Edo

Built in 1804 on Mount Tamaki in Nara, this Important Cultural Property holds Kano-school painted rooms above a basement retreat once used by mountain ascetics.

South of Sakurai in Nara, Tanzan Shrine holds the world's only wooden thirteen-story pagoda, rebuilt in 1532, among vermilion halls that honor Fujiwara no Kamatari.

Todai-ji's East Corridor folds from the Middle Gate to the east flank of the Great Buddha Hall. Built in 1716–1737, this tile-roofed cloister frames the approach.

Todai-ji's West Corridor mirrors its eastern twin, folding from the Middle Gate to the west flank of the Great Buddha Hall. It was built between 1716 and 1737.

Discover Todai-ji Nigatsu-do, a National Treasure in Nara, Japan. This iconic hall hosts Omizutori (Shuni-e), an unbroken Buddhist ceremony since 752 CE. Enjoy panoramic views, free 24-hour access, and centuries of living tradition at this UNESCO World Heritage site.

An early-Edo farmhouse in Nara's Yoshino hills, Nishida House keeps medieval rafter framing and a front-parlor plan, named an Important Cultural Property in 1968.

A large mid-Edo farmhouse in Kashihara, Nara, with the oldest known yamato-mune roof, once the moated seat of a senior village headman. An Important Cultural Property.

Built in 1727 as Kasuga Taisha's fourth sanctuary and moved to this Yagyu village shrine in 1747, this one-bay kasuga-zukuri hall can be viewed at close range.

Built in 1627 in the Hōryū-ji precinct, the Ritsugakuin Hondō mirrors the nearby Shōryōin. This Important Cultural Property enshrines an image of Prince Shōtoku.

The main hall of Renchoji, a Nichiren Buddhist temple in Nara's Aburasaka-cho, is an Important Cultural Property of Japan believed to have been originally built by Toyotomi Hidenaga and relocated here in 1653. Its open-front corridor features magnificent polychrome ceiling paintings of celestial maidens, dragons, phoenixes, and kalavinka. Just a 4-minute walk from Kintetsu Nara Station, this hidden gem offers free admission in a tranquil setting.

Kōriyama Castle in Nara, a National Historic Site, preserves walls built partly from reused Buddhist statues and an inverted Jizō, remains of a Toyotomi power base.

A small late-Edo storehouse in the Ota brewery courtyard in Tatsuta, Ikaruga. Its sea-cucumber plaster and framed doorway show a care that earned its listing.

A long late-Edo shed at the Ota brewery in Tatsuta, Ikaruga, linking the old kitchen to the inner storehouse. One side is open, the other a boundary wall.

The main house of the Ota sake brewery in Tatsuta, Ikaruga. A roof-tile inscription dates it to 1829, a rare benchmark for dating the region's town houses.

A late-Edo tea room at the Ota brewery in Tatsuta, Ikaruga, behind the main house across a courtyard. Its three-mat plan and crawl-in door reveal the family's wealth.

Discover the Sanmon Gate of Jōkyō-ji Temple in Nara, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property from the late Edo period. This elegant yakuimon gate features exquisite carvings and stands on the historic Sanjō-dōri, where Ernest Fenollosa delivered his landmark lecture on preserving Japan's cultural heritage.

Tamaya Hanare Zashiki is a detached guest room of a former Edo-period inn standing before Taima-dera in Katsuragi, Nara. Designated a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, it offers visitors a chance to dine in a quiet, 170-year-old pilgrim's retreat surrounded by a courtyard garden.

A National Treasure: a Southern Song edition of Ouyang Xiu's works, edited by Zhou Bida, once in the medieval Kanazawa Bunko library and nearly complete at Tenri.

Discover the Song Edition of Liu Mengde's Collected Works, a National Treasure held at Tenri University Library in Nara. Printed in 12th-century China, brought to Japan by Zen master Eisai, and once admired by shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, this rare printed book offers a remarkable glimpse into the literary exchange between Tang China and medieval Japan.

Discover the Iwase Family Residence in Gokayama, Toyama — Japan's largest surviving gasshō-zukuri farmhouse. Designated as an Important Cultural Property, this five-story thatched-roof masterpiece reveals the secrets of Edo-period saltpeter production and mountain village life.