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.
Daishōin in Hagi, Yamaguchi Prefecture, is one of two mausoleum temples of the Mōri lords of the Hagi domain. Its Main Hall, Kuri, Shoin, Bell Tower Gate, and Sutra Repository — rebuilt in the mid-eighteenth century after a fire — are all Important Cultural Properties of Japan. The adjoining Historic Site cemetery is lined with more than six hundred stone lanterns that are lit by candlelight each year on August 13 for the Hagi Mantōe festival.
The kuri at Unpoji in Koshu, Yamanashi, held the kitchen and living quarters: a long thatched, gable-entry building of the early Edo period, the widest of the four halls.
Unpoji's shoin in Koshu, Yamanashi, is a mid-Edo Important Cultural Property of 1716: a hipped, thatched residential hall behind the garden, the newest of its four.
The Niomon at Unpoji in Koshu, Yamanashi, is a late-Muromachi three-bay eight-legged gate, copper-roofed and flanked by two Nio guardian kings on the stone approach.
Unpoji's main hall in Koshu, Yamanashi, is a late-Muromachi Important Cultural Property with a cypress-bark hip-and-gable roof and a curved karahafu worship porch.
On Mt. Yumura in Kōfu, Entaku-ji's hipped-roof Jizō-dō shelters a stone Jizō. An Important Cultural Property since 1949, its soot-black interior rewards a visit.
A late-Kamakura Important Cultural Property in Kosuge, Yamanashi, this hall preserves rare Heian residential carpentry and shelters a hidden Nyoirin Kannon.
Discover the Sanmon Gate of Kai Zenkoji Temple in Kofu, Yamanashi — an Important Cultural Property of Japan built in 1767. Explore the samurai history of Takeda Shingen, experience the Roaring Dragon and underground pilgrimage, and visit one of eastern Japan's largest wooden temple complexes.
Discover the Main Hall of Kai Zenkoji Temple in Kofu, Yamanashi — an Important Cultural Property founded by warlord Takeda Shingen in 1558. Experience the legendary Roaring Dragon ceiling, the pitch-dark Kaidan Meguri passage, and one of the largest wooden structures in eastern Japan.
The Takamuro Family Residence in Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture, is a rare surviving Edo-period physician's compound designated as an Important Cultural Property of Japan. The estate encompasses nine historic structures across approximately 5,000 square meters, including the main house built in 1788 featuring a medicine compounding room and herb-drying attic. The Takamuro family served as official physicians to the Kofu Kinban, the Tokugawa shogunate's garrison, and the estate preserves an exceptionally complete picture of medical practice and daily life in feudal Japan.
The Main Hall of Takeda Hachiman Shrine in Nirasaki City, Yamanashi Prefecture, is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property rebuilt by the legendary warlord Takeda Shingen in 1541. Discover the history, architecture, highlights, and surrounding attractions of this sacred site at the birthplace of the Takeda clan.
The Main Hall of Chōkoku-ji Temple in Minami-Alps City, Yamanashi Prefecture, is the oldest building in the city, constructed in 1524 during the late Muromachi period. Designated as an Important Cultural Property of Japan, this compact Buddhist worship hall blends traditional Japanese and Zen architectural elements and enshrines a secret Eleven-Headed Kannon statue unveiled only once every 33 years.
Tenjinsha Honden in Yamanashi City is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property rebuilt in 1522 under the patronage of Takeda Nobutora. This ichikensha nagare-zukuri shrine with a cypress bark roof preserves the elegant, refined architectural beauty of the late Muromachi period.
The Buddha Hall of Toko-ji Temple in Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture, is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property built in the late Muromachi period in the Chinese Zen architectural style. Standing within one of the Five Great Zen Temples of Kofu established by the legendary warlord Takeda Shingen, this elegant hall with its cypress bark roof and distinctive double-eave design miraculously survived both the 1582 burning by Oda Nobunaga and the 1945 Kofu Air Raid, preserving a rare example of medieval Zen architecture.
Built in 1875 in Mutsuzawa Village, Yamanashi Prefecture, this pseudo-Western schoolhouse is the finest surviving example of Fujimura-style architecture from early Meiji Japan. Designated a national Important Cultural Property in 1967, it now stands at JR Kofu Station as the free-admission Fujimura Memorial Hall.
Discover the Monzai Family Residence, an Important Cultural Property from the mid-Edo period in Minobu, Yamanashi. This thatched-roof farmhouse reveals the life of gold mine administrators in the Fuji River valley.
Discover the Anyoji Thirteen-Story Stone Pagoda, a nationally designated Important Cultural Property from the late Kamakura period, standing within the grounds of Tohozan Anyoji Temple in Ritto City, Shiga Prefecture. This 334 cm granite pagoda features exquisite relief carvings of four Buddhas and elegant eave curvature.
The Main Hall of Hando Shrine, perched atop Mt. Hando (664 m) in Koka City, Shiga Prefecture, is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property rebuilt in 1650. Adorned with vermilion lacquer and gold leaf in the Momoyama architectural style, it crowns a sacred mountain renowned as a Shugendo training ground and legendary home of the Koga ninja.
The Main Hall of Ikuwa Shrine in Yasu City, Shiga Prefecture, is an Important Cultural Property dating from the early Muromachi period (c. 1333–1392). Built in the ichikensha nagare-zukuri style with a hinoki cypress bark roof, it enshrines Fujiwara no Tadashige, a legendary lord who slew a great serpent and reclaimed marshland for the local community. The shrine grounds also house the Kamakura-period Kasuga Shrine subsidiary hall, another Important Cultural Property.
The subsidiary Kasuga Shrine Main Hall within Ikuwa Shrine in Yasu City, Shiga Prefecture, is an Important Cultural Property dating to the late Kamakura period. Built in the nagare-zukuri style with cypress bark roofing, this compact shrine hall preserves older architectural techniques than the adjacent main Ikuwa Shrine hall, making it a rare and valuable example of medieval Japanese sacred architecture.