Important Cultural Property of Ibaraki

Discover the Main Hall of Daiho Hachimangu Shrine in Shimotsuma, Ibaraki—a nationally designated Important Cultural Property built in 1577. Explore its 1,300-year history, Momoyama-era architecture, and seasonal festivals.

Discover the Former Hida Family Residence, an 18th-century L-shaped magariya farmhouse and Important Cultural Property of Japan, preserved in Koga Kubo Park, Ibaraki Prefecture. Learn about its unique architecture, history, and visitor information.

Located in Oguri, Chikusei City in Ibaraki Prefecture, Naige Daijingu is a historic shrine that was once the only Ise Inner-Shrine sacred estate in the entire province of Hitachi. Its Inner and Outer main halls, rebuilt in 1679 by local carpenters in authentic three-bay shinmei-zukuri style, are recognized as the oldest surviving example of twin shinmei main halls in Japan. Together with the 1574 Goseiden, the three buildings were designated Important Cultural Properties in 2009.

The Nakazaki Family Residence in Mito, a thatched farmhouse traditionally dated to 1688, was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1968. Privately owned.

The Main Hall of Hachimangu Shrine in Mito City, Ibaraki Prefecture (popularly Mito Hachimangu) is a National Important Cultural Property built in 1598 by the warlord Satake Yoshinobu. Designed in a Wayō–Karayō hybrid style with an irimoya roof, it was constructed by a team of young craftsmen led by the fifteen-year-old master carpenter Yoshihara Sakutarō. Restored to its original colors and gilding between 1995 and 1999, it preserves the brilliance of late Azuchi-Momoyama architecture in a region where few medieval structures survive.

The Hanawa Family Residence in Kasama City, Ibaraki, is a late Edo farmhouse of 2 blocks roofed as one. Designated an Important Cultural Property in 1976.

The Hirai Family Residence in Inashiki City, Ibaraki, is a thatched hall-plan farmhouse of the Genroku era. Designated in 1976, it was restored 2001 to 2003.

Discover Bussho-ji Main Hall (Hakkaku-do), a rare octagonal Buddhist temple built in 1585 and designated as a National Important Cultural Property. Located in Mito, Ibaraki, this unique Tendai temple features Zen-style architecture and a beautifully restored thatched roof.

Discover Yakuōin Main Hall, a nationally designated Important Cultural Property in Mito City, Ibaraki. Founded in 807 by the great monk Saichō, this Tendai Buddhist temple preserves Muromachi-period architecture and houses precious Heian-era sculptures.

Discover the Yamamoto Family Residence in Kamisu City, Ibaraki Prefecture — one of only four fishing households in Japan designated as an Important Cultural Property. This 300-year-old thatched-roof magariya offers a rare glimpse into the daily life of Edo-period coastal communities.

Yokotone Lock Gate in Inashiki, Ibaraki, is the last brick and stone lock built in Japan. Completed in 1921 and designated an Important Cultural Property in 2000.

A late Muromachi pagoda at Raigoin in Ryugasaki, Ibaraki. The finial inscription names Toki Haruhide and the year 1556. Square below, round above, listed in 2006.

The Sanbutsudo (Three Buddha Hall) at Ryuzenji Temple in Toride City, Ibaraki Prefecture, is the city's only nationally designated Important Cultural Property. Built in the early 16th century, this thatched-roof hall features a unique three-sided mokoshi structure found nowhere else in Japan, blending Zen and Japanese architectural styles. Steeped in the legends of the warrior Taira no Masakado, it is a precious example of medieval Kantō Buddhist architecture.

The gate of Ryōgonji Temple in Kasama, Ibaraki Prefecture, is a thatched-roof Zen-style four-legged gate from the mid-Muromachi period, designated as a nationally Important Cultural Property. Its austere beauty and unique solitary setting amid rice paddies, some 400 meters from the main hall, captivate all who visit.

Hidden in a wooded hollow at Fukusenji Temple in Hokota City, Ibaraki Prefecture, this life-size standing Shakyamuni Buddha was carved in the late Kamakura period and designated a National Important Cultural Property in 1916. Its rope-coiled hair, exposed cypress finish, and concentric drapery follow the famous Seiryōji-style tradition tracing back through Song China to ancient Indian Gandhāran art. The statue is publicly opened once a year, on April 8.

Discover the National Important Cultural Property triad enshrined at Itabashi Fudōson (Seian-zan Ganjō-ji Fudō-in) in Tsukubamirai City, Ibaraki. Carved from Japanese cypress in the late Heian period, these elegant standing statues of Fudō Myōō and his two attendant boys reveal the refined sensibility of 12th-century Buddhist sculpture and continue to draw devotees from across the Kantō region.

Preserved at Muryōjuji Temple in Hokota City, Ibaraki, the Shūi Kotokuden is a colored picture scroll on paper composed by Kakunyo, third head priest of Hongan-ji. A surviving fragment from the 1608 fire, this Kamakura-period yamato-e was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1917.

Discover the Illustrated Biography of Prince Shōtoku, a Kamakura-period handscroll designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan and preserved at Jōgūji temple in Naka City, Ibaraki Prefecture. Painted in the soft yamato-e tradition, the 7.39-metre scroll narrates the life of Prince Shōtoku in fourteen scenes and arrived at this rural temple as a gift from Honganji's Kennyo following the Ishiyama War.

Discover the Silk-Painted Biography of Prince Shōtoku, a set of four hanging scrolls designated as a National Important Cultural Property and held by Myōan-ji temple in Bandō City, Ibaraki Prefecture. Created during the Kamakura period to support the Pure Land mission in eastern Japan, this masterpiece depicts about seventy scenes from Prince Shōtoku's legendary life. Learn about its founding by Jōnen, a disciple of Shinran, the painting's iconographic highlights, where to see the faithful replica, visitor access, and surrounding pilgrimage sites.