Meiji

The Chūsōdō at Kameyama Hontokuji Temple in Himeji is a nationally registered cultural property built in 1898 by the Imperial Household Artist Itō Heizaemon IX. Featuring a rare composite design combining hip-and-gable and double-layered pyramidal roofs, this hall is one of the few surviving examples of its kind in Japan.

Beneath Kobe's Mt. Egeyama lies Minatogawa Zuido, Japan's first modern river tunnel, completed in 1901. Its horseshoe-shaped brick vault and granite floor showcase Meiji-era engineering at its finest. Designated a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2019, the tunnel opens to the public on select Saturdays, sometimes hosting evocative mini-concerts in its echoing chambers.

A bracket gate and 12 m of board fence south of the main house's formal entrance, Hirao Family Residence. Black-plastered walls give a composed Meiji approach. Not public.

A formal onarimon and a 27 m riverside wall in the Hirao Family Residence, built to receive honoured guests. White plaster marks its ceremonial air. Not open to the public.

A short partition wall and bracket gate dividing the detached quarters from the main garden in the Hirao Family Residence. Its finer face marks the intended front. Not public.

A partition wall and central wicket gate in the Hirao Family Residence, dividing the quarters' front from the inner garden. Its north end runs under a neighbouring eave.

A small forecourt shelter on the ceramics storehouse in the Hirao Family Residence, with a paired-door rear gate. Its exposed gable accents the storehouse cluster. Not public.

A stone water cistern among the storehouses of the Hirao Family Residence, about 1.8 m square. Its drain feeds a 15 m rainwater channel that protected the stores. Not public.

A 10 m partition wall and stepped-up wicket gate from the treasure storehouse in the Hirao Family Residence, its two faces boarded differently. Not open to the public.

An east wall and bracket gate screening the retirement house, Hirao Family Residence. Posts carry a tie beam, boarded below and open above for a light screen. Not public.

Painted in 1890 by Honda Kinkichirō, Hagoromo Tennyo (The Heavenly Maiden in the Legend of Hagoromo) is a Meiji-era oil painting that depicts a celestial maiden soaring above Mt. Fuji and Miho-no-Matsubara. Designated a National Important Cultural Property in 2024, it is held at the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art in Kobe. This guide introduces the painting's blend of Japanese subject and Western technique, its painter's life, its remarkable journey across the Pacific, and how to visit.