Important Cultural Property of Hyogo

Twelve Showa-period school buildings in Hyogo Prefecture. Three of them, with their own two corridors, are counted together as just a single one here.

This unsigned katana is an Important Cultural Property attributed to the Ichimonji school of Kamakura-period Bizen, famed for its bold clove-shaped temper line.

The Important Cultural Property Katana, Unsigned, Attributed to Sa, preserved in Hyogo Prefecture, is judged by sword connoisseurs to be the work of Sa (Samonji), the master smith of Hakata in Chikuzen Province who was counted among Masamune's Ten Disciples. This shortened, unsigned blade transmits the bright, refined Soshu-tradition style with which the Sa school revolutionized Kyushu sword-making between the late Kamakura and early Nanboku-cho periods. This guide introduces its historical significance, where to see related Sa-school works, and surrounding attractions in Hyogo.

A collection of 664 burial artifacts — including armor, bronze mirrors, weapons, jade ornaments, and haniwa — excavated from Chasuriyama Kofun, one of the largest circular tombs in the Kinki region, dating to the early 5th century. Designated as a national Important Cultural Property, the collection features the first collar-attached armor ever found outside the Kinai heartland, revealing the powerful ties between the Yamato court and the chieftains of ancient Tajima. Exhibited free of charge at the Kodai Asago-kan museum in Asago City, Hyogo.

The main hall of Akabuchi Shrine at Wadayama, Asago, Hyogo, an early Muromachi three-bay nagare-style shrine, keeps much of its original carved woodwork.

The main hall of Amatsu Shrine at Yokawa, Miki, Hyogo, is a hall of 1492 with a cypress-bark hip-and-gable roof, entered from the gable end with a porch.

The three-storied pagoda of Ikarugadera in Taishi, Hyogo, a three-bay pagoda of 1565 with tiled roofs, was designated in 1928 and is an Important Cultural Property.

Ijokaku in Maiko, Kobe, an octagonal pavilion of 1915 built by the merchant Wu Jintang and visited by Sun Yat-sen, is an early concrete-block building.

The Ichijoji Temple Goho-do Hall in Kasai, Hyogo, an Important Cultural Property since 1913, is a small late Kamakura shrine to Bishamonten on the hill.

The Ichijoji Temple Stone Five-Ring Pagoda in Kasai, Hyogo, an Important Cultural Property since 1953, is a late Kamakura stone stupa bearing a carved date of 1321.

The Ichijoji Temple Benten-do Hall in Kasai, Hyogo, an Important Cultural Property since 1913, is a mid-Muromachi shrine of unusual form with fine carving.

The Ichijoji Temple Main Hall in Kasai, Hyogo, an Important Cultural Property since 1983, is a stilted nine-bay hall of 1628 with a widened worship space.

The main hall of Inari Shrine at Yokawa, Miki, Hyogo, a small kasuga-style shrine of 1546 built by Todaiji carpenters, is well kept inside a cover building.

The Esaki Lighthouse of 1871 at the north tip of Awaji, guarding the Akashi Strait, is one of Japan's first Western lighthouses, built under Richard Henry Brunton.

The mortuary precinct of the founder Shoku in the western valley of Mount Shosha. Four buildings, two designated in 1955 and two added to the listing in 2014.

A small square chapel south of the Mitsunodo, built in 1544 for the sub-temple Fugen-in and designated in 1913. Its brackets and struts preserve late Muromachi work.

The long hall closing the west end of the Mitsunodo court, forty metres of two full storeys, designated in 1955 and open inside for sutra copying and treasures.

A meditation hall on the south side of the Mitsunodo court, with a green room and a projecting stage built for offering dance to the hall opposite. Designated 1955.

A bell tower on rising ground north of the Mitsunodo, with a flared boarded skirt and bracketed cornice, designated in 1913. Its construction date remains disputed.

The main hall of Engyoji, facing the raked sand court of the Mitsunodo. Its lower storey dates to 1440 and its upper to 1462, and it was designated in 1913.