Meiji

Discover the Shoin and Kuri of Daigakusan Kōfuku-ji, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in Tome City, Miyagi. This Meiji-era Tendai Buddhist temple features a unique blend of traditional Japanese architecture with pioneering colored glass accents, set atop a scenic hilltop alongside the vibrant Kannon-dō and the remarkable Western-style Rokkaku-dō.

Discover the Kato Family Residence in Tome City, Miyagi Prefecture—a nationally registered tangible cultural property built in the early Meiji era. Learn about its architectural heritage, rural farmhouse charm, and the historic Toyoma castle town known as "Miyagi's Meiji Village."

The Former Second Higher School Main Gate on Tohoku University's Katahira Campus in Sendai is an ornamental brick gate designed in 1889 by Ministry of Education architects Yamaguchi Hanroku and Kuru Masamichi. Having survived multiple relocations and earthquake damage, the gate was lovingly restored by alumni to its original location and registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property in 2021.

The Meiji residence of a sake brewery founded in 1790, this 175 m² timber building anchors the Kamuro merchant complex by Furukawa's poetic Odae bridge in Miyagi.

A Meiji-era two-story dozō on the old Ōshū Kaidō in Furukawa, counter house of the Hashihei sake brewery, with white plaster walls and a black cornice band.

A Meiji-era timber shopfront in Furukawa, once the public face of the Hashihei sake brewery (founded 1790). Registered in 2021, it now anchors the Kamuro complex.

Kinkasan Lighthouse stands on the southeastern cliffs of Kinkasan, a sacred island off the Oshika Peninsula in Miyagi Prefecture. Designed by Richard Henry Brunton, the 'Father of Japanese Lighthouses,' and first lit in 1876, it is the oldest stone lighthouse in the Tohoku region. Its granite tower has survived over 140 years virtually unchanged, earning designation as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, one of Japan's 50 Notable Lighthouses, and an A-rank Preservation Lighthouse. Historically, it served as the first sight of Japan for ships crossing the Pacific on the North America route.

Discover Sankyozawa Power Station in Sendai, Japan's earliest recorded hydroelectric plant. This Registered Tangible Cultural Property has been generating electricity since the Meiji era. Visit the adjacent museum, see a working 100-year-old generator, and explore the birthplace of hydropower in Japan.

Discover Sumaru Yashiki Misegura, a Meiji-period earthen storehouse in Shiroishi, Miyagi Prefecture. This Registered Tangible Cultural Property preserves the merchant heritage of a prosperous castle town. Free admission.

Tamakō, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in Shiroishi, Miyagi, is a late-Meiji ryōtei (1898–1912) renovated in 1925. Sitting beside the old Shiroishi Castle outer moat, its 678 m² complex of east and west banquet wings around a central pond preserves a rare type of large-scale wooden hospitality architecture.

Discover the Sanmon Gate of Tōshin-ji Temple in Shiroishi, Miyagi — a Registered Tangible Cultural Property originally built as the East Gate of Shiroishi Castle. This historic temple also holds the graves of Sanada Yukimura's children.

Oriza no Mori in Kami Town, Miyagi Prefecture, is a farmhouse inn housed in the former Takano Family Residence, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property built in 1890. Guests enjoy organic Sasanishiki rice grown with the traditional aigamo duck farming method, seasonal farm activities, and the timeless charm of a Meiji-era sericulture farmhouse.

A two-story stone storehouse on the Matsuya property in Furukawa, Ōsaki. Late Meiji, its coursed sandstone, cornice and arched lintels show Western influence.

An inner gate on the Matsuya property in Furukawa, Ōsaki, facing the main house. A small early-Meiji munamon in the sukiya manner, behind the front gate.

The front gate at the SE corner of the Matsuya property in Furukawa, Ōsaki. A large early-Meiji zelkova munamon with a chrysanthemum-marked gable pendant.

A long earthen-walled storehouse on the Matsuya property in Furukawa, Ōsaki. Built in early Meiji for sugar, its 12-meter length reflects the family's wealth.

The main house of the wealthy Matsuya merchants in Furukawa, Ōsaki. Built in early Meiji, it lodged imperial household members during Emperor Meiji's tours.

A single-story wooden bean storehouse on the Matsuya property in Furukawa, Ōsaki. White plaster set between close-set pillars gives it a bold vertical stripe.

A tiny household shrine on the Matsuya property in Furukawa, Ōsaki, within a protective shell. At 0.2 m² the smallest building, yet a full nagare-style shrine.

The late-Meiji inner parlor of Moritami Sake Brewery in Iwadeyama pairs two ten-mat rooms with a formal alcove and sukiya eaves, plus an original porcelain privy fixture.