Taishō

Standing gracefully in Maiko Park against the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, Ijokaku is a three-story octagonal pavilion built in 1915 by the overseas Chinese merchant Wu Jintang. Designated a National Important Cultural Property as Japan's oldest surviving timber-framed concrete block building, it now houses the country's only museum dedicated to Sun Yat-sen, the father of modern China. Visitors can admire its lavish gold-embossed wallpaper, phoenix ceiling reliefs, and sweeping views of the Akashi Strait.

The 1925 storehouse and barn of the Arai estate in Suma, Kobe: a plastered store on a stone base and an earthen-floored barn under a stepped gabled roof.

The 1925 main house of the Arai estate above the Suma shore in Kobe. A refined two-storey wooden home with a central corridor and a formal sea-facing interior.

Discover the Shōtokuden Rear Hall (Kōden) of Ikaruga-dera Temple in Taishi, Hyogo. This striking three-tiered octagonal hall, designed by master architect Itō Heizaemon and completed in 1916, is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property blending traditional Japanese craftsmanship with modern architectural innovation to honor Prince Shōtoku.

The middle hall of Ikaruga-dera's Shotoku-den links a 17th-century front hall to an octagonal rear hall modelled on Horyu-ji's Yumedono. Built in 1916.

A 26-metre riveted steel water tower of 1923 in Takasago, Hyogo, built from Yawata steel by Kawasaki Shipyard for the town's first waterworks. Registered in 2003.

A 1918 timber hall in Kakogawa, Hyogo, pairing a sixteen-mat room with an antechamber and opening onto a garden that holds its own separate heritage listing.

A late-Taisho timber gate facing the lane at Mitoro-en in Kakogawa, Hyogo, 4.9 metres wide, keeping Jurakukabe plaster on its rear face and visible from the road.

A Taisho service wing at Mitoro-en in Kakogawa, Hyogo, where polished log posts, lobed windows and a radial bathroom ceiling bring sukiya refinement to a bathhouse.

Built in 1924 and registered in 2016, this clapboard and roughcast house in Kobe's Mikage district sets Western rooms downstairs and Japanese rooms above.

A 25-square-metre bath wing built in 1918 for guests alone, linked by roofed passage to house and annexe. Sukiya woodwork meets tile, marble and a koyamaki tub.

Built in 1918 for a Nishiwaki banker, this registered house hides a central-corridor plan, hanegi beams and iron rods behind an old townhouse face. Free entry.

This 58-square-metre annexe went up before the main house. Its eight-mat room keeps alcove, shelving and writing bay, with a veranda on three sides. Free entry.

Discover the Kobe Golf Club Chamber, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property built in 1924 on Mount Rokko. Originally the Thursday Club social hall for Osaka businessmen, this single-story wooden lodge preserves the heritage of Japan's oldest golf course.

Kōmyōji Main Hall in Katō City, Hyogo, was rebuilt in 1925 by the architect Takeda Goichi after an 1859 fire. Registered in 1999, it follows Kamakura forms.

Nestled at the inner edge of Kinosaki Onsen in Toyooka, Hyōgo, the Main Hall of Gokurakuji is a Taishō-era (1921) Zen temple building that blends a traditional six-room hōjō plan with modern glass-paned elements. Linked to the revered Zen master Takuan Sōhō, it was designated a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan in 2015. Visit it alongside the Seikantei karesansui garden, the Dokkosui sacred spring, and the famous seven public bathhouses of Kinosaki.

Discover Shioya Bridge in Awaji Island Park — a 1918 Taisho-era pony bowstring double Warren truss made of riveted Yawata steel. One of only four such bridges remaining in Japan, this Registered Tangible Cultural Property gracefully spans Showa Pond and offers a quiet encounter with Japan's industrial heritage.

A 1915 tatami wing in Suma, Kobe, with an alcove, staggered shelves and a rippled cedar post. Registered with its 1907 western wing and storehouse in March 2025.

A 1926 timber house in Sanda, Hyogo, with arched south windows and a corbelled corner. Attributed to Nishimura Isaku, it was registered nationally in December 2000.

The 1920 fermentation warehouse of the Honke Monzenya brewery in Shiso, Hyogo, registered in 2024. A timber ramp and hoisting hatch still map the brewing workflow.