Momoyama

Discover Koganedo, the oldest surviving building on Mt. Haguro and an Important Cultural Property. Home to 33 gilded Kannon statues and 80 Buddhist icons preserving the Dewa Sanzan Shugendo tradition.

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.

A National Treasure by Kano Eitoku, these gold-ground screens crowd old Kyoto with about 2,485 figures, the Gion Festival, and famous temples of the capital.

The front gate of Jonenji Temple in Hagi, Yamaguchi Prefecture, is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property dating to the Momoyama period. Temple tradition holds that it was originally the rear gate of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Jurakudai palace in Kyoto, later donated to the temple by Mōri Terumoto in 1633. Discover this hidden architectural gem featuring bold timber framing and vigorous Momoyama-era carvings in the historic castle town of Hagi.

Designated in 1935, this one-bay Momoyama sanctuary in central Kofu keeps painted carving and metal-fitted doors. Its name recalls a legend of draining the basin.

Rebuilt by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1606 after Erinji burned, this vermilion four-legged gate is the temple's oldest building and is free to walk through today.

Built in 1612 at Mount Fuji's second station and moved to the lakeside precinct in 1973, this large, richly carved one-bay Momoyama hall was designated in 1985.

Rebuilt in 1581 on Oda Nobunaga's order, the Main Hall of Oiso Shrine in Shiga is a three-bay nagare-zukuri hall roofed in cypress bark, set in the old Oiso Forest.

Discover the Kojoin Guest Hall (Kojoin Kyakuden), a National Treasure at Miidera Temple in Otsu, Shiga. Built in 1601, this masterpiece of shoin-zukuri architecture features Kano school screen paintings and a stunning Muromachi-period garden.

Saikyo-ji's guest hall in Otsu is said to have come from Hideyoshi's Fushimi Castle. Four rooms carry Kano school panels, and its interior first opened in 2026.

Once Zeze Castle's North Great Gate on Lake Biwa, this korai-mon was rebuilt at Shinozu Shrine, Otsu, in 1872. Its tiles still carry the Honda hollyhock crest.

Discover the Main Hall of Shirahige Shrine in Takashima, Shiga — an Important Cultural Property built in 1603 by Toyotomi Hideyori. Explore Momoyama-era architecture, the iconic floating torii gate on Lake Biwa, and over 2,000 years of sacred history.

The Bell Tower at Chomeiji Temple in Omihachiman, Shiga Prefecture, is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property built in 1608. Featuring an elegant two-story hakama-goshi design with cypress bark roofing, it houses a medieval bronze bell and offers breathtaking panoramic views of Lake Biwa from its elevated hillside position within the 31st temple of the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage.

Discover the National Treasure main hall of Tsukubusuma Shrine on Chikubu Island in Lake Biwa, Shiga Prefecture. Relocated from Fushimi Castle, this architectural masterpiece showcases exquisite Momoyama-period art including gold maki-e lacquerwork, Kano school paintings, and ornate metalwork.

Standing on Chikubushima Island in northern Lake Biwa, Hogonji Temple houses a National Treasure gate — the sole surviving structure from Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Osaka Castle — along with the oldest of Japan's Three Great Benzaiten sanctuaries and the 30th station on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage. Accessible only by ferry, this sacred island offers a journey through 1,300 years of faith, Momoyama-period architectural splendor, and breathtaking lake scenery.

The Kobo-do Hall of Rengebuji Temple in Sado City, Niigata Prefecture, is a designated Important Cultural Property of Japan built in 1608–1609. Enshrining Kobo Daishi (Kukai), the founder of Shingon Buddhism, this hall features a pyramidal hipped roof with horse chestnut bark shingles, round pillars, and polychrome floral paintings, preserving the architectural beauty of the Momoyama period within one of the finest temple complexes along the Sea of Japan coast.

Discover Gekka-den, an Important Cultural Property quietly tucked into the inner garden of Sankeien in Yokohama. Built in 1603 by Tokugawa Ieyasu within Kyoto's Fushimi Castle as a waiting room for daimyo lords, this elegant single-story hall with hip-and-gable cypress-bark roof was relocated via Mimuroto-ji in Uji to Sankeien in 1918. Inside are painted screens of bamboo and folding fans attributed to the Momoyama master Kaiho Yusho, and chrysanthemum-pierced transoms—rare survivors from the dawn of the Edo period.

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.