Taishō

Discover Myodoji Temple Main Hall in Kumamoto Prefecture—a stunning fusion of Gothic and Buddhist architecture. This Registered Tangible Cultural Property features pointed arch windows and Mansard roofing in a Jodo Shinshu temple.

The 1920 main building of the former Misumi Summary Court stands on a hill above the UNESCO-listed Misumi West Port. A rare surviving example of a regional courthouse built in pure Japanese style by the Ministry of Justice's works section, it is now open free to the public as the House of Law.

Discover the Brick Wall of the Yatsushiro Convent of the Sisters of Saint Paul of Chartres in Kumamoto Prefecture. Built in 1919 by a French Catholic order, this 21-metre Registered Tangible Cultural Property is a rare survivor in central Yatsushiro and a quiet window onto Meiji- and Taisho-era Franco-Japanese exchange.

Founded in 1874 in Kumamoto's historic Shinmachi district, Nagasaki Jiro Bookstore is one of Kyushu's most storied bookshops. Its 1924 building, designed by architect Yasuoka Katsuya, is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property. Once visited by literary giants Mori Ogai and Natsume Soseki, the second-floor café offers specialty coffee with views of passing tram cars.

Built in 1924, the Hayano Building is believed to be Kumamoto's first rental office building. This reinforced concrete structure features distinctive continuous window surrounds and decorative pilasters, and is registered as a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property. Still home to galleries and design studios, this living cultural property preserves the spirit of Taisho-era Romanticism in the heart of Kumamoto City.

On the Tsuboi River by the stone Meiju Bridge stands the 1919 Dai-Ichi Bank Kumamoto Branch, the city's first concrete building, designed by Yoshitoki Nishimura.

In Miyahara, Kumamoto, a 20-meter red brick wall in English bond edges the old Iseri merchant estate. Its even buttresses and capping cornice show late-Taisho craft.

A small 1925 concrete bank in Miyahara, an old Kumamoto post town. Its Secession-style front carries four pilasters and a geometric parapet, and entry is free.

Built in 1925 to carry carts over the Koshi River, Himeibashi in Kikuchi, Kumamoto, is Japan's earliest surviving through-type reinforced concrete arch bridge.

Discover the Yamaga Toro Folk Craft Museum, a registered tangible cultural property housed in a 1925 Romanesque bank building. Explore exquisite paper lanterns crafted entirely from washi and glue in Yamaga, Kumamoto Prefecture.