Taishō

A pair of 4.4-meter-tall cast-iron electric lamps stands along the approach to Nanshu Shrine in Kagoshima City. Manufactured in 1913 at the former Shuseikan — the pioneering industrial complex established by the Shimazu clan of Satsuma — these lamps are among the very few surviving products from the foundry that helped lay the foundations for modern Japan. Registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property in 2006, they feature elegant hexagonal columns and petal-shaped crowns, connecting Kagoshima's industrial heritage with the enduring legacy of Saigo Takamori.

Built in 1924, the document storehouse is the newest of the former Nara estate's seven annexes, its mortar walls and iron doors made to guard the family's records.

A 1921 storehouse rendered in washed mortar and scored to imitate stone, with a light roof placed above its earthen one and curved brackets beneath the windows.

Built in 1915, the Main House of Kunibanzai Shuzo faces the old coastal highway by the Omono River, its counting room and parlour along a through earthen passage.

Discover the Konishi Family Residence Zashiki-gura, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in Yokote, Akita. This 1922 earthen storehouse showcases exceptional Taisho-era craftsmanship with black lacquer doors and a powerful timber interior.

Discover the Toda Family Residence in Yokote, Akita — a beautifully preserved 1916 farmhouse registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property. Admire its curved gable entrance, wrap-around verandas, and elegant proportions crafted by master carpenter Neda Tominosuke.

The Nishi-gura stands across the highway from the Hinomaru Jozo shop in Masuda. A ridge tablet dates it to 1919 and names its carpenter. Its interior is closed.

The Higashi-ato-gura in Masuda is the Taisho half of a paired storehouse at Hinomaru Jozo, built with a king-post truss unlike its older Meiji twin. It is closed.

A registered tangible cultural property museum housed in a 1925 Taisho-era former bank building. Enjoy free admission to world-renowned poster art by Takashi Akiyama while exploring Nagaoka's historic Settaya brewing district.

Ikinariya's front gate of 1914 is a sukiya-manner gate with a curved copper roof and korai-mon stance, a crane emblem carved in openwork above the door.

The Ōkōzu Diversion Channel Wash Weir in Tsubame City, Niigata Prefecture, completed in 1922, is recognized as Japan's first full-scale reinforced concrete weir. Built as part of a massive government project to protect the Echigo Plain from devastating Shinano River floods, it is registered as a national Tangible Cultural Property. Visitors can walk beneath the 26 massive piers spanning 146 meters and explore the surrounding park featuring 2,600 cherry trees and the free-admission Shinano River Ōkōzu Museum.

Kappo Miyoya is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in Izumozaki, Niigata, standing along the historic Hokkoku Kaido highway. This Taisho-era wooden building features remarkable Western-style plaster moldings and angel reliefs created with traditional Japanese kote-e techniques. Still operating as an inn and restaurant, it offers fresh Sea of Japan cuisine in a heritage setting.

Attached to the main house, this two-storey plaster storehouse carries saffron petals on its gable and dragons on its inner doors, an early work in the lime-relief craft.

Iron sheet covers the roof, base and inner walls of this storehouse at the southwest corner, rumoured to have made fireworks though its original use is unknown.

Attached to the rear of the main house, this storehouse held the brewing tanks and raw stock, its four free-standing pillars carrying the roof over the tonic-sake floor.

Attached north of the main house, this storehouse held the drug store and bottling floor where herbs became the tonic sake, roofed on a queen-post truss.

The largest storehouse of the compound stands behind the main house, its six free-standing pillars carrying the roof over a floor of roughly 219 square metres.

Discover Sanko-ji Temple Main Hall, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in Shibata, Niigata. Built in 1916, this Jodo Buddhist hall features soaring interiors, Tokugawa hollyhock crests, and a rich samurai-era history on the charming Teramachi-dori.

Discover the Jizo-do in Nagaoka, Niigata — a compact Taisho-era (1922) brick chapel registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property. Featuring English bond brickwork, arched windows, and a rare diagonal corbelling technique at the eaves, this small Buddhist hall beautifully fuses Western masonry with traditional Japanese sacred architecture.

Dairinji's kuri of 1920 is a modern Zen monastery's living quarters joined to the main hall. Two rows of rooms hold upper study quarters and a board-floored kitchen.