Momoyama
Nagano · 安土桃山Browse Nagano’s cultural heritage from the Momoyama period (1573 – 1603). Filter by type and keyword, with concise stories, maps, and travel tips.
Discover Kozen-ji Bentendo in Komagane, Nagano—a small but exquisite Muromachi-style hall built in 1576 on a tiny island in a temple pond. Designated a National Important Cultural Property of Japan, it is the oldest surviving building of an ancient Tendai temple set in the celebrated gardens beneath the Central Japanese Alps, and home to the famous legend of the brave dog Hayataro.
Tucked into a steep hillside village in Yamanouchi Town, northern Nagano Prefecture, the Main Hall of Sano Shrine is a small single-bay nagare-zukuri sanctuary built in 1592 by the master carpenter Miyazaki Mokujo. Its pillars and walls are painted in red iron oxide, vermilion, and ink with plum blossoms and roundels of pine, bamboo, and plum, making it the most vividly decorated shrine interior in Nagano Prefecture. Designated a National Important Cultural Property in 1955, it offers a rare glimpse of Momoyama-period artistry alongside the famous Jigokudani snow monkeys, Shibu Onsen, and Shiga Kogen.
Deep in Nagano's Kinasa mountains, Shirahige Shrine's Momoyama Main Hall keeps old Muromachi joinery. An Important Cultural Property, it sits in a protective shell.