Important cultural property

Standing on a precipitous cliff along the ascetic path of Mount Mitoku in Tottori Prefecture, the Jizō Hall of Sanbutsu-ji is a late-Muromachi cliff-hanging building designated a National Important Cultural Property in 1904. Enshrining Komori Enmei Jizō Bosatsu, the hall preserves architectural methods rooted in the Heian period and offers visitors a rare encounter with Japan's mountain Buddhism in its original setting.

Discover the Nōkyō-dō of Sanbutsu-ji Temple, a small but remarkable Kasuga-style Important Cultural Property clinging to a cliffside on Mount Mitoku in Tottori. Built in the late Heian period, this sutra hall stands moments before Japan's iconic Nageiredo.

Discover Sanbutsuji Monjudo, an Important Cultural Property perched on the rocky slopes of sacred Mt. Mitoku in Tottori Prefecture. Built around 1580 in the dramatic butai-zukuri (stage-style) architectural technique, this Momoyama-period hall rests with one side on a natural rock outcrop and the other supported by towering wooden columns. After climbing the demanding ascetic trail, visitors are rewarded with sweeping views of the Sea of Japan and Mt. Daisen — a highlight of the Japan Heritage 'Land of Six-Sense Purification and Six-Sense Healing.'

Built in 1907 on the ruins of Tottori Castle to welcome Crown Prince Yoshihito (later Emperor Taishō), Jinpukaku is a gleaming white wooden villa designed in the French Renaissance style by Katayama Tōkuma, Meiji Japan's leading court architect. Designated a National Important Cultural Property, it is celebrated as one of the finest Western-style buildings in the Chūgoku region, featuring a famous column-free spiral staircase and sweeping views over the Hōryū-in Garden.

Hidden in the forests of Mt. Daisen, Daisenji Amidado is the oldest surviving building at Daisenji Temple. Rebuilt in 1552 after a mountain avalanche, this Important Cultural Property enshrines a Heian-period Amida triad carved in 1131 and is opened to the public just once a month.

A nationally designated Important Cultural Property in Kurayoshi, Tottori, the zushi (miniature shrine) inside Hasedera's main hall is one of the few late-Muromachi Zen-style wooden structures still standing in San'in, bearing a 1576 inscription and retaining its original kokera-shingled roof.

Fudōin Iwayado is an extraordinary Shugendo temple built within a natural rock cave approximately 13 meters high, located along the Yoshikawa River in Wakasa, Tottori Prefecture. Dating from the early Muromachi period, it is designated as a nationally Important Cultural Property and celebrated as one of Japan's Three Great Nageiredo (Throw-in) Halls. Its principal deity, the Kurokawa Fudō Myōō, is attributed to the great monk Kūkai and unveiled twice yearly during sacred fire ceremonies.

Discover the Yabe Family Residence in Yazu, Tottori — a nationally designated Important Cultural Property dating to the early 17th century, featuring grand timber architecture and a rare multi-colored camellia tree.

The Main Hall of Someha Amenoiwakatsu Shrine in Masuda City, Shimane Prefecture, is an outstanding example of Azuchi-Momoyama period shrine architecture, rebuilt in 1583 by the Masuda clan. Designated a National Important Cultural Property in 1929, the vermillion-lacquered hall features exquisite kaeru-mata carvings and cypress bark roofing. Founded in 725, this ancient shrine also preserves a massive sacred rock cliff representing primordial iwakura worship.

Takuhi Shrine, perched within a natural rock cavern on the slopes of Mt. Takuhi on Nishinoshima Island in the Oki Islands of Shimane Prefecture, is renowned for its extraordinary setting where sacred architecture merges with the mountain itself. The main hall, prefabricated in Osaka in 1732 and assembled on site, together with the connecting hall and worship hall, forms the oldest surviving shrine complex in the Oki Islands, designated as an Important Cultural Property of Japan in 1992. Revered for centuries as the guardian deity of maritime safety across the Sea of Japan, the shrine was famously depicted by ukiyo-e masters Hiroshige and Hokusai.

The Former Dōmen Family Residence in Yoshika Town, Shimane Prefecture, is an Important Cultural Property of Japan that authentically preserves the living conditions of ordinary farming families during the Edo period. This remarkably rare surviving example of a modest common farmer's dwelling features a thatched hipped-gable roof and compact design reflecting the practical needs of rural mountain life in the Iwami region.

An 18th-century farmhouse in Unnan, Shimane, and an Important Cultural Property. Its great hall is held open without posts by raised nobori-bari beams.

Built in 1374, the Main Hall of Manpuku-ji in Masuda, Shimane is a National Important Cultural Property. The seven-by-seven-bay hip-roofed hall preserves Kamakura-period architectural traditions, and behind it lies one of Sesshu Toyo's celebrated four great gardens, together evoking the cultural flowering of the medieval Masuda clan.

On the rugged island of Dōgo in Japan's remote Oki Islands stands Mizuwakasu Shrine, the highest-ranked shrine of the former Oki Province. Its Main Hall, rebuilt in 1795, is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property celebrated for its rare Oki-zukuri architectural style — a hybrid found nowhere else in Japan. With its dramatic thatched gable roof, ancient pine-lined approach, classical sumo ring, and biennial festival of yamabiki and yabusame, this shrine offers travelers a profound encounter with island spirituality and over a thousand years of recorded history.

Discover the Former Asakura House (Kyu Asakura House), an Important Cultural Property in Daikanyama, Tokyo. Built in 1919, this Taisho-era wooden mansion features elegant tatami rooms, detailed woodwork, and a stunning hillside strolling garden with stone lanterns and seasonal foliage.

Eitai Bridge, spanning the Sumida River between Chuo and Koto cities in Tokyo, is a historic bridge with origins dating back to 1698. The current steel tied-arch structure, completed in 1926 as part of the post-Great Kanto Earthquake reconstruction, was designated a National Important Cultural Property in 2007 for its majestic parabolic arch design and engineering significance. Discover the bridge's connections to the forty-seven ronin, ukiyo-e art, and its stunning blue nighttime illumination.

Standing in Tokyo's Kita Ward, the Former Brewing Experiment Station No. 1 Factory is a magnificent 1904 brick building that became the cradle of modern Japanese sake. Designed by Tsumaki Yorinaka, one of the three great architects of the Meiji era, the building drew inspiration from German breweries and incorporated cutting-edge technology including cavity walls, vaulted ceilings, and a rare white glazed-brick koji room. Designated a Nationally Important Cultural Property in 2014, this striking red-brick complex—commonly known as the Akarenga Sake Brewery—offers a vivid window into Japan's Meiji-era industrial heritage.

Kiyosu Bridge, completed in 1928 over the Sumida River, is a graceful self-anchored suspension bridge modeled after Cologne's Hindenburg Bridge. Designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan in 2007, it remains a masterpiece of post-earthquake reconstruction engineering and modern bridge aesthetics.

The only building Le Corbusier designed in Japan, opened in 1959. Its pilotis, central hall and spiral ramp embody his concept of a Museum of Unlimited Growth.

Built around 1600 as a guest hall at Onjo-ji on Lake Biwa, this Momoyama shoin hall moved to Gokoku-ji in 1928. It shares its form with two National Treasures.