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.

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.

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.

Built in 1921 during the Taishō period, the Yamada Family Residence Main House is a beautifully preserved Japanese-style villa in Takarazuka City, Hyogo Prefecture. Registered in 1999 as the city's first nationally registered tangible cultural property, this elegant wooden dwelling features a hip-and-gable tile roof, lattice-windowed study, and a distinctive north-facing contemplative garden, capturing the refined residential culture of Takarazuka's early development as an upscale suburb.

Discover the Yutouya Ryokan Front Gate and Wall in Kinosaki Onsen, Hyogo — a Registered Tangible Cultural Property built in 1926. Explore this yakuimon-style gate with inventive reinforced-concrete pillars finished in rust-red pebble washout, gracing the entrance of a beloved inn founded in 1688 and rebuilt after the 1925 North Tajima Earthquake.

Ryotei Bunshiro Kyukan is a nationally Registered Tangible Cultural Property in the historic castle town of Miki City, Hyogo Prefecture. This pre-war culinary ryokan features a stately shoin-style banquet hall and individually designed guest rooms showcasing sukiya and soan aesthetics, with remarkable ceiling craftsmanship including umbrella and wickerwork designs.

Ryotei Bunshiro Shinkan is an early Showa-period tatami room building located in the former castle town of Miki City, Hyogo Prefecture. Registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property, it features five guest rooms with distinctive sukiya-style designs including umbrella and woven bamboo-strip ceilings, preserving the refined atmosphere of pre-war Japanese cuisine-focused inns.

Discover the Former Tsujikawa Post Office in Fukusaki, Hyogo — a 1923 wooden pseudo-Western building with charming postal-mark decorations, now home to a yokai-themed book cafe and boutique inn near the childhood home of folklorist Yanagita Kunio.

Tatsumi-gura, the southeast storehouse of the former Hirayasu residence in Kawanishi, Hyogo, dates from 1918. Cut stone base, boarded lower wall, round gable window.

The Onaya at the former Hirayasu residence in Kawanishi, Hyogo, dates from 1918. Two joined frames, an earthen floor, a mezzanine and exposed-post plaster walls.

Kita-gura at the former Hirayasu residence in Kawanishi, Hyogo, dates from 1918. Its eaves floor runs continuously with the covered passage from the main house.