Muromachi

Discover Tennyo Bridge (Tennyo-bashi), a 1502 stone arch bridge designated as an Important Cultural Property of Japan. Located beside Shuri Castle in Naha, Okinawa, this masterpiece blends Chinese, Japanese, and Ryukyuan craftsmanship.

The Old Protective Hall of Konjikidō (Konjikidō Ōidō) at Chūson-ji Temple in Hiraizumi, Iwate Prefecture, is a Muromachi-period wooden structure that shielded the National Treasure Konjikidō from the elements for approximately 600 years. Designated an Important Cultural Property, this humble yet historically significant building stands as a testament to Japan's enduring tradition of cultural heritage preservation.

Discover Bishamondo Hall, a nationally designated Important Cultural Property in Hanamaki, Iwate. This Muromachi-period Buddhist hall once housed Japan's largest single-tree carved Tobatsu Bishamonten statue, standing 4.73 meters tall, within the sacred grounds of Mikumano Shrine.

Held by Chusonji Temple in Hiraizumi, Iwate, these four Important Cultural Property masks include the Wakajo, whose ink inscription on the reverse dates it to 1291—making it the oldest dated Noh mask known to survive in Japan. Together with two Okina masks and one Roujo mask, they are still worn each year by Chusonji's monks during Kojitsu Shikisanban, a medieval ennen performance offered on May 4–5 and November 3 at the Hakusan Shrine Noh stage.

Rebuilt in 1412 by a Hida warlord, this shrine hall in Gero keeps carved warblers said to have sung as it was built, beside a pair of vast sacred cedars.

At Ankoku-ji temple in Takayama, the Main Hall of Kumano Shrine outlasted the fires of the Sengoku wars. A rare one-bay misedana hall, it is among the city's oldest.

Discover the Main Hall of Hida Kokubunji Temple in Takayama, Gifu — an Important Cultural Property from the Muromachi period. Explore its ancient Buddhist statues, a 1,250-year-old ginkgo tree, and the enduring craftsmanship of the legendary Hida artisans.

Standing serenely in Shiroyama Park in Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, the Main Hall of Shorenji Temple is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property built around 1504, recognized as the oldest surviving Jodo Shinshu temple main hall in Japan. Constructed in the shoin-zukuri style and said to have been built from a single giant cedar, the hall showcases the extraordinary skill of the Hida craftsmen. Relocated from Shirakawa-go to escape dam flooding in 1960, its story is one of resilience and devotion to preserving irreplaceable cultural heritage.

Discover the Main Hall of Takenami Shrine in Ena, Gifu Prefecture—a nationally designated Important Cultural Property built in 1564. Explore its exquisite Muromachi-period architecture, Kamakura-era cedar legends, and the historic Nakasendo trail surroundings.

Five mountain forts ringing the Furukawa Basin in Gifu, designated a national historic site in 2024 for layered work by the Anekoji, Miki, and Kanamori clans.

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.

Gifu's Nagataki Hakusan Shrine holds 27 wooden masks from late Kamakura to late Edo — Okina, Sanbasō, kishin and rare hanataka faces of Hakusan worship.

Koda Shrine's main hall in Miyazaki is a rare medieval shrine in southern Kyushu, dated by ridge tags to 1448 and restored to its red-lacquer and gold-leaf finish.

Kodama Shrine's inner sanctuary in Miyakonojo is Miyazaki's oldest dated wooden building, a 1399 Buddhist tabernacle saved by villagers during the Meiji purges.

Originally preserved as a sacred treasure in an Ainu household in Hidaka, Hokkaido, this silver-mounted Kamakura-period tachi survives as a rare early example of Ezo-style ceremonial swords. Held by the Tohoku History Museum in Tagajo, Miyagi.

Izumo Daijingu in Kameoka, Kyoto Prefecture, is an ancient shrine known as 'Moto-Izumo' (Original Izumo) and ranked as the premier shrine of Tanba Province. Its main hall, believed to have been renovated by Ashikaga Takauji in 1345, is a masterpiece of medieval shrine architecture in the sangensha-nagare-zukuri style with cypress bark roofing, designated as an Important Cultural Property of Japan. Dedicated to Ōkuninushi, the deity of matchmaking, the shrine also features sacred spring water, ancient rock formations, and the revered Mount Mikage.

The Main Hall of Itsuki Shrine in Ayabe, Kyoto Prefecture, is a single-bay nagare-zukuri board-roofed shrine dating to the mid-Muromachi period. Designated a nationally Important Cultural Property in August 2024, it is celebrated for its rare blend of Shinto and Zen Buddhist architectural elements and its legendary ties to Prince Maroko's demon-slaying campaign.

Standing in the Kakushoin Cemetery behind Seiryoji Temple in Kyoto's Sagano district, this early Muromachi-period granite hokyoin-to (treasure-print pagoda) features a rare carving technique with circular niches housing half-relief seated Buddhas on each of its four faces. Designated as an Important Cultural Property of Japan in 1960, it represents a masterpiece of medieval stone craftsmanship.

Gansen-ji's vermilion three-storied pagoda in Kizugawa, Kyoto, dates to 1442. This Important Cultural Property is loved for the carved goblins shouldering its eaves.

This square, thatched, hipped Kannon hall at Shimo-Awano in Kyōtamba was raised before 1539. Ridge tablets fix its date; it is an Important Cultural Property.