Momoyama

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.

Discover Jinkenki, an Important Cultural Property consisting of 12 handwritten diary volumes by a Kōfuku-ji temple abbot, chronicling 15 years of political upheaval and daily life in Sengoku-era Yamato Province. Housed at the National Archives of Japan in Tokyo.

Discover the Main Hall of Ushihiko Shrine in Naruto, Tokushima — an Important Cultural Property built in 1599 and the oldest surviving shrine building in the prefecture.

Discover the Niomon Gate of Oka-dera Temple in Asuka Village, Nara Prefecture—a designated Important Cultural Property built in 1612 with recycled materials from a medieval pagoda. Learn about its history, architecture, and dragon legend.

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.

Denkōji is a Ritsu-sect temple in central Nara, restored in 1585 as a memorial to the warlord Tsutsui Junkei. Its Main Hall is designated an Important Cultural Property as a rare example of Momoyama-period Buddhist architecture. The temple is also renowned for its Kamakura-era 'Naked Jizō' statue and one of Nara's Three Famous Camellias.

The main hall of Wanishita Shrine in Tenri City, Nara Prefecture, is an Important Cultural Property from the Momoyama period, uniquely situated atop an ancient keyhole-shaped burial mound. Founded as the tutelary shrine of the Wani clan, the site also neighbors the ruins of Kakinomoto-dera temple linked to the legendary poet Kakinomoto no Hitomaro. Its elegant gabled cypress-bark roof and vivid polychrome carvings make it a hidden gem of Japanese shrine architecture.

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 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.

The vermilion Red Gate of Nishinomiya Shrine in Hyogo, a Momoyama four-legged gate flanked by a famous earthen wall, is the stage for the New Year fuku-otoko run.

Built in 1596, Kada Kasuga Shrine's main hall in Wakayama is an Important Cultural Property whose carved struts show shrimp, shells, Ebisu, and a rare kalavinka.

Discover the Gokoku-in Bell Tower (Shōrō), an Important Cultural Property built in 1588 at Kimiidera Temple in Wakayama. Explore its Azuchi-Momoyama architectural beauty, history, and visitor guide.

An Important Cultural Property at Seikeiin on Mount Koya, painted by the young Hasegawa Tohaku. Long the standard face of Takeda Shingen, the sitter is now disputed.

Zoku Hokanshu, a National Treasure on Mount Koya, binds 77 scrolls and 6 booklets of medieval documents, from imperial edicts to a farmer's katakana petition.

A Momoyama tachi signed Kunihiro, generally identified as the work of Horikawa Kunihiro, owned by Kongobu-ji on Mt Koya and shown at times in its Reihokan museum.

Four Nō costumes from a shrine below Mount Kōya: two embroidered hunting robes, a chōken and a happi, recorded in a 1610 diary, exceptionally rare Momoyama work.

A National Treasure at Kongōbu-ji on Mount Kōya, the Hōkanshū is 54 scrolls of some 692 medieval documents, including an autograph letter by Minamoto no Yoshitsune.

The largest of Kōyasan's three National Treasure document collections, holding 167 scrolls and 9 volumes, from imperial decrees to a peasants' petition in katakana.