Shōwa

After the 1913 flood, this 3.0-metre stone check dam on the Shobojigawa is one of the dams held to a uniform height, completed in 1927; registered in 2005.

After the 1913 flood, this 3.0-metre stone check dam on the Shobojigawa is a wider-spilled dam of the late 1920s, completed in 1927; registered in 2005.

After the 1913 flood, this 3.0-metre stone check dam on the Shobojigawa is the longest dam in the group, completed in 1927 and listed as a cultural property in 2005.

Discover the Rear Gate (Ushiro-Shinmon) and Sacred Fence (Tamagaki) of Fukura Kuchinomiya at Chokaisan Omonoimi Shrine in Yamagata Prefecture. This registered tangible cultural property of Japan, rebuilt in 1939, encloses the twin sanctuary halls of a 1,400-year-old mountain shrine — the Ichinomiya of Dewa Province at the foot of Mount Chokai.

The Former Nagai Elementary School First Building in Nagai City, Yamagata Prefecture, is a magnificent 93-meter-long wooden two-story schoolhouse built in 1933 by local civic leaders. Featuring Stick Style architecture, distinctive red exterior walls, a grand central staircase, and boat-bottom ceilings, it was registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property in 2009. Now open to the public as a community facility with a café, exhibition space, and workshops.

Discover the New Murao Roman-kan Annex, a 1937 Registered Tangible Cultural Property in Kaminoyama Onsen, Yamagata. Five exquisite wooden buildings connected by covered walkways showcase lavish Showa-era craftsmanship amidst a Japanese garden.

The Main Hall of Myozenji Temple in Yamagata City is a wooden temple building designed in 1934 by Ito Chuta, the legendary architect behind Tsukiji Hongwanji. Featuring symmetrical bell and drum towers and a grand 60-tatami hall, it is a nationally Registered Tangible Cultural Property.

Rebuilt in 1935 after a fire, this two-story wooden schoolhouse in Yonezawa still holds classes, its half-timber walls facing the approach to Uesugi Shrine.

On Mount Chokai stands Ryuzuji's plain 1933 founder's hall, registered in 2015, its clapboard shell hiding a lacquered interior and trowel-worked plaster reliefs.

In Yamagata's Kaminoyama Onsen, the 1939 Ryokan Yonemoto blends Doric pilasters, round upper windows, and a tiled gabled entrance into an eclectic registered facade.

A 1952 cobblestone dam on Yamagata's Tachiyazawa River, trapping sediment off Mount Gassan. Its stonework and curved spillway became a cultural property in 2017.

The Ube City Watanabe-O Memorial Hall (1937), an Important Cultural Property by Murano Togo, was built by seven local firms to honor industrialist Watanabe Yusaku.

JR Nishi-Iwakuni Station, opened in 1929 as Iwakuni Station on the Gantoku Line, is a Western-style wooden station building featuring a striking five-arch entrance portico inspired by the nearby Kintaikyo Bridge and an Expressionist-style gable. Registered as a national Tangible Cultural Property in 2006, it now serves as both an active railway station and a community exchange facility.

Discover the Miyuki Bridge at Nagao Hachimangu Shrine on Suo-Oshima Island, a nationally registered tangible cultural property. This graceful arched bridge spans the shrine's central pond, preserving the island's rich heritage of Choshu master carpenters.

Discover the Nagayama Honke Sake Brewery Office, a 1928 Western-style former village hall registered as a national tangible cultural property in Ube, Yamaguchi. Explore its unique Showa-era architecture and award-winning junmai sake "Taka."

Discover the Nisshin Kowa Kinenkan, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture. This 1937 memorial hall preserves the site and furnishings of the historic 1895 Sino-Japanese peace conference. Free admission.

Discover the Lambuth Memorial Chapel in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi — a 1938 Spanish-style wooden church registered as a Tangible Cultural Property of Japan. Its white stucco walls and red-tiled roof sit on a hilltop with views of the Kanmon Straits.

Discover the Fujiwara Yoshie Memorial Museum, a registered tangible cultural property in Shimonoseki. This 1936 modernist residence honors Japan's legendary opera tenor and offers panoramic views of the Kanmon Strait.

Hofu Tenmangu, founded in 904 CE in Hofu City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, is Japan's oldest shrine dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane, the deified god of learning. The main hall, offertory hall, and worship hall, rebuilt in 1958 under the supervision of architectural historian Murata Jiro, feature a refined design with minimal ornamentation and were registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property in 2009. As one of Japan's Three Great Tenjin Shrines alongside Kitano Tenmangu and Dazaifu Tenmangu, this elegant complex embodies over a millennium of devotion.

The Meirin Elementary School Main Building in Hagi, Yamaguchi Prefecture, is a magnificent two-story wooden school constructed in 1935 on the historic grounds of the former Hagi Domain School Meirinkan. Distinguished by its shibi roof finials, French tiles, and a striking combination of white plaster and weatherboard cladding, it was the first building in Yamaguchi Prefecture to be registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property. Now open to the public as the Hagi Meirin Gakusha, it tells the story of 300 years of education in Hagi.