Edo
Okayama · 江戸Browse Okayama’s cultural heritage from the Edo period (1603 – 1868). Filter by type and keyword, with concise stories, maps, and travel tips.
Hofukuji's 1814 meditation hall in Soja, Okayama, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, still hosts monthly zazen behind its porch and cusped windows.
The 1814 roofed kitchen well at Hofukuji in Soja, Okayama, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, served the tenzo cooks for whom cooking was Zen training.
Dokubokkyo, an 1828 stone bridge at Hofukuji in Soja, Okayama, is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property whose gentle arch bears a Zen name: single-log bridge.
The late Edo naka-ido well at Hofukuji in Soja, Okayama, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, keeps its pulley beside the monks' dining hall it once served.
Hofukuji's 1735 Buddha hall in Soja, Okayama, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, pairs round windows with fan rafters and enshrines Kokuzo Bosatsu inside.
The late Edo hojo of Hofukuji in Soja, Okayama, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, spans 486 square meters and inherits the Sesshu rat legend's setting.
The 65-meter earthen wall of Hofukuji's hojo in Soja, Okayama, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, runs level on stone footings across the sloping ground.
Hofukuji's 1793 treasure storehouse in Soja, Okayama, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, wears namako plasterwork judged too meticulous to reproduce now.
The Main Hall of Ryūjōin, located at the foot of Mount Terayama in Tamano City, Okayama Prefecture, is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property built in 1819. Featuring a six-room hōjō-style layout, an elegant mukikarahafu entrance gable, and dynamic komainu and tiger carvings, it exemplifies the finest craftsmanship of late Edo-period temple architecture. The temple also serves as a station on the Kojima Shikoku Pilgrimage.
Preserved in Okayama Prefecture, this Important Cultural Property is a katana forged in 1674 by the legendary swordsmith Nagasone Kotetsu — one of the two yokozuna of the new sword era. Bearing a refined late-period Hakotora signature, with a 76.3 cm cutting edge and the celebrated juzuba temper line, this masterpiece descends through the Okudaira daimyo family.