Shōwa
昭和Browse Japan’s cultural heritage from the Shōwa period (1926 – 1989). Filter by prefecture, type, and keyword, with concise stories, maps, and travel tips.
Built in 1953 as a coffee house a short walk from Tsutenkaku, Gallery Saikai sets a theatrical Osaka shopfront over a traditional townhouse plan. Registered in 2007.
A 1933 bank on the old Kishu highway in Kishiwada, its facade cut by an arch spanning two floors. Attributed to Watanabe Setsu and registered in 2006; now offices.
An early Showa barn on a Kusaka headman's estate in Higashiosaka, registered in 2024; the only non-Edo building of 12, with a gable entry and open roof frame.
A 1931 four-storey timber house in Sakai, Osaka, registered in 2002, designed by a doctor as his home and clinic in the image of a lakeside castle.
Rebuilt in 1932 after a fire to lodge an imperial prince, the Konishi Choyokan New Palace in Abeno Ward, Osaka, was raised for chairs and hung with a chandelier.
The Konishi Choyokan Moon-Viewing Pavilion of 1932 in Abeno Ward, Osaka, is a 12.8-metre vaulted walk with a matted room carried over the garden on posts.
An early Showa single-storey storehouse on the corner of a Takatsuki hill farmstead: 10 metres of white plaster, its door and small eaved window facing the house.
The Kobayashi newspaper shop in Hirano, Osaka, a concrete shop of 1929 with a timber house behind, fronts its arcade with pilasters and arched windows.
Early Showa annex of a Sakai farming estate, registered in 2002: a three-mat room with verandas on three sides and a bath, the smallest of ten buildings.
A 1935 wooden hall in Osaka's Edobori, pairing temple carpentry with the Konkokyo faith—a Sect Shinto founded 1859. Designed by Ikedaya Hisakichi; spared from wartime fires.
A 1942 lecture hall, also called the Shuyokan, on the east bank of the Amano River at Kongoji, Kawachinagano. Trusses span a bright 12-bay room lit by tall windows.
A 1942 dining hall built with Kongoji's Great Lecture Hall in Kawachinagano. A corridor fronts its dining room, kitchen and stores; only the dining room is coffered.
A 1941 covered timber bridge linking Kongoji's main halls and guardian shrine in Kawachinagano. Its roof stands on separate posts; closed for repairs to March 2027.
An early Showa yakuimon gate between the drum tower and sutra repository of Saikyoji in Izumi, Osaka. Its crossbeam and three beams frame the north streetscape.
A two-storey drum tower rebuilt in 1962 on the corner of Saikyoji in Izumi, Osaka. White plaster, black-framed flame-topped windows and a tile roof mark its corner.
A 2-storey storehouse of 1934 attached to a tatami wing in Sakai's Hamadera suburb, registered in 1999. Standard 3-by-2-bay size, roofed in heavy hongawara tile.
A 1934 tatami reception wing in Sakai's Hamadera suburb, registered in 1999. Copper-edged tiled canopies wrap three sides, and a tea room projects to the southeast.
A timber corridor of 1934 in Sakai's Hamadera suburb that linked a tatami wing to the old main house, registered in 1999. It divides the courtyard from the villa.
The Satake Glass Workshop in Izumi, Osaka, is an L-shaped early Showa shed where glass rods are made, its braced posts carrying a king post truss. Registered 2001.
The Satake Glass Office in Izumi, Osaka, is a small early Showa building attached to the main house, its hipped roof aligned with the house. Registered in 2001.