Edo
江戸Browse Japan’s cultural heritage from the Edo period (1603 – 1868). Filter by prefecture, type, and keyword, with concise stories, maps, and travel tips.
Located in Sugata-machi, Ozu City, Ehime Prefecture, the Ono Family Residence Nagayamon Gate is a Nationally Registered Tangible Cultural Property built before 1857. Distinguished by its asymmetric roof combining hip-and-gable and gable forms, a raised monitor roof, and a finely composed lattice façade, it stands as one of southern Ehime's most impressive surviving long-house gates.
The stone wall at Myosenji Temple in Onishi, Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture, is a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property built in two phases in 1838 and 1857 through donations from surrounding villages. Featuring granite from Yuzue-jima Island and various local stones, it showcases the refined masonry techniques of the late Edo period. Surviving construction documents that record the exact dates and names of the artisans make it an exceptionally well-documented heritage site.
Discover the Myosenji Bell Tower Gate (Shōrōmon) in Imabari, Ehime — a nationally registered tangible cultural property built in 1840. This rare one-bay, two-story gate features exquisite late Edo-period carvings and a suspended temple bell.
Discover the Shiina Family Residence in Kasumigaura, Ibaraki — a nationally designated Important Cultural Property and the oldest precisely dated farmhouse in eastern Japan, built in 1674. Explore its thatched roof, traditional hiroba-style layout, and timeless craftsmanship near the shores of Lake Kasumigaura.
Discover the Former Hida Family Residence, an 18th-century L-shaped magariya farmhouse and Important Cultural Property of Japan, preserved in Koga Kubo Park, Ibaraki Prefecture. Learn about its unique architecture, history, and visitor information.
Located in Oguri, Chikusei City in Ibaraki Prefecture, Naige Daijingu is a historic shrine that was once the only Ise Inner-Shrine sacred estate in the entire province of Hitachi. Its Inner and Outer main halls, rebuilt in 1679 by local carpenters in authentic three-bay shinmei-zukuri style, are recognized as the oldest surviving example of twin shinmei main halls in Japan. Together with the 1574 Goseiden, the three buildings were designated Important Cultural Properties in 2009.
Discover the Yamamoto Family Residence in Kamisu City, Ibaraki Prefecture — one of only four fishing households in Japan designated as an Important Cultural Property. This 300-year-old thatched-roof magariya offers a rare glimpse into the daily life of Edo-period coastal communities.
Tokugawa Mitsukuni's thatched retreat outside Hitachiōta, where he spent his last nine years editing the Dai Nihonshi. Historic Site and Place of Scenic Beauty.
A long timber wall, roofed in copper and folding for about 46 metres, screens the Iwase residence in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki, the estate of a former Edo village headman.
The estate storehouse of the Iwase residence in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki, held a former headman's household goods. A two-storey earthen dozo finished in black plaster.
Discover the Kawashima Shoten Misegura in Makabe, Sakuragawa City — a late Edo-period shop-storehouse originally built for an herbal medicine dealer, now a registered cultural property and a working bookshop in one of Japan's most beautifully preserved merchant townscapes.
Tucked into the historic streets of Makabe in Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki, the Kawashima Clothing Store Storehouse is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property built in the late Edo period (circa 1830 to 1867). Combining white plaster walls, battened weatherboarding, and gracefully wave-plastered eaves, this small but exquisite dozo storehouse offers a window into the craftsmanship of Japan's late Edo masters. Explore it as part of Makabe's Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings.
Discover Chōjiya Store and Residence in Ishioka, Ibaraki — a late-Edo indigo dye shop that survived the 1929 Great Fire and now welcomes visitors as the cultural lounge "Machikura Ai" on the historic Nakamachi shopping street.
Located in the Makabe district of Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki, the Tsuchiya Family Residence Storehouse is a small two-storey earthen warehouse from the late Edo period, said to have been built as a relief construction project after the Tenpo-era typhoon of 1833. Registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property in 2003, its just-29-square-metre footprint packs in superb craftsmanship — namako-kabe walls, heavy kannon-bira doors, and plastered eaves — and offers a perfect introduction to Makabe's preserved historic townscape.
The Numajiri main house in Kaneda, Tsukuba, is a late-Edo thatched farmhouse (1751-1829). Its four-room plan and wide southern aisle mark a regional house type.
The Nemoto Clinic Gate in Makabe, Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki Prefecture, is a nationally registered tangible cultural property dating from the Bunsei era (1818–1830). Standing along historic Shimojuku Street in a town with over 100 registered cultural properties, this elegant korai-mon gate offers visitors a window into Edo-period architectural traditions and merchant culture. Discover its history, architectural significance, and the surrounding attractions of this remarkably preserved townscape.
The shop storehouse of the Buyu brewery in Yuki, Ibaraki. From the late Edo era, it is the town's oldest surviving misegura. A Registered Tangible Cultural Property.
The Fudo-do of Mikkoji Temple in Makabe, Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki Prefecture, is a small but exquisitely detailed late-Edo Buddhist hall registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property in 2004. Reconstructed in 1840, this three-bay-square hall combines a serene pyramidal hip roof with vibrant cage-carved and full-round sculptures around the front porch. Set within the nationally designated historic preservation district of Makabe, the hall offers international visitors a memorable encounter with rural Japanese craftsmanship.
The Main Hall of Tsuruyama Hachimangu in Tsuyama City, Okayama Prefecture, is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property built in 1669 by Mori Nagatsugu, the second lord of the Tsuyama domain. It is the most elaborate and ornate example of the Nakayama-zukuri architectural style unique to the former Mimasaka Province, featuring triple-bracket systems and exquisite carvings throughout.
Rebuilt in 1652 by a Tsuyama lord, the three-story pagoda at Honzan-ji in Okayama keeps a classical exterior while hiding newer structural methods within its frame.