Momoyama

The Momoyama mausoleum of Kuroda Josui and his wife at Ryokoin, Daitokuji, Kyoto, an Important Cultural Property since 2016, finely built.

A Momoyama rammed-earth wall on the south side of Sanjusangendo in Kyoto, built with the South Gate to bound Hideyoshi's temple complex. Designated in 1937.

An eight-legged gate of 1600 marking the southern edge of Sanjusangendo in Kyoto, built when Hideyoshi folded the hall into his Great Buddha complex. Listed 1900.

Kept at Myoshin-ji in Kyoto, this miniature armor, helmet, and saddle were made for Sutemaru, the infant son of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who died at age two in 1591.

Discover the Important Cultural Property 'Letter by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Dated April 13),' an ink-on-paper correspondence revealing the personal voice of Japan's legendary warlord who unified the nation in the 16th century.

The Sumiyoshi Maki-e Desk, an Important Cultural Property owned by Ninna-ji Temple in Kyoto, is a magnificent lacquerware piece produced from the Momoyama to early Edo period. Its gold maki-e designs depict pines within the sacred precincts of Sumiyoshi Shrine accompanied by waka poetry — a sophisticated utae (picture-poetry) tradition. Currently on loan to the Kyoto National Museum, it is exhibited periodically during special exhibitions.

The National Treasure 'Letter from the Portuguese Viceroy of India' at Myōhō-in Temple in Kyoto is a diplomatic letter written on parchment in 1588 by Duarte de Menezes, Portuguese Viceroy in Goa, addressed to Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Adorned with oil miniature paintings and gold lettering, it was presented at Jurakudai Palace in 1591. As one of the rarest European-origin diplomatic documents preserved in Japan, it offers an extraordinary window into the Age of Discovery and early Japan-Europe relations.

Momoyama gold-ground wall paintings of pines and flowers by Hasegawa Tohaku's workshop, made for Hideyoshi's Shounji and now kept at Chishakuin in Kyoto.

Gold-ground wall paintings at Chishakuin, Kyoto, including Tohaku's Maple and his son Kyuzo's Cherry Blossoms, made for Hideyoshi's Shounji guest hall.

Four gold-ground sliding-door panels of pine and plum by Hasegawa Tohaku's workshop, made for Hideyoshi's Shounji guest hall and now kept at Chishakuin.

Four gold-ground alcove panels of a great pine with sunset hibiscus and chrysanthemums by Hasegawa Tohaku's workshop, now at Chishakuin in Kyoto. National Treasure.

Thirteen Edo-period turrets, a gate and a long wall at Kumamoto Castle were designated in 1933. The concrete keep is a 1960 rebuild. Closed after the 2026 quake.

Vowed by Hideyoshi in 1587 and halted by his death, Senjokaku still has no ceiling boards and no front stairs, leaving its whole roof frame open to view.

On a Kagawa hilltop that was once Nio Castle stands Kakujoin's two-storied bell tower, a Momoyama work with a flared hakamagoshi base, still rung each New Year.

A vermilion two-storied gate of the Momoyama period beside Saga Castle's moat. Why it carries two designation dates, and the 1603 torii and 1606 bridge before it.

The guardian shrine of Kozoji in the hills of Toba, Mie, dated to 1605, is a small shingled nagare-style hall enshrining Kishimojin, the deity of childbirth.

Kinbo Shrine Main Hall in Tsuruoka, Yamagata: a Shugendo hall of 1608 near the summit of Mt. Kinbo, blending a Zen-style temple form with a shrine plan.

Pyramidal-roofed hall at the foot of Mount Haguro in Tsuruoka, Yamagata, rebuilt in the 1590s, the oldest building on the mountain, with thirty-three Kannon statues.

At Uesugi Shrine in Yonezawa, this Momoyama robe pairs imported Italian or Spanish damask with Japanese tailoring. Said to be worn by the retainer Naoe Kanetsugu.

A rare colored map of Senami District in northern Echigo, drawn by 1597 from the Uesugi land surveys and recovered, damaged, from a Yonezawa storehouse in 1707.