Taishō
大正Browse Japan’s cultural heritage from the Taishō period (1912 – 1926). Filter by prefecture, type, and keyword, with concise stories, maps, and travel tips.
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.
The Gyokusendo Gangi is a Taisho-era covered walkway facing a street in Tsubame, registered in 2008. It is 9.2 m long and 1.3 m deep with an asymmetrical tiled roof.
The Gyokusendo Forging Shop is a Taisho-era workshop in Tsubame, registered in 2008. Artisans hammer copper on tatami beside hearths, and free tours are offered.
The Gyokusendo Storehouse is a 2-storey Taisho clay storehouse in Tsubame, registered in 2008, with white plaster walls, a detached roof and stepped fireproof doors.
The Kuzuresawa Stone Chute in Myoko, Niigata, is a rare 1920s sabo work: a 12 m stone-paved channel on a 25% slope built with a ground sill. Registered 2003.
A small 1925 courtyard wing of Komatsuya Ryokan at Iwamuro Onsen, Niigata, whose alcove trim and shelves use black persimmon said to come from a tree on the site.
The oldest of Komatsuya Ryokan's four registered buildings at Iwamuro Onsen: a 1914 wing whose eight-mat ceiling is laid in three boards, with buried-zelkova trim.
Sankoji Temple Main Hall in Shibata, Niigata: a Pure Land hall of 1916 on Teramachi street, with polished log pillars and a tall interior free of tie beams.
This small Jizo hall in Nagaoka, Niigata, built of English-bond brick in 1922, has arched openings, a timber porch and rare diagonal corbelling at the eaves.
The Shuseian tea house in Ojiya, Niigata, a late Taisho tea room moved from an old family house, joins its rooms with an earthen eave that recalls snow arcades.
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.
Takahashi Sake Brewery Chimney in Nagaoka, Niigata: a hexagonal brick chimney of about 1922, 20 metres high with a decorative ring, a landmark of the district.
Takahashi Sake Brewery New Brewery in Nagaoka, Niigata: a 1922 timber-framed brick brewery, three storeys and 30 metres long, a red-brick landmark by the river.
Chotokuji Temple Imperial Lodging in Shibata, Niigata, is a 2-storey wing moved in 1921 from the villa where Emperor Meiji stayed in 1878, with a sukiya throne room.
Nakahara Family Residence Annex in Akatsuka, Niigata: an early Taisho guest wing off the main house, with an inner veranda and a fully glazed front and sides.
Nakahara Family Residence Brick Wall in Akatsuka, Niigata: a 51-meter English-bond firebreak with ten arches, said to date from after the fire of 1909.
Built in 1916 for Nagaoka Middle School and registered in 2011, this brick gate is the only prewar structure left on a campus born of the hundred sacks of rice.
The Nishinoya Irrigation Canal in Myoko, Niigata, registered in 2003, is a stone channel of 1926 that carries irrigation water through the body of a check dam.
The Ninomiya Family Residence Workshop in Seiro, Niigata, is a 1919 single-storey shed whose lowered roof forms a deep eave running on into the storehouse beside it.
The Main House of the Ninomiya Residence in Tawarayanagi, Niigata, was rebuilt in 1918 after a flood: a gable-entry farmhouse with modern carpentry by the river.