Shōwa

The Japan Evangelical Lutheran Resurrection Church in Nagoya's Higashi Ward is a wooden chapel designed by the Vories Architectural Office and completed in 1953. Rebuilt on Easter Sunday to replace a predecessor lost in wartime air raids, it is the only surviving Vories-designed building in Nagoya and was registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property in 2012. Its exposed scissors truss roof and iconic cruciform window exemplify the clear, dignified design that defines this architectural gem.

The former Noma Post Office (1931) on the Chita Peninsula is a wooden building with gabled dormers and clapboard walls, a Registered Cultural Property since 2015.

Standing inside Tokugawa-en garden in Nagoya, the Hōsa Bunko Old Storehouse was built in 1935 by combining two existing earthen storehouses on the Owari Tokugawa Ozone estate into one. Designed by architect Yoshio Yoshimoto, it blends traditional Japanese exterior styling with Western-style king-post truss roofing — a fascinating hybrid of Edo and modern architecture. After serving for decades as the working repository for the Owari Tokugawa family's celebrated book collection, it was registered as a national Tangible Cultural Property in 2014 and now welcomes visitors as the entrance hall of the Hōsa Library.

The 1929 shoin of Hōshuin, linked to the main hall by a veranda, is a refined reception hall whose upper room sets a wide alcove and study nook under coffered ceilings.

A tiled wooden wall about 22 meters long at the street edge of the Horibe Residence in Inuyama, built in the early Showa era. It frames the approach to the samurai house.

In Inuyama's castle town, the Miyataké family's 1931 earthen-walled storehouse, registered in 2006, keeps hand-laid cobble footings and a heavy vault-like iron door.

In Inuyama's castle town, this 1930s sukiya house turns on a faithful copy of the famed Kyoto tearoom Yūin. A Registered Cultural Property, it stays a private home.

A 48-meter timber-and-tile wall wraps a residence in Inuyama's castle town. Built in 1931, it is a Registered Cultural Property valued for the historic streetscape.

Just the front-left corner of this 1927 Tokyo bank survives at Meiji-mura: granite, Doric columns and Corinthian pilasters, with a viewing level over Iruka Pond.

Discover the Former Nishi-Nakagane Station, a 1930 wooden station building registered as a national tangible cultural property. Once the terminus of the Meitetsu Mikawa Line, this beautifully preserved railway heritage site in Toyota City offers a glimpse into Japan's early Showa-era rural railway history and serves as a gateway to the famous Korankei Valley.

Discover the historic platform of Former Nishi-Nakagane Station, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in Toyota City, Aichi. Built in the early Showa era with granite masonry, this abandoned railway station preserves the pastoral rail landscape of rural Japan and offers a unique walk-on-the-tracks experience near Korankei Valley.

Discover the Former Mikawa-Hirose Station, a 1927 wooden railway station building registered as a national tangible cultural property in Toyota City, Aichi. Explore this nostalgic abandoned station along the Yahagi River with its original platform, weekend café, and scenic walking trails.

The former Mikawa-Hirose Station platform in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property built in 1927. This stone and concrete platform, featuring elegant granite ashlar masonry and a gentle curve following the Yahagi River, preserves the atmosphere of an early Showa-era rural railway station. Visitors can walk freely along the tracks, enjoy seasonal foliage, and sample local treats at the weekend cafe and market.

Standing at the southeast corner of Renkeiji, a Jodo Shinshu Otani-ha temple in Agui Town, Aichi Prefecture, the Renkeiji Earthen Walls were built in 1951 as a unified composition with the temple's Main Gate. Registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property in 2013, the walls combine stone-block foundations, vertical wood plank wainscoting, white plaster, and pantile roofing — an elegant expression of traditional Japanese boundary architecture.

Discover Nagahama Ohashi Bridge in Ozu City, Ehime, Japan's oldest still-operating bascule road bridge. Built in 1935, this striking red landmark over the Hijikawa River opens regularly for visitors and was designated an Important Cultural Property in 2014.

The Ehime Prefectural Education Hall in Matsuyama City is a three-story wooden building constructed in 1937, designed by prefectural architect Asaka Ryōsuke. Blending Western architectural styles with traditional Japanese decorative elements, it exemplifies early Shōwa-period design and was registered as a national Tangible Cultural Property in 2003.

Completed in 1929, the Ehime Prefectural Office Main Building is a Western-style reinforced concrete structure designed by architect Kigo Shichirō. Featuring a distinctive H-shaped plan crowned with a domed tower, marble interiors, and elegant chandeliers, it is the third-oldest prefectural office still in active use by a governor in Japan. It was registered as a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2021.

Quietly standing within the precincts of Chōraku-ji Temple in Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture, the Kagiya Kana Shōkōdō (Kagiya Kana Memorial Hall) was built in 1929 to honor the achievements of Kagiya Kana, a woman who created Iyo-kasuri, one of Japan's three great kasuri textiles. Designed by the renowned architect Kigo Shichirō, who also created the famous Bansui-sō and the Ehime Prefectural Government Main Building, this distinctive reinforced-concrete octagonal hall is supported by eight entasis columns and traditional bracket sets, beautifully fusing Eastern and Western architectural sensibilities. It was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property of Japan in 2001.

Kihoku Town Hall in Ehime Prefecture is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property completed in 1958 as the original Hiromi Town Hall, designed by the office of Czech-born architect Antonin Raymond. Its third-floor council chamber features a then-cutting-edge hyperbolic paraboloid shell roof, and circular glass blocks scatter colored light across the interior. A meticulously faithful renovation has earned it multiple national architectural awards, and it is now celebrated as a hidden gem of postwar Japanese modernism.

Built in 1935 for a Sumitomo Chemical manager in Niihama, this registered house splits guest and family space with a central tatami corridor. Free Sunday tours.