Important cultural property

Completed in 1871 as the reception hall for the Imperial Mint Bureau, Senpukan is the oldest surviving Western-style building in Osaka Prefecture. Designed by Irish engineer Thomas J. Waters in the Veranda Colonial style, this elegant brick structure was named by Emperor Meiji himself, meaning 'Hall of Currency.' Designated as a national Important Cultural Property, it stands as a remarkable symbol of Japan's earliest steps toward modernization.

The Main Hall of Chinju Tenmangu at Sofukuji Temple in Izumisano City, Osaka, is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property. Despite its remarkably small scale—with a beam span of just 60 cm—this Momoyama-period shrine showcases exquisite Kasuga-zukuri architecture with a cypress bark roof, preserving over 500 years of Tenjin worship and the medieval Hinenosho estate heritage.

Built in 1871 as part of the Meiji government's Mint Bureau, this neoclassical stone portico features six Tuscan-order columns of Seiryūzan stone and a triangular pediment, designed by Irish-born British engineer Thomas James Waters. Designated as an Important Cultural Property alongside the adjacent Senpukan, it is one of Japan's oldest surviving Western-style buildings. Today it serves as the entrance to the Former Sakuranomiya Public Hall, a French restaurant and wedding venue in Osaka.

The Main Hall of Daianji Temple in Sakai City, Osaka, is an Important Cultural Property believed to incorporate timbers from the lavish residence of Naya Sukezaemon, a legendary Momoyama-era merchant. Rebuilt in 1683 in the shoin-zukuri style with all-cypress construction, the hall preserves 76 magnificent Kano school partition paintings on gold leaf, offering a rare glimpse into Sakai's golden age of international trade.

The Tahoto pagoda of Daitokuji Temple on Mt. Ushitaki in Kishiwada City, Osaka, is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property built in 1515 during the late Muromachi period. Notable for its rare placement behind the main hall, this striking vermilion tower preserves refined medieval craftsmanship and creates an iconic autumn scene surrounded by spectacular foliage. Discover this treasure of mountain Buddhism at a sacred Shugendo training site along the Japan Heritage–certified Katsuragi Shugendo pilgrimage route.

Completed in 1931, the Mengyo Kaikan (Cotton Industry Club Hall) is a designated Important Cultural Property standing in Osaka's historic Semba district. Designed by architect Setsu Watanabe with a Renaissance-inspired exterior and lavish interiors featuring distinct European styles in each room — from Jacobean to Queen Anne to Adam — this grand building symbolizes the golden age when Osaka was hailed as the Manchester of the East. Monthly public tours offer a rare glimpse inside.

The Main Hall of Yasaka Shrine in Ikeda City, Osaka, is a Momoyama-period shrine building reconstructed in 1610 at a shrine originally founded in 978 CE. Designated as a nationally Important Cultural Property in 1971, it is valued for its ornate kaerumata and kibana carvings that exemplify the decorative exuberance of the Momoyama era, making it one of the rarest surviving structures of this period in the Osaka region.

Kanshin-ji preserves a pair of gilt-bronze lotus vases, one inscribed 1330 (Gentoku 2). Late Kamakura kebyō for Shingon altar rites, Important Cultural Property.

Discover Locomotive No. 233 in Kyoto: Japan's oldest surviving domestically mass-produced steam locomotive, built in 1903–1904 and designated an Important Cultural Property in 2016. A milestone of Meiji-era industrial heritage at Kyoto Railway Museum.

The Two-Poem Kaishi by Fujiwara no Hidetō preserves two summer waka inscribed in 1201 by a young warrior-courtier just before his appointment to Retired Emperor Go-Toba's Bureau of Poetry. Dated precisely to the last day of the sixth month of Kennin 1, the scroll is a reference work for early Kamakura calligraphy and an Important Cultural Property since 1954.

Discover the Important Cultural Property katana by master swordsmith Ono Hankei, dedicated to Sumiyoshi Taisha by Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada in 1613. Learn about its history, craftsmanship, and how to visit this sacred treasure in Osaka.

Discover the Shino Tea Bowl, Named "Hirosawa," an Important Cultural Property of Japan housed at the Yuki Museum of Art in Osaka. A Momoyama-period masterpiece from the Mino kilns, this half-cylindrical chawan features creamy white feldspar glaze, soft fire-color flush, and faintly emerging iron-pigment designs. Ranked among the finest Shino tea bowls alongside the National Treasure "Unohana-gaki" and "Hagoromo," it embodies the very spirit of wabi tea aesthetics.

Discover the Important Cultural Property held at Osaka Castle Museum: Toyotomi Hideyoshi's autograph death poem ('Like dew I fall, like dew I vanish — all the affairs of Naniwa are but a dream within a dream'), ten blood-oath pledges in which Maeda Toshiie and other senior retainers swore loyalty to the young heir Hideyori on sacred Kumano talismans, and the vermilion-sealed orders that launched the second invasion of Korea in 1597. Designated in 2020, these thirteen documents offer an intimate window into the final years of the Toyotomi regime — with full historical background and visitor information for the Osaka Castle donjon.

Discover the Lidded Bowl-Shaped Pottery with Stand, a designated cultural property from the Uriawari archaeological site in Osaka. Learn about its Yayoi-period origins, significance, and how to visit the Osaka Museum of History.

The Former Main Hall of Ōno Oimatsu Tenmansha Shrine, located in Maetsue Town, Hita City, Ōita Prefecture, is a sangensha nagare-zukuri structure built in 1488 and designated as a nationally Important Cultural Property. One of the rarest surviving examples of Muromachi-period shrine architecture in Kyushu, it features robust timber proportions and unique construction details, and is also renowned for the Ōno Gaku folk performance featuring kappa-inspired dances.

The Main Hall of Ganjo-in Temple, known as Aizen-do, stands on the hillside of Mount Hachiman in Taketa, Oita Prefecture, as the city's oldest surviving wooden structure. Built in 1635 by Hida master carpenters under the patronage of Lord Nakagawa Hisamori, this nationally designated Important Cultural Property features sophisticated Zen-style bracket complexes, fan-shaped rafters, and distinctive demon carvings at its eaves. Enshrining Aizen Myoo, the deity of love, it is celebrated as one of Oita's most popular romantic power spots.

Discover the Former Yahata Family Residence (Kyū Yahata-ke Jūtaku), an Important Cultural Property in Hita, Oita Prefecture. This rare 18th-century kudo-zukuri farmhouse preserves the traditional split-roof architecture of rural Kyushu.

The Gyōtoku Family Residence in Yoake, Hita City, Ōita Prefecture, is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property dating from the late Edo period. Once home to generations of official physicians serving the Kurume Domain, the residence features the distinctive L-shaped magari-ya roofline of western Ōita and a spacious earthen-floor layout typical of grand village headman dwellings. Visitors can explore the house, its borrowed-scenery garden, and a medical heritage museum free of charge.

Kōkan Bridge is a magnificent single-arch stone bridge completed in 1824, spanning the gorge of the Mie River between Usuki City and Bungo-Ōno City in Oita Prefecture. Boasting the longest stone arch span in Japan at the time of its construction, this Important Cultural Property represents the origin of large-scale stone arch bridge engineering in Kyushu. Discover the story of three merchants who sacrificed their fortunes to build it and the enduring beauty of Aso welded tuff masonry.

Discover the Main Hall of Kiyomizu-dera in Nagasaki, an Important Cultural Property blending Japanese Shingon Buddhist tradition with Chinese Ōbaku architectural styles, built in 1668 by a Chinese merchant family.