Meiji

Standing along the historic Happu Highway in Higashiomi City, Shiga Prefecture, the Ichi-no-Torii of Tarobogu Aga Shrine is a stone Myojin-style gateway built in 1894 (Meiji 27). With a span of 5.4 metres, this great torii frames a long northward approach toward the sacred Mt. Akagami, marking the traditional starting point of the pilgrimage to the 1,400-year-old shrine. Designated a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2019, it preserves the devotional spirit and stone craftsmanship of the Meiji era for visitors today.

Built for sacred dance offered to the kami, the Meiji-era Kagura Hall of Tarobogu Aga Shrine is a compact copper-roofed hall listed as a Cultural Property in 2019.

At 2.9 square metres, the Meiji-era Amulet Office is Tarobogu Aga Shrine's smallest registered building, offering victory amulets. Listed as a Cultural Property in 2019.

Built in 1911, the Purification Pavilion of Tarobogu Aga Shrine is where visitors cleanse before worship, a copper-roofed pavilion listed as a Cultural Property in 2019.

Built in 1880 in kake-zukuri style, the Stage of Tarobogu Aga Shrine juts 13 metres over the Koto plain, a cliff-hung platform listed as a Cultural Property in 2019.

Hakuunkan in Omi-Hachiman, Shiga Prefecture, is a masterpiece of pseudo-Western architecture built in 1877 as the Hachiman-Higashi Elementary School, funded almost entirely by donations from prosperous Omi merchants. Registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property, this distinctive building blends Western facades with Japanese karahafu gables and a drum tower. Today it serves as a tourist information center and gateway to exploring the historic lakeside city.

Tucked into a wooded hillside in Isa City, Kagoshima, the Former Sogi Power Plant Head Tank is a precisely cut-stone reservoir built in 1909. As a key component of Noguchi Shitagau's Sogi Second Power Plant, it represents one of Kyushu's earliest water-channel hydroelectric facilities. Unlike the famous submerged brick main hall, this head tank sits on high ground and remains visible year-round. Now a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property, it stands at the cradle of Japan's electrochemical industry.

Visit the Shirakane Shuzo Stone Warehouse in Aira City, Kagoshima — a Meiji-era stone brewery registered as a national tangible cultural property. Explore traditional shochu-making, Saigo Takamori connections, and the Ishigura Museum.

Discover Shin-Ohashi, a beautifully preserved double stone arch bridge built in 1909 in Iriki, Satsumasendai. This Registered Tangible Cultural Property showcases Kagoshima's rich stone masonry tradition amid samurai heritage landscapes.

The Sedome Catholic Church Presbytery in Tatsugo Town, Kagoshima Prefecture, is a nationally registered tangible cultural property built during the Meiji era. Discover the remarkable story of French missionaries, the growth of Catholic faith on subtropical Amami Oshima, and the community's resilience through persecution in the 1930s.

Discover Sedome Catholic Church in Tatsugo, Amami Oshima — a wooden church built in 1908 that tells the remarkable story of Catholic missionary work on this subtropical island. Registered as a national tangible cultural property, this three-aisled sanctuary preserves Meiji-era craftsmanship amid lush tropical scenery.

Discover the Sono Family Residence Main House in Amami City, Kagoshima — a nationally Registered Tangible Cultural Property featuring the traditional Hikimon typhoon-resistant construction and split-wing layout unique to Amami Oshima.

Built in 1897 on Nagata Point, Yakushima Lighthouse marked the sea route to Taiwan. The southernmost surviving Meiji-era brick lighthouse, it blends brick and granite.

Built in 1897 beside Yakushima Lighthouse, this 136-metre wall encloses its compound. Local granite carries three brick courses, finished as a coping against the coast.

A mid-Meiji house in Chiran, Kagoshima, registered in 2007. Its long ridge is hipped at one end and hip-and-gable at the other, with four room zones under one roof.

A mid-Meiji storehouse in Chiran, Kagoshima, registered in 2007. It stands where the farmstead meets the road, lime-plastered walls set on a base of dressed stone.

A mid-Meiji storehouse in Chiran, Kagoshima, registered in 2007. It stands south of its twin, ridge slightly lower, plaster carried to the eaves on the front alone.

A mid-Meiji stone boundary in Chiran, Kagoshima, registered in 2007. A gate 3.1 metres wide opens at one end, and dressed stone walling runs on for 77 metres.

The Okubo Toshimichi Related Documents, designated as an Important Cultural Property of Japan and housed at the Reimeikan in Kagoshima, comprise 1,650 items including diaries, letters, government documents, and personal artifacts of Okubo Toshimichi — one of the Three Great Nobles of the Meiji Restoration. Featuring correspondence with Saigo Takamori, Iwakura Tomomi, and other founding figures of modern Japan, this extraordinary collection reveals the behind-the-scenes story of Japan's transformation from feudal society to modern nation-state.

Located in Omori-machi, Yokote City, Akita Prefecture, the Akagawa Family Residence Storehouse is a Meiji-era traditional kura registered as a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2005. This single building embodies the refined craftsmanship of snow-country storehouse architecture and preserves the historic landscape of rural Akita at the foot of sacred Mount Horowa, offering visitors a glimpse into the understated dignity of everyday Japanese heritage.