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.
Former Yamagata Normal School in Yamagata: a symmetrical 1901 timber school with a central tower and fire-resistant brick-backed walls, now an education museum.
Former Yonezawa Higher Technical School in Yamagata: a 94-metre Renaissance-style timber school of 1910 on a university campus. Interior tours by booking.
Kinbo Shrine Main Hall in Tsuruoka, Yamagata: a Shugendo hall of 1608 near the summit of Mt. Kinbo, blending a Zen-style temple form with a shrine plan.
Tsuruoka Catholic Church in Yamagata: a three-aisled timber church of 1903 on a former samurai estate, with a red tower and a Black Madonna from France. Free entry.
Discover the Former Tsuruoka Police Station, a striking blue giyofu-style building from 1884, now preserved at the Chido Museum in Tsuruoka, Yamagata. Learn about its unique blend of Western and Japanese architectural design, its fascinating history, and how to visit.
Former Nishitagawa County Office in Tsuruoka: an 1881 Western-style timber office with a 20-metre clock tower by master builder Takahashi Kenkichi, now a museum.
Pyramidal-roofed hall at the foot of Mount Haguro in Tsuruoka, Yamagata, rebuilt in the 1590s, the oldest building on the mountain, with thirty-three Kannon statues.
Thatched main hall of the ancient temple Jionji in Sagae, Yamagata, rebuilt in 1618 by the Mogami lords; its roof was restored in 2024; five hidden Buddhas within.
Thatched three-bay shrine hall of the Muromachi period in Tsuruoka, Yamagata, a mature nagare-style design with delicate carving thought to be Kyoto work.
Timber three-storied pagoda only 2.5 metres high, made around 1519 and set in a cliff cave at Yamadera, Yamagata, with full bracket sets and gilt fittings.
Central hall of Yamadera in Yamagata, rebuilt in the 14th century and the oldest building at Risshakuji; its sanctuary holds a hidden Yakushi and the eternal flame.
Late-Muromachi Kannon hall of Jakushoji (Wakamatsu Kannon), a matchmaking temple in Tendo, Yamagata, repaired by Mogami Yoshiaki in 1611 and restored in the 1960s.
At Uesugi Shrine in Yonezawa, this Momoyama robe pairs imported Italian or Spanish damask with Japanese tailoring. Said to be worn by the retainer Naoe Kanetsugu.
An Important Cultural Property in Sakata: the shortest surviving Tales of Ise, with 115 episodes on gampi paper, an older text outside Teika's standard line.
At the Chido Museum in Tsuruoka, this Muromachi domaru is said to have been worn by Tokugawa retainer Sakai Tadatsugu. Laced in purple, crimson and white.
This Muromachi haramaki at Uesugi Shrine in Yonezawa fastens at the back and bears an Izuna Gongen helmet crest. By tradition, Uesugi Kenshin's armor.
A rare colored map of Senami District in northern Echigo, drawn by 1597 from the Uesugi land surveys and recovered, damaged, from a Yonezawa storehouse in 1707.
Volume five of Gyonen's autograph commentary on the Kegon Kumokusho, written at Todai-ji in 1286. An Important Cultural Property, now kept unseen in Yamagata.
At Uesugi Shrine in Yonezawa, a 41.5 cm straight blade bears the seven stars and Sanskrit syllables in gold and silver inlay. A rare sword linked to Uesugi Kenshin.
Three Goryeo-dynasty scrolls dated 1309, owned by Uesugi Shrine in Yonezawa and designated an Important Cultural Property. Stolen in 1987, the set remains missing.