of five registered buildings at the Hanagaki brewery in Ono, Fukui. Built in 1889, this 41-square-metre rice store opens onto the block's back drain.

A Meiji wooden townhouse at a market crossroads in Ono, Fukui, registered in 2001. It keeps its tower-like roof monitor and still trades as the Hanagaki sake shop.

Baba Family Residence Main House, Echizen City, Fukui, dates from about 1891. Its gable shows exposed posts and tie beams. Registered in 2021; exterior views only.

The Baba Family Residence Storehouse in Echizen City, Fukui, was built in 1892. Plaster posts and a lintel frame its doorway. Registered 2021; exterior views only.

Discover the Nanafushigido Main House, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property originally built in 1881 in Tonami, Toyama. This grand Azumadachi-style farmhouse showcases rare Meiji-era craftsmanship and folk tales of Rennyo Shonin through Echizen washi and bamboo dolls.