Momoyama

Beside the National Treasure main hall of Kamosu Shrine in Matsue stands a rare two-bay shrine of 1583, built to hold Kifune and Inari under one shingled roof.

The main hall of Someha Amenoiwakatsu Shrine in Masuda, Shimane, built in 1583, is a three-bay nagare-style hall roofed in cypress bark, designated in 1929.

Built around 1600 as a guest hall at Onjo-ji on Lake Biwa, this Momoyama shoin hall moved to Gokoku-ji in 1928. It shares its form with two National Treasures.

Held at Eisei Bunko in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward, the Important Cultural Property Kasugano-zu Tsuba — signed by Kaneie of Fushimi, founder of pictorial-style sword guards — is one of the masterworks of Momoyama-period Japanese metalwork. On a thin iron disk, the celebrated Plain of Kasuga in Nara unfolds in deep relief with whisper-soft gold and silver inlay. This guide introduces the work, its enigmatic maker, and the Hosokawa-family museum that preserves it, with practical visitor information.

The autograph diary of the Kofukuji abbot Jinken, 1562 to 1577, at the National Archives of Japan, an Important Cultural Property since 2011.

The main hall of Ushihiko Shrine in Naruto, Tokushima, built in 1599, is a large three-bay nagare-style hall thought to be the oldest shrine hall in the prefecture.

The Niomon Gate of Okadera in Asuka, Nara, a two-storey gate of 1612 under a tiled hip-and-gable roof, stands at the temple of the Saigoku Kannon pilgrimage.

Towering over the cherry-covered ridge of Yoshino-yama in Nara, Kinpusen-ji's Main Hall (Zao-do) is Japan's second-largest wooden historic structure at roughly 34 meters tall. As the head temple of Shugendo mountain asceticism, it enshrines three colossal hidden statues of Zao Gongen and is registered as both a National Treasure and a UNESCO World Heritage core asset of the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range. Discover its Momoyama-era architecture, sacred interior, and spiritual significance.

Dated to 1607 by its ridge tablet, the Kuriyama Family Residence in Gojo City is Japan's oldest dwelling of documented date. On its roof, plan, framing and street.

The Saionin Guest Hall, a Momoyama-period reception hall in a Horyuji sub-temple, is listed as a residence, its cedar-bark roof hip-and-gabled north, gabled south.

Chogakuji Romon in Tenri, Nara, an Important Cultural Property since 1907, sets a late Heian upper storey above a Momoyama lower one and once held a temple bell.

The main hall of Denkoji in Nara is a small hall of 1585, three bays square under a tiled hipped roof with a one-bay porch, designated together with a ridge tag.

The Horyuji Temple Great Bathhouse, built in 1605 in the southwest sub-temple block, is a gable-fronted monks' bathhouse that survives with its older front gate.

The main hall of Wanishimo Shrine in Tenri, Nara, a gabled hall of the Keicho era (1596 to 1615) with a porch and cypress-bark roof, was designated in 1938.

Rebuilt in 1613 and sheltered since 1754, Kasuga Shrine's Main Hall in Sabae, Fukui, is a vermilion three-bay nagare-zukuri Important Cultural Property of Echizen.

Maruoka Castle's keep is Japan's only surviving keep roofed in stone, with Shakudani tuff slabs weighing up to 120 tonnes. Recent dating places it around 1628.

Built in 1591 over Sugawara no Michizane's grave, this Momoyama-era Important Cultural Property in Fukuoka is being restored through 2026. Worship continues at Sou Fujimoto's living-roof kariden.

The Hakozaki Shrine Torii in Fukuoka is a dark stone myojin torii erected by Kuroda Nagamasa in 1609, the model of the Hakozaki type, designated an ICP in 1955.

The Hakozaki Shrine Tower Gate in Fukuoka, built by Kobayakawa Takakage in 1594 and designated an ICP in 1902, has a vast roof on three-step brackets.

The Main Hall of Baba Tsutsukowake Shrine in Tanagura, Fukushima is a designated National Important Cultural Property and one of only a handful of late 16th-century shrine halls remaining in Tohoku. Built in 1594 by Satake Yoshinobu and relocated in 1625, this Ichinomiya of Mutsu Province preserves a fascinating bridge between medieval and early modern Japanese architecture.