Shōwa

Completed in 1959, this auditor's house is the only postwar building among Niihama's six registered Sumitomo residences. Exterior viewing only at present.

At 295 square meters, this 1935 executive house is the largest of Niihama's six registered Sumitomo residences, clad in vertical boards and white plaster.

The 1937 reception annex of the Besshi mine director's residence greets guests under two stacked entrance roofs and a Western drawing room. Free Sunday tours.

The 1937 main house of the Besshi mine director's residence pairs a zigzag corridor with garden-facing tatami rooms. Niihama's grandest company home survives.

This eight-mat tea room of 1937 sets its alcove post atop a 2.7-meter cabinet with a glowing shoji above, a free-spirited detail. Open Sunday mornings, free.

The Former Ninomiya Sawmill Office and Main House in Oda, Uchiko Town, Ehime Prefecture, is a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property that preserves the forestry heritage of one of Shikoku's most densely forested mountain communities. This combined office-residence tells the story of the timber industry that sustained the Oda district for generations.

Discover the Former Hiraiso Submarine Cable Landing Station, a registered tangible cultural property in Ikata, Ehime. Built in 1927, this reinforced concrete structure once linked Shikoku and Kyushu via undersea telegraph cables across the Iyo-nada Sea.

Set on the grounds of the former Saijo domain headquarters in Ehime Prefecture, the Saijo Eiko Church Pastor's House is a two-story wooden building designed in 1951 by Urabe Shizutaro, one of the most influential architects of postwar Japan. Registered as a Tangible Cultural Property of Japan in 2021 together with the adjoining sanctuary and kindergarten, the building blends white plaster walls, cedar plank cladding, exposed timber framing, and lattice and shoji screens in a quietly confident folk-craft idiom—an early masterwork that anticipates Urabe's celebrated Kurashiki cityscape.

Standing within the former Saijo Domain Jinya district in Ehime, the chapel of Saijo Eiko Church is one of the earliest completed works of postwar Japanese architect Urabe Shizutaro. White plaster walls and a rhythm of slender vertical windows give the building a quietly modernist character, blended with Japanese folk-craft sensibility and the spirit of Christian worship. It was registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property of Japan in 2021.

Standing along the moat of the former Saijo Jinya in Ehime Prefecture, the Saijo Eiko Kindergarten Building is a single-storey wooden structure designed in 1953 by the celebrated architect Shizutaro Urabe. Together with the adjacent church chapel and pastor's residence, it was registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property of Japan in February 2021. Discover this rare ensemble of postwar wooden modernism on a quiet walk along the moat.

The Butokuden in Niihama City, Ehime Prefecture, is a wooden martial arts hall built in 1938 and registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property. Distinguished by its layered chidori-hafu gable and irimoya-zukuri entrance porch, it is one of Japan's rare surviving prewar Butokuden halls that continues to serve as an active martial arts training facility.

The east gate of the Iwase residence in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki, was the everyday entrance to a former Edo village headman's compound. A registered cultural property.

Discover the Kasama City Historical Folk Museum, a nationally registered tangible cultural property in Ibaraki Prefecture. This 1937 wooden Western-style former town hall showcases early Showa civic architecture alongside archaeological and folk exhibits from the Kasama region.

The Former Asakawa Elementary School Building No. 2, set deep in a quiet valley in Daigo Town, Ibaraki, is a single-story wooden schoolhouse completed in 1937. Together with the older 1913 Building No. 1, it is registered as a Tangible Cultural Property of Japan and continues in use today as a satellite campus for a correspondence high school. This guide introduces the building's history, architectural significance, surrounding sights such as Fukuroda Falls, and practical visitor information.

The Former Shizan Juku Main House in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki Prefecture, is a refined two-story wooden residence built in 1928 as a private academy dedicated to Mito Learning. Featuring elegant details such as protruding-knot alcove pillars and single-plank transoms, this modern Japanese-style building was registered as a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2024.

Discover the Former Makabe Post Office, a 1927 Registered Tangible Cultural Property in Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki. Originally built as a bank, this Western-style landmark stands at the heart of Makabe's historic townscape with over 100 cultural properties.

Discover the Former Makinoji Elementary School in Daigo, Ibaraki — a 1950 wooden schoolhouse registered as a national tangible cultural property, now transformed into the beloved Daigo Oyaki School where visitors can make traditional Japanese sweets.

Discover Kuriyama Gofukuten, a nationally registered tangible cultural property in Ishioka, Ibaraki. Built around 1932 after the Great Ishioka Fire, this wooden merchant building features stunning kumiko lattice work and represents Japan's early modern architectural heritage.

The Jushichiya Footwear Shop in Ishioka City, Ibaraki Prefecture, is a two-story wooden kanban (signboard) architecture building constructed in 1930. As the first building reconstructed after the devastating 1929 fire, it pioneered the kanban architectural style in the district. Featuring Western decorative elements such as Lombardy bands and console-style capitals, it is registered as a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property as a fine example of early Showa commercial architecture.

The Sugaya Cosmetics Store and Residence stands along Nakamachi-dōri in Ishioka, Ibaraki Prefecture, as a prime example of kanban kenchiku (signboard architecture) built after the devastating 1929 Great Fire. This two-story wooden commercial building features Corinthian and Ionic pilasters, a dentil cornice, and a triangular pediment, and was registered as a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2005.