Momoyama

Iwakiyama Shrine's worship hall in Aomori began as a Buddhist temple's main hall, built 1603 to 1640. The vermilion five-bay hall still reads as a temple sanctuary.

The thatched main hall of Kakushuji, mortuary temple of the Tsugaru founder. A large early-1600s Soto Zen hall by the Iwaki River, an Important Cultural Property.

A vermilion three-story pagoda on a wooded slope at Yusan-ji, Fukuroi. Built from 1574 to 1611, it blends Japanese and continental styles, a noted Momoyama pagoda.

A gilded miniature shrine in Yusan-ji's hillside Yakushi hall, this Important Cultural Property of about 1588 holds a hidden Medicine Buddha opened once a century.

Discover the Cross and Manji Karakusa Mother-of-Pearl Inlay Box, an Important Cultural Property of Japan housed at the MOA Museum of Art in Atami, Shizuoka. This Momoyama-era black-lacquer box fuses Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Christian, and Nanban motifs in a single dazzling raden composition.

The Sanjūbanjindō at Myōjō-ji Temple in Hakui City, Ishikawa Prefecture, is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property built in 1614 as a prayer hall for the victory of Maeda Toshitsune, the third lord of the Kaga Domain, before the Siege of Osaka. This elegant Momoyama-period shrine-style structure is one of ten Important Cultural Properties within the temple complex.

The Soshido (Founder's Hall) at Myojoji Temple in Hakui City, Ishikawa Prefecture, is an Important Cultural Property of Japan. Built under the patronage of the Maeda clan in the early 17th century, this hall showcases exquisite Zen-style architecture with elaborate bracket complexes, fan-shaped rafters, and magnificent carved panels of lotus flowers and celestial figures.

The Main Hall of Myōjōji Temple in Hakui City, Ishikawa Prefecture, is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property built in 1604 by master carpenter Sakagami Matasaburō of the Kennin-ji school. This stately hipped-gable structure showcases Zen-style architectural techniques and was erected under the patronage of the Maeda clan of Kaga Domain. The temple complex boasts ten Important Cultural Properties, including Hokuriku's only wooden five-story pagoda.

The Main Hall of Katano Shrine in Hirakata, Osaka is an Important Cultural Property rebuilt in 1602 by Toyotomi Hideyori. Designated as the spiritual guardian of Osaka Castle's demon gate, this Momoyama-period masterpiece features vermilion lacquer, vivid polychrome decorations, and exquisite kaerumata carvings on all four sides.

Rising behind the main hall of a small temple in central Osaka, the Shomanin Pagoda — popularly known as the Aizendo Tahoto — was rebuilt in 1597 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and stands as one of the finest Momoyama-era two-tiered pagodas in Japan. At roughly 22.4 meters tall, it is the oldest surviving wooden building within the city of Osaka and a designated Important Cultural Property. Highlights include the twelve zodiac animals carved into its frog-leg struts and the three-dimensional Diamond Realm mandala painted across its interior, which is opened to the public only during the Aizen Festival (June 30 to July 2).

The Main Hall of Chinju Tenmangu at Sofukuji Temple in Izumisano City, Osaka, is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property. Despite its remarkably small scale—with a beam span of just 60 cm—this Momoyama-period shrine showcases exquisite Kasuga-zukuri architecture with a cypress bark roof, preserving over 500 years of Tenjin worship and the medieval Hinenosho estate heritage.

The Main Hall of Yasaka Shrine in Ikeda City, Osaka, is a Momoyama-period shrine building reconstructed in 1610 at a shrine originally founded in 978 CE. Designated as a nationally Important Cultural Property in 1971, it is valued for its ornate kaerumata and kibana carvings that exemplify the decorative exuberance of the Momoyama era, making it one of the rarest surviving structures of this period in the Osaka region.

Discover the Shino Tea Bowl, Named "Hirosawa," an Important Cultural Property of Japan housed at the Yuki Museum of Art in Osaka. A Momoyama-period masterpiece from the Mino kilns, this half-cylindrical chawan features creamy white feldspar glaze, soft fire-color flush, and faintly emerging iron-pigment designs. Ranked among the finest Shino tea bowls alongside the National Treasure "Unohana-gaki" and "Hagoromo," it embodies the very spirit of wabi tea aesthetics.

Discover the Important Cultural Property held at Osaka Castle Museum: Toyotomi Hideyoshi's autograph death poem ('Like dew I fall, like dew I vanish — all the affairs of Naniwa are but a dream within a dream'), ten blood-oath pledges in which Maeda Toshiie and other senior retainers swore loyalty to the young heir Hideyori on sacred Kumano talismans, and the vermilion-sealed orders that launched the second invasion of Korea in 1597. Designated in 2020, these thirteen documents offer an intimate window into the final years of the Toyotomi regime — with full historical background and visitor information for the Osaka Castle donjon.

Discover Kozen-ji Bentendo in Komagane, Nagano—a small but exquisite Muromachi-style hall built in 1576 on a tiny island in a temple pond. Designated a National Important Cultural Property of Japan, it is the oldest surviving building of an ancient Tendai temple set in the celebrated gardens beneath the Central Japanese Alps, and home to the famous legend of the brave dog Hayataro.

Tucked into a steep hillside village in Yamanouchi Town, northern Nagano Prefecture, the Main Hall of Sano Shrine is a small single-bay nagare-zukuri sanctuary built in 1592 by the master carpenter Miyazaki Mokujo. Its pillars and walls are painted in red iron oxide, vermilion, and ink with plum blossoms and roundels of pine, bamboo, and plum, making it the most vividly decorated shrine interior in Nagano Prefecture. Designated a National Important Cultural Property in 1955, it offers a rare glimpse of Momoyama-period artistry alongside the famous Jigokudani snow monkeys, Shibu Onsen, and Shiga Kogen.

Deep in Nagano's Kinasa mountains, Shirahige Shrine's Momoyama Main Hall keeps old Muromachi joinery. An Important Cultural Property, it sits in a protective shell.

Discover Sanbutsuji Monjudo, an Important Cultural Property perched on the rocky slopes of sacred Mt. Mitoku in Tottori Prefecture. Built around 1580 in the dramatic butai-zukuri (stage-style) architectural technique, this Momoyama-period hall rests with one side on a natural rock outcrop and the other supported by towering wooden columns. After climbing the demanding ascetic trail, visitors are rewarded with sweeping views of the Sea of Japan and Mt. Daisen — a highlight of the Japan Heritage 'Land of Six-Sense Purification and Six-Sense Healing.'

The Main Hall of Someha Amenoiwakatsu Shrine in Masuda City, Shimane Prefecture, is an outstanding example of Azuchi-Momoyama period shrine architecture, rebuilt in 1583 by the Masuda clan. Designated a National Important Cultural Property in 1929, the vermillion-lacquered hall features exquisite kaeru-mata carvings and cypress bark roofing. Founded in 725, this ancient shrine also preserves a massive sacred rock cliff representing primordial iwakura worship.

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.