Important cultural property
重 要 文 化 財 一 覧Explore Japan’s Important Cultural Properties in one searchable list. Filter by prefecture, period, and category, read concise stories, and plan visits with maps and travel tips.
Inside Kanpuku-ji's main hall in Tokai City stands a miniature wooden shrine, dated by inscription to the year 1248 and keeping clear Kamakura-period traits.
Discover the Former Ise Post Office (Uji-Yamada Post Office), a designated Important Cultural Property and the only surviving wooden post office from Japan's Meiji era. Now preserved at Museum Meiji-mura in Inuyama, Aichi, this 1909 half-timbered masterpiece features a striking V-shaped plan, conical dome, and a still-functioning postal service.
The Former Saionji Family Okitsu Villa 'Zagyoso,' preserved at the Museum Meiji-mura in Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture, was the seaside retreat of Prince Saionji Kinmochi, Japan's last elder statesman. Designated as an Important Cultural Property in 2017, the complex includes the main house, guard station, attendants' waiting area, and gate—showcasing exquisite sukiya-style craftsmanship and the political history of modern Japan.
On the old Chuma road in Asuke, Toyota City, the Suzuki family compound preserves sixteen buildings and their land, a great merchant household across Edo and Meiji.
Discover the Former Nukata County Public Hall and Products Exhibition Hall in Okazaki, Aichi. Designated as an Important Cultural Property, these 1913 Renaissance-inspired Western-style buildings showcase Japan's early mastery of European architecture in a provincial setting.
Built in Yamanashi in 1885 and moved to Meiji Mura in Aichi in 1964, this giyofu county office mixes Western trusses with Japanese roof framing under one roof.
A mid-Edo mountain house in Toyone, Aichi, framed on unusually wide bays with a six-room plan borrowed from samurai housing. Three buildings designated in 1974.
Discover the Main Hall of Kumaku Shrine, an Important Cultural Property built in 1527 on Mount Yatsuomote in Nishio, Aichi. Explore its rare irimoya-zukuri architecture, cypress bark roof, and centuries of history linked to Kyoto's Yasaka Shrine.
Discover the Former Gofukuza Theater, an Important Cultural Property at Museum Meiji-Mura in Inuyama, Aichi. This Meiji-era kabuki playhouse features a revolving stage, naraku underpass, and traditional Edo-period theater architecture.
Discover the Mausoleum of Genkei-kō, the final resting place of Tokugawa Yoshinao, founder of the Owari Domain. This Important Cultural Property in Seto, Aichi features rare Confucian-style architecture designed by Chinese émigré Chen Yuanyun, with seven designated structures set amid ancient cedar forests.
Discover the Koshoji Five-Story Pagoda, a nationally designated Important Cultural Property built in 1808. Located in Nagoya's Yagoto district, this elegant late Edo-period wooden pagoda is the only one remaining in the entire Tokai region.
Discover Kouden-ji Main Hall in Kitanagoya, Aichi — a stunning Muromachi-period Buddhist temple designated as an Important Cultural Property. Explore its cypress bark roof, secret Yakushi Nyorai statue, Enkū carvings, and Shinto-Buddhist fusion heritage.
Zaigaji Temple in Toyokawa, Aichi keeps two Muromachi structures: a gate planned as two storeys but roofed as one, and a Zen-style zushi cabinet dated 1483.
Discover the Former Saigo Tsugumichi Residence, an Important Cultural Property at Museum Meiji-mura in Aichi. This French-designed Western mansion built in the 1880s blends European elegance with Japanese earthquake-resistant techniques, offering a rare glimpse into Meiji-era elite diplomacy and lifestyle.
Completed in 1898 in central Sapporo, the Former Sapporo Telephone Exchange is a two-story stone building that housed Hokkaido's first telephone exchange operations. Built with locally quarried Sapporo soft stone in an elegant Renaissance-inspired style, it is designated as an Important Cultural Property of Japan. Now preserved at Museum Meiji-mura in Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture, it features an interactive exhibition on the history of telephone communication in Japan.
At Sanmyo-ji in Toyokawa City rises a 14.5-meter pagoda rebuilt in 1531. Its lower stories follow the Japanese style; the third turns to the Zen style, a rare mix.
Inside Sanmyo-ji's main hall in Toyokawa City stands a wooden tabernacle for the Benzaiten image. Built in 1554, it takes the form of a Shinto shrine sanctuary.
Designed by French engineer Verny and lit in 1870 on a battery island in Tokyo Bay, this circular tower at Meiji Mura is Japan's oldest surviving Western lighthouse.
One of the four Kannon temples guarding Nagoya Castle, Jimokuji in Ama, Aichi preserves a pagoda of 1627 and an east gate of 1634, designated nationally in 1953.
In Ama City west of Nagoya stands the two-storied South Gate of Jimokuji, the city's oldest wooden building, designated in 1900, with guardian statues below.