Important Cultural Property of Kyoto

One of a pair of seamless stone stupas, or muhōtō, standing north of the Founder's Hall at Sennyū-ji. Both date to the early Muromachi period and were designated in 1955.

Known as the Shoshinden, this Momoyama shoin at Daikakuji in Kyoto has twelve rooms and a throne room tied to the 1392 union of the two courts. Usually closed.

Built in 1619 and moved to Daikakuji in Kyoto, the Shinden began as a Tokugawa consort's palace hall. Lattice shutters, a plum tree and Sanraku's peonies await.

At the summit of Daigo-yama, the Kaisan-dō honours Daigoji's founder Shōbō. Rebuilt under Toyotomi Hideyori around 1608, it is the largest hall of the upper precinct.

In lower Daigo, beside the pagoda, the Seiryū-gū Honden enshrines Daigoji's guardian deity. Rebuilt in 1517, it differs from the National Treasure hall on the summit.

Near the summit of Daigo-yama, the Nyoirin-dō is built out over the slope in kake-zukuri style. Rebuilt by Toyotomi Hideyori in 1606, it enshrines Nyoirin Kannon.

Rebuilt in 1614 by the priest Takuan, this study hall is called the plainest of Daitokuji's subtemple shoin, standing quietly beside a National Treasure hall.

Built in 1602 with an attached entrance and ridge tablet, this compact abbot's hall at Myoshinji opens its interior only on the booked special viewing.

Near Kyoto's Nanzen-ji, this Meiji villa pairs a famed Ueji garden, fed by the Lake Biwa Canal, with a sukiya house named an Important Cultural Property in 2024.

The Takizawa Family Residence in Kurama, Kyoto, is a former charcoal wholesaler's townhouse built around 1760, designated as a national Important Cultural Property. It is recognized as the oldest known example of the tōri-doma (running earth-floor corridor) style machiya in Kyoto, preserving the authentic character of mid-Edo-period merchant architecture in the historic temple town of Kurama.

Discover the Mikoshi Storehouse (Mikoshi-gura) of Sakatoke Shrine in Oyamazaki, Kyoto — an Important Cultural Property and Japan's oldest surviving itakura (plank-built) storehouse, dating from the Kamakura period. Explore this hidden gem on the historic Mt. Tennozan hiking trail.

Discover Chion-in, the grand head temple of Jodo (Pure Land) Buddhism in Kyoto. Explore Japan's largest wooden gate (National Treasure), the majestic Miei-do Hall, the legendary Seven Wonders, and the iconic 70-ton bell. A must-visit spiritual landmark in Higashiyama.

Built in 1641 as Chion-in's Imperial Messenger's Gate, this Important Cultural Property carries fine carvings of sages riding a carp and a crane on its struts.

Built in 1621 by Tokugawa Hidetada beside Chion-in’s great gate, this Important Cultural Property houses an octagonal cabinet holding a Song-edition Buddhist canon.

Rebuilt in 1530, Chion-in's Seishi-dō is the oldest building at this Kyoto temple. It stands where Pure Land founder Hōnen died and survived the 1633 fire.

Chion-in's Great Bell Tower, built in 1678, holds a 70-ton bronze bell cast in 1636, one of Japan's three great bells, rung each New Year's Eve by seventeen monks.

Cut with a date corresponding to 1334, this granite stone pagoda gives scholars a fixed point for dating medieval stonework in Japan. Its temple stays closed.

Four brick structures of 1895 at the Kyoto National Museum, designed by Katayama Tokuma and listed in 1969. The main hall is closed, but the gate and walls remain.

The Main Hall of Tenkyūin, a sub-temple of Myōshin-ji in Kyoto, is a quintessential example of early Edo-period Zen hōjō architecture, designated as an Important Cultural Property of Japan since 1922. Its interior houses 152 panels of stunning gold-leaf barrier paintings by Kanō school masters Sanraku and Sansetsu — a rare and magnificent sight within a Zen temple. Discover this normally closed treasure of Japanese cultural heritage.

The Tenjinsha Thirteen-Story Stone Pagoda, standing within Tenjin Shrine in Kizugawa City, Kyoto Prefecture, is a National Important Cultural Property built in 1277 during the Kamakura period. With its precisely dated inscription and graceful proportions, this 4.15-meter stone tower is a masterpiece of medieval Japanese stone architecture. Discover its history and nearby attractions including Shindoji Temple and Kaijusenji Temple.