Momoyama

Hazu Shrine in Nishio City, Aichi, has three Important Cultural Property halls in a row above Mikawa Bay: a main hall of 1580 and two early Edo subsidiary halls.

Discover Ryusenji Niomon, a 1607 Important Cultural Property gate at one of Nagoya's Owari Four Kannon temples. Built in three-bay rōmon style with a kokera-shingled hip-and-gable roof, it has welcomed pilgrims for over four centuries on a hilltop overlooking the Shōnai River.

Tokugawa Ieyasu paid for this hall in 1605 as Kashima's main sanctuary. Hauled to the rear of the precinct in 1619, it survives unlacquered and plain.

Discover the Main Hall of Daiho Hachimangu Shrine in Shimotsuma, Ibaraki—a nationally designated Important Cultural Property built in 1577. Explore its 1,300-year history, Momoyama-era architecture, and seasonal festivals.

The Main Hall of Hachimangu Shrine in Mito City, Ibaraki Prefecture (popularly Mito Hachimangu) is a National Important Cultural Property built in 1598 by the warlord Satake Yoshinobu. Designed in a Wayō–Karayō hybrid style with an irimoya roof, it was constructed by a team of young craftsmen led by the fifteen-year-old master carpenter Yoshihara Sakutarō. Restored to its original colors and gilding between 1995 and 1999, it preserves the brilliance of late Azuchi-Momoyama architecture in a region where few medieval structures survive.

Discover Bussho-ji Main Hall (Hakkaku-do), a rare octagonal Buddhist temple built in 1585 and designated as a National Important Cultural Property. Located in Mito, Ibaraki, this unique Tendai temple features Zen-style architecture and a beautifully restored thatched roof.

Okayama Castle Nishite Yagura is the castle's other surviving turret: a small-windowed corner tower built for war around 1600, now inside a closed school's grounds.

Rebuilt in 1612, the Okamaden at Kibitsu Shrine hosts the narukama rite, a fortune read from the sound of a heated cauldron. It was designated in 1980.

Rebuilt in 1581 by the Hida warlord Mitsuki Yoritsuna, this Important Cultural Property in Gero, Gifu, is known for the water-summoning carp carved into its eaves.

A National Historic Site in Gifu, this mountain castle was held by three Mori brothers, including the famous page Ranmaru, until its deliberate dismantling in 1601.

Discover the Important Cultural Property ceramics excavated from the Motoyashiki kiln site in Toki City, Gifu Prefecture. Explore exquisite Oribe, Shino, Ki-Seto, and Seto-Guro wares that reveal the golden age of Japanese tea ceremony ceramics.

Preserved at Entoku-ji Temple in Gifu City, the Rakuichi-Rakuza Seisatsu is a set of four original wooden placards (with one attached) issued by Oda Nobunaga and the Ikeda lords between 1567 and 1584. Posted at the gate of the Kanō market just after Nobunaga renamed Inabayama Castle to Gifu, they survive in remarkable physical form. Designated a Nationally Important Cultural Property in 1993, they are a primary source at the heart of Japan's economic history.

A pair of stone komainu at Hiyoshi Shrine in Gōdo, Gifu, designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan. Donated in 1577 by the Sengoku warlord Fuwa Mitsuharu and carved from the famed blue-green Shakudani stone of Echizen, this slender, inscribed pair is a masterpiece of Momoyama-era sculpture.

Discover the Kuri (kitchen) and corridor of Zuigan-ji Temple in Matsushima, one of only two temple kitchens designated as National Treasures in Japan. Built in 1609 by Date Masamune, these structures showcase exquisite Momoyama-period craftsmanship.

The Main Hall of Obai-in at Daitoku-ji, Kyoto, built in 1586 and designated in 1922, holds forty-four ink panels by Unkoku Togan and faces the Hatotei dry garden.

Discover the Kanchi-in Guest Hall (Kyakuden), a National Treasure within the UNESCO World Heritage Toji Temple complex in Kyoto. Explore Momoyama-era shoin architecture, ink paintings attributed to Miyamoto Musashi, and serene Zen gardens.

Rebuilt in 1603 by Toyotomi Hideyori, the National Treasure Kondo at To-ji fuses Japanese, Zen and Great Buddha styles and holds a 2.88-meter seated Yakushi triad.

At Kyoto's Tō-ji, the East Great Gate has stayed shut for centuries. Called the Akazu-mon, it was barred by Ashikaga Takauji in 1336 and still bears arrow marks.

To-ji's widest gate was not built for it. Raised in 1601 as Sanjusangen-do's west gate by Toyotomi Hideyori, it moved here in 1895, an Important Cultural Property.

Discover the Otamaya at Kodaiji Temple in Kyoto, an Important Cultural Property built in 1605. Marvel at the stunning Kodaiji Makie lacquerware, explore the mausoleum of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and his wife Nene, and experience the splendor of Momoyama-period art and architecture.