Registered Tangible Cultural Properties of Kyoto

The Honden of Imamiya Shrine in Kyoto's Murasakino was rebuilt in 1902 after a fire, standing beside the older Ekijinja hall, now a Registered Cultural Property.

This 65-metre earthen wall wraps Imamiya Shrine's Honden and Ekijinja. A gate is set in its north face, and five plaster lines mark the highest rank.

At the southeast corner of the Imamiya precinct, the Munakata-sha of about 1694 stands on a cut-stone base carved with a catfish, a tiny hall of varied joinery.

The two-story Romon on the south front of Imamiya Shrine was built in 1926, its three-stepped brackets a fine example of modern shrine-temple carpentry.

West of Imamiya Shrine's Romon, this 1926 corridor is a gabled, tile-roofed hall that borrows pre-medieval detail, with extended pillars and curving eaves.

East of Imamiya Shrine's Romon, this 1926 corridor is a gabled, tile-roofed hall whose carved gable, framed with a strut and projecting brackets, borrows old detail.

Facing the Wakamiya-sha Honden, this one-bay-square worship hall of 1694 takes the open dance-hall form on four pillars, from the Genroku restoration.

A subsidiary hall distinct from the main Honden, the Wakamiya-sha Honden of 1694 sets kasuga-style roofs side by side, joined at the ridge in a rare linked form.

A gate before the Wakamiya-sha Honden and a 26-metre openwork fence around it, both built in 1694, mark the sacred precinct with a gate and diamond lattice.

The worship hall and middle hall of Ura Shrine, the cult site of the Urashima legend in Ine, Kyoto. Built in 1884 in the warihaiden split-hall form, its facade is anchored by a cloud-and-dragon panel carved by a master of the Nakai Gonji lineage of Tanba woodcarvers. Registered as a Tangible Cultural Property in 2014.

Discover Ura Shrine's Main Hall in Ine, Kyoto — a Meiji-era thatched Shinmei-style sanctuary registered as an Important Cultural Property, standing at the legendary home of Urashima Tarō, Japan's oldest folktale.

Tucked away in central Kyoto's Shimogyo Ward, Uronza is a beautifully preserved kyo-machiya townhouse built in 1897 by the Nagaoka family of master carpenters from Fukui Prefecture as their own residence. With its first-floor degoshi lattice, second-floor mushiko-mado window, and sukiya-style parlor, it stands as a fine example of the modern Kyoto machiya. Registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property in 2008 and given two additional city-level designations, Uronza now operates as a small guesthouse, offering the rare experience of staying overnight in a 120-year-old officially protected building.

Standing on Shijo-dori in Kyoto's celebrated Gion district, Enma (Former Murai Bank Gion Branch) is a 1924 reinforced-concrete bank building designed by Yoshitake Choichi, the in-house architect of tobacco magnate Murai Kichibei. A Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan, it preserves the American-trained classical-revival aesthetics of the Taisho era, including a finely detailed parapet balustrade, and is easily seen on any walk between Yasaka Shrine and Hanamikoji.

Rising from the wooded foothills of Ayabe in northern Kyoto, Oomoto Mirokuden is a vast 789-tatami sanctuary completed in 1953 on the site of an earlier hall lost to wartime suppression. A registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan since 2014, its pillar-less interior, layered copper-shingled irimoya roof, and surrounding gardens make it one of the great twentieth-century religious buildings of Japan.

Kaga Shōtarō's Tudor half-timber former garage beneath Mount Tennōzan, registered as a Cultural Property and now operated as a free rest house by Kyoto Prefecture on the wooded grounds of Ōyamazaki Sansō.

Discover the Ogawa-ke Kitashirakawa Bettei Omotemon, a nationally registered tangible cultural property in Kyoto. Designed by renowned architect Fujii Koji with gardens by the legendary 7th-generation Ogawa Jihei (Ueji), this elegant early Showa-era gate embodies the finest of modern Japanese residential architecture.

Discover the Ogawa Bunsai House Noborigama, a rare Meiji-period climbing kiln preserved on Kyoto's Gojozaka, the birthplace of Kiyomizu-yaki pottery. Learn about its history, cultural significance, and the six-generation Bunsai pottery lineage.

Discover Kawashima Clinic, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in Kyoto's Nakagyō Ward. Built in 1936 by Amerikaya, this wooden three-story clinic features a conical tower, half-timbered gable, French roof tiles, and ship-cabin interiors inspired by German castles.

Discover the Kawabata Yanosuke Family Residence in Kyoto's historic Shogoin district—a 1925 wooden house and atelier built for a Western-style painter who studied in Paris. Featuring a dramatic double-height studio with north-facing windows and distinctive red Western tiles, this Registered Tangible Cultural Property offers a rare glimpse into the creative life of a Taishō-era artist.

Discover the Kansai Franco-Japanese Institute (Kansai Nichifutsu Gakkan), a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in Kyoto designed by a disciple of Auguste Perret. Explore this elegant 1936 reinforced-concrete landmark where French culture meets Japanese tradition.