Taishō

Built around 1925 as the headquarters of Nikkosha, one of Kyoto's earliest automobile distributors, the Fuji Rabbit Building blends classical columns, tire-motif stained glass, and a sun-shaped roof tower a short walk from Kyoto Station.

On the same plot as Kyoto's famous Funaoka Onsen public bath stands the wooden two-story inn building that started it all. Built c. 1923 with a 1930 renovation, the Former Funaokarō preserves the small banquet rooms and second-floor hall of a Taishō-era ryokan, registered as a Tangible Cultural Property in July 2003.

A 29-square-meter wooden storefront tucked beside Funaoka Onsen in northern Kyoto, the former barbershop is an early example of kanban-kenchiku (signboard architecture) built around 1923. It was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property in 2003 alongside three other buildings of the same bathhouse complex.

Standing at the eastern foot of Shijo-ohashi Bridge, directly across from the historic Minamiza kabuki theater, Restaurant Kikusui has been a pioneer of Western cuisine in Kyoto since 1916. Its striking 1926 reinforced-concrete building, designed in an Expressionist style with Art Deco and Spanish accents and crowned by an iconic parabolic elevator tower, was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property of Japan in 1997 and remains a beloved Taisho-era landmark of Gion.

Waka-no-yu, founded in 1903 and rebuilt in 1923 in West Maizuru's Hiranoya arcade, is a Western-style public bathhouse registered in 2018 as a national Tangible Cultural Property. Soak in soft water drawn from the same source as Manai-no-shimizu (one of Japan's Heisei 100 Famous Waters), heated by firewood, while admiring hand-painted Mount Fuji murals by one of the country's last sento muralists.

The 1920 main building of the former Misumi Summary Court stands on a hill above the UNESCO-listed Misumi West Port. A rare surviving example of a regional courthouse built in pure Japanese style by the Ministry of Justice's works section, it is now open free to the public as the House of Law.

Discover the Brick Wall of the Yatsushiro Convent of the Sisters of Saint Paul of Chartres in Kumamoto Prefecture. Built in 1919 by a French Catholic order, this 21-metre Registered Tangible Cultural Property is a rare survivor in central Yatsushiro and a quiet window onto Meiji- and Taisho-era Franco-Japanese exchange.

Founded in 1874 in Kumamoto's historic Shinmachi district, Nagasaki Jiro Bookstore is one of Kyushu's most storied bookshops. Its 1924 building, designed by architect Yasuoka Katsuya, is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property. Once visited by literary giants Mori Ogai and Natsume Soseki, the second-floor café offers specialty coffee with views of passing tram cars.

Built in 1924, the Hayano Building is believed to be Kumamoto's first rental office building. This reinforced concrete structure features distinctive continuous window surrounds and decorative pilasters, and is registered as a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property. Still home to galleries and design studios, this living cultural property preserves the spirit of Taisho-era Romanticism in the heart of Kumamoto City.

On the Tsuboi River by the stone Meiju Bridge stands the 1919 Dai-Ichi Bank Kumamoto Branch, the city's first concrete building, designed by Yoshitoki Nishimura.

In Miyahara, Kumamoto, a 20-meter red brick wall in English bond edges the old Iseri merchant estate. Its even buttresses and capping cornice show late-Taisho craft.

A small 1925 concrete bank in Miyahara, an old Kumamoto post town. Its Secession-style front carries four pilasters and a geometric parapet, and entry is free.

Built in 1925 to carry carts over the Koshi River, Himeibashi in Kikuchi, Kumamoto, is Japan's earliest surviving through-type reinforced concrete arch bridge.

Discover the Yamaga Toro Folk Craft Museum, a registered tangible cultural property housed in a 1925 Romanesque bank building. Explore exquisite paper lanterns crafted entirely from washi and glue in Yamaga, Kumamoto Prefecture.

Built in 1913 as a Bank of Japan deputy governor's villa and moved twice to Mt. Akagi, this refined house pairs tatami rooms with a Western parlour. Registered in 2025.

Discover the Kanezen Building (Kanezen Biru) in Kiryu, Gunma Prefecture — one of the oldest reinforced concrete structures in the prefecture, built around 1921 with Secessionist-style ornamentation. A nationally registered tangible cultural property that reflects Kiryu's golden age as Japan's silk textile capital.

Standing in the heart of Maebashi's central district, the Former Otake Sake Brewery Brick Warehouse is a two-story brick structure built in 1923 during the Taisho era. Registered as a national Tangible Cultural Property in 2016, it is the only remaining sake brewery building in downtown Maebashi. The building uniquely blends Western brick masonry with traditional Japanese timber-frame roof construction. Now operating as the Maebashi Arts and Culture Brick Warehouse, it serves as a vibrant multipurpose event hall where history and the arts coexist.

The largest of the four sheds at 52 ken long, this early-Taisho timber hall forms the compound's western wall, mixing Western trusses with Japanese roof framing.

A 1920 wooden pastor's residence at Annaka Church in Gunma, whose 8- and 10-mat tatami rooms are said to be from a former Annaka domain retainer's mansion.

Discover Kitagama Substation in Tomioka, Gunma — a 1919 German-style reinforced concrete substation registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property. Learn about its role in electrifying the Tomioka Silk Mill region and its stunning architectural features.