Taishō
Iwate · 大正Browse Iwate’s cultural heritage from the Taishō period (1912 – 1926). Filter by type and keyword, with concise stories, maps, and travel tips.
Located in Sumita Town, Iwate Prefecture, the Kuriki Iron Works Ruins preserve the remains of a private ironworks that operated from 1881 to 1920. Designated a National Historic Site in 2021, it is the only surviving example in Japan of a complete small-to-medium scale blast furnace ironworks compound from the Meiji and Taisho periods, holding exceptional industrial archaeological value. Two blast furnace bases, office ruins, water channels, and casting factory remains lie quietly in the Tane-ga-hara highlands beloved by author Miyazawa Kenji.
Main hall of 1914 at a horse-headed Kannon shrine in Shizukuishi, Iwate, with a balustraded veranda, two-stepped brackets and deep carving around the porch.
A late Taisho gate 2.1 m wide opening onto Hidaka-koji in Mizusawa, with a hipped roof, eaves sealed in white lime plaster and a wicket door beside its board doors.
A small late Taisho bracket-armed gate, 1.1 m wide, on the east edge of the Abe garden in Mizusawa, with moulded brackets and an openwork transom over its crossbeam.
The Former Kikuchi Western-Style Building (1926) in Hanamaki pairs a Western exterior with Japanese rooms. Saved from demolition, it stands in Miyazawa Kenji's home town.
The former Tohoku crushed stone factory of 1924 in Ichinoseki, Iwate, crushed limestone for farm lime and is linked with the poet and writer Miyazawa Kenji.
The former treasure hall of 1925 in central Tono, Iwate, now a museum store, was built in concrete against fire and earthquakes, the first in the Tono area.
This timber Catholic church of 1912, now on a school campus in Morioka, Iwate, has a Romanesque nave of columns, arches and vaults and a belfry over its front.
Joined earthen storehouses of 1918 and 1931 at a Ninohe merchant house, Iwate, with white plaster, namako tiling and black doors edged in white. Registered 2009.
The late Taisho home of a Ninohe timber merchant in Iwate, its posts sealed in thick plaster walls and its shutters clad in copper against fire. Registered 2009.
A late Taisho timber shop in Ninohe, Iwate, built for a forestry and timber merchant, with plastered eaves and 15- and 20-mat rooms upstairs. Registered in 2009.
Brick fire walls 45 metres long at a Ninohe merchant house in Iwate, rising to 3.7 metres near the street to stop fire spreading from neighbours. Registered 2009.
Late Taisho granite gateposts and an Edo-kiri stone wall giving a formal front to a merchant house in Ninohe, Iwate, easily seen from the street. Registered in 2009.
A late Taisho corridor linking shop and home at a Ninohe merchant house in Iwate, with a tiled dado, many windows and copper-clad fire shutters. Registered 2009.
The Sato Family Residence Former Garage in Senmaya, Iwate, is a late Taisho single-storey garage with a Western-style front of pilasters and an arched gable.
The Sato Family Residence New Storehouse in Senmaya, Iwate, is a 1922 two-storey kura with a brick base, namako-pattern eaves and a door canopy on carved brackets.
The Sato Family Residence Main Gate and Stone Wall in Senmaya, Iwate, is a late Taisho granite gate and a 45-metre wall of dressed granite and bush-hammered tuff.
The Sato Family Residence Western-Style Building in Senmaya, Iwate, is a 1924 timber villa joined to the Main House, with slate namako-kabe walls and a pediment.
The Sato Family Residence Garden Gate and Stone Wall in Senmaya, Iwate, is a late Taisho arched side gate of smooth granite and tuff, set beside a white storehouse.
The Sato Family Residence Document Storehouse in Senmaya, Iwate, is a 1923 two-storey kura whose walls rise in three bands from a brick base, with shuttered windows.